Читать книгу The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines онлайн

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But Owen’s most intriguing strike partner for Liverpool was the forward you would least expect – Anelka. Although the two emerged simultaneously and seemingly played the same role, Anelka’s aforementioned dislike of playing up front meant that he was happier in a withdrawn position during a brief, half-season loan spell with Liverpool in 2001/02. ‘I played my best football at Liverpool, because I played in my best position there,’ said Anelka. ‘Owen was the main scorer and you knew he was going to score no matter what. He allowed me to play my best.’

Owen remembers Anelka fondly, too. ‘He didn’t score a lot of goals for us … but you could see he was a class act with great ability; in training he showed that he had a lovely touch, he could drop deep and link play, and had pace as well.’ Anelka would be particularly delighted that Owen mentioned his link play before his pace. The Frenchman wasn’t signed permanently, however, and Gérard Houllier replaced him with El-Hadji Diouf, a player with all Anelka’s bad habits and few of his qualities. You could say the same about Owen’s replacement at Liverpool in 2004, Djibril Cissé, who was the purest speedster of all.