Former England manager Glenn Hoddle has said that England currently lack the cutting edge in front of goal due to the lack of a player like Michael Owen.

Michael Owen is widely regarded to be one of the greatest strikers England has had in recent times. It is the thought that is further strengthened by the goal record Michael Owen has had for England over the years. Even though Michael Owen is not picked by Fabio Capello for the England national duty nowadays, he is widely thought to be the greatest goal scorer England of recent times.

Michael Owen has managed to score 40 goals for the national team in just 89 matches, which is just four behind the likes of Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker, and Jimmy Greaves. Fabio Capello is in a tough situation having to progress to the knockout stages of the Euro 2012 without the services of Wayne Rooney. The England striker was initially suspended for three matches, but it has now been reduced to 2 matches after appeal. Glenn Hoddle was one of the chief architects in bringing Michael Owen to the England national team fold during the 1998 World Cup. It was also during this time that players like Paul Scholes and David Beckham started to emerge under Glenn Hoddle.

Now, the former England manager recognises that Daniel Sturridge is probably one of the few players who comes close to being able to satisfy the England requirements. Despite being in excellent form at the start of the season, Daniel Sturridge is yet to make his international debut. So far, Sturridge has scored seven goals in the league this season, which is impressive considering that he has been largely employed as a winger. Michael Owen is currently ruled out due to a long-term injury.

Michael James Owen is the English international who currently plays at Premier League club Manchester United as the striker. Michael Owen is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation and he is one of the recent English players to have been a recipient of the famous Ballon d'Or award. Michael Owen started his professional career with Liverpool, his youth team. He made his debut for the club in 1996 and soon became one of the most feared strikers in the league due to his exceptional pace.

Owen is a striker who primarily relied on pace to get him beyond the last defender and score goals. In his first season with Liverpool, Owen managed only two appearances, but managed to score his first League goal. His talent was soon recognised by the club and from his second season onwards, Owen was pretty much a first-team regular. In his second season at the club, he had scored 18 goals in 36 appearances. Michael Owen was an important part of the Liverpool team that won the treble in the 2000-01 season. His achievements with Liverpool along with his achievements for England at the Euro 2000 helped him win the European footballer of the year award, thus becoming the first Englishman after a long time to do so.

His best ever season with Liverpool came in the 2002-03 season when he scored an astonishing 28 goals.

Unsurprisingly, he was subject to transfer rumours from across Europe, but it was Real Madrid who decided to sign the player in 2004 for £8 million and player Antonio Núñez. However, his first season at Real Madrid did not go to plan. In fact, Michael Owen did not settle very well and Real Madrid decided to send him back to an English Premier League club. Newcastle United stepped up their interest and brought Owen for £16 million.

Despite the enormous interest amongst the general public, Michael Owen could not tide over his injury problems. He spent four seasons with Newcastle and his best ever season came in 2007-08 when he scored 13 goals. In order to reduce their wage bill, Owen was released from his contract in 2009. In July 2009, it was announced that Michael Owen will be signing for Manchester United.

In his first season at United, Owen made 31 appearances, although mostly they were as substitutes. Since then, his number of appearances has declined dramatically leading to speculation that he may leave United.

Owen has been regarded as one of the finest strikers England have had in recent years. It is a thought of that is reflected by the fact that he is just short of beating Bobby Charlton's record of 49 goals for England. Owen has made 89 appearances for England.

Owen has won the likes of the FA Cup, Premier League title, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Football League Cup, and FA Community Shield in England with clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool. He won the Ballon d'Or award in 2001, while he is also part of the FIFA 100 list.