Owen ´most at home´ at Liverpool

Retiring Stoke City striker Michael Owen insists he felt most at home during his time with boyhood club Liverpool.

The 33-year-old, who has netted 222 club goals during spells with the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid, announced this week that he will call time on his career at the end of the campaign.

And, in a blog post on his personal website following the announcement of his retirement, Owen wrote he held the most affection for the club where it all started.

“It was at Liverpool where I felt most at home,” he wrote.

The Chester-born forward regrets his failure to feature regularly for Stoke since moving to the club over the off-season.

“I signed for Stoke with every intention of playing more football than in recent seasons,” Owen wrote.

“It hasn’t transpired. Yes, I’ve had a couple of small muscle injuries but it would be wrong to blame my lack of action on fitness.”

Owen wants to go into player representation after hanging up his boots at the end of the season.

“The representation of players is an area I believe I can excel in,” he wrote.

“I propose to set up Michael Owen Management Limited focusing on guiding young players through their careers and offering them advice at every juncture of what can be a career full of pitfalls.”

The former England international highlighted his 1998 World Cup goal against Argentina and his eventual loss of pace as the most prominent moments of his career.

“The first is a sense of pride at not only what I achieved but how I achieved it,” Owen wrote.

“Winning virtually every trophy at club level is the stuff of dreams but in amongst all that there were some incredible days. Making my England debut having just turned 18 before heading to the World Cup where I would score ‘That Goal’.

“The second emotion that lives with me is a sense of ‘what might have been’ had injuries not robbed me of my most lethal weapon – speed.”