Michael Owen: Off the Record

by Michael Owen

Boy wonders come and go, but Michael Owen has made the giant leap from sensational teenage star into one of the most consistent and respected strikers in world football - and he's still only 24 at the time of writing his new autobiography, Off The Record.A child goal-machine in North Wales who went on to acheive at all levels of the game, Owen has seemingly been the star since he was in diapers. Warts and all autobiography is the modern standard of course, and while chapters in Off The Record are primarily concerned with simply correcting public stories about England abroad, Owen's gambling, his problems with one-time Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, and the suicide of Owen's interior designer Mike Flynn, it is the frankness of acknowledging the underlying 'me first, team second' reality which makes the usual procession of achievements and frustrations really come alive.

Genres: Football, Biography, Soccer, Sports

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 23, 2004

About the author

Michael James Owen is a former English footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City as well as the England national team.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_...


Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Leo . · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercurial little goal machine for the reds. Disappointed when he signed for the other reds over in Manchester. Good book though Michael.

I know that the Kopites were not amused about joining the Mancs but he scored so many goals for Liverpool, and England, he is still a legend as far as I am concerned. 👍🐯

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought this was excellent. i remember Michael breaking into the world cup with that goal against Argentina like it was yesterday. this bio goes off on about his horse racing which wasn't as interesting to me but some of the insights he gives into what made him such an amazing striker are incredible if you have ever played football at a decent standard or if you hope your kids might (latter more my case anyway! :) own was apart from terry venebles the only player to represent England at all age groups - U15, u16,u17 etc till u21 then on till the first 11. also a must if you want to know how to overcome hamstring injuries. highly recommended.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Owen has been my idol throughout my childhood until now. I found it really interesting reading into his life, which is often not expressed much in the media.
A tad slow and boring in parts, but overall loved reading about my hero

[Yasemin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Michael Owen. Now even more ^^

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Owen is a very humble, shy amazing soccer player who loves the game and his family more than anything. I really enjoying reading about his life and how he got to where he is today!:)

[Limbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We can look each other in the eye and know we're together for all the right reasons."
I like this person, and the way he expresses himself and his emotion.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although Michael Owen was my idol growing up, reading this I found that the writing inspired boredom and an interesting life was just simmered down.

[Football Writer Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hayward helps Owen write in an entertaining way, and sheds a spotlight onto the mind of Owen the striker, whose entire mindset revolves around anticipating mistakes defenders might make.

[Sebastián · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esperé más. Está bien, creo que más detallado que Pirlo, pero esperé mayor detalle en Real Madrid y no pude conocer los motivos para ir a ManU y Stoke. Interesante perspectiva en algunos pasajes.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Very interesting to hear his opinions on the players he has played with and the managers who have managed him.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well what can I say . In 3 words Boring Book !!!!!! Yawn