Hero's return as Owen fires on all cylinders

An exquisite long-range finish against Israel on Saturday and two first-half blows against Russia last night have just about put that theory out with the garbage.

They said Sven Goran Eriksson was a lucky manager and maybe now it's Steve McClaren's turn.

Nobody could begrudge the England coach Owen's return to maximum potency at such a tense stage in this qualifying campaign, especially after the loss of Wayne Rooney and the outpouring of angst over the shortage of centre forwards.

Further embellishing his prolific partnership with Emile Heskey, Owen moved to within nine of Sir Bobby Charlton's alltime England scoring record of 49 with a 31-minute brace and for the first time Sir Bobby's thoughts must be turning to his handover speech. After a run of major injuries, and some niggling ones, Owen is once again a constant menace to defenders.

If his accelerator produces marginally less spectacular results than in his early England days, that diminution has brought no comfort to centre halves.

In his short spell at Real Madrid, there was clear evidence that he had adapted his game to suit the new mania for workaholic strikers, running up high Prozone figures as they buzzed all over the pitch.

He always felt that a naturalborn predator would, and should, continue to earn a crust in our national game.

Cunning is not something you can acquire by running 50-metre sprints on the training ground.

His first against a dumbstruck Russian defence was a carefully-placed side-foot from deep inside the box. His second began its journey further out, arcing over the Russian keeper with a beauty that brought the Wembley crowd to their feet.

Soon they were singing: "There's only one Michael Owen."

A rarity, this, because Newcastle United's biggest name has never featured highly on the England song-sheet.

Whatever their fate in this campaign, the big names have roused themselves.

Steven Gerrard is reborn in the centre of midfield and John Terry belted out the anthem like an England rugby captain. Owen is the assassin of old.

Best of all, McClaren resisted the temptation to over-elaborate or fiddle with his team selection.

Saturday's win over Israel cried out for boldness: same team, same formation.

This was not the time to be bending England's improved form and confidence around whatever Russia might do.

Patronising poorer nations has become an unfortunate English trait down the years, but last night's three-valium clash featured not a single Russian player who could expect to walk into any of the top four Premier League starting XIs, never mind a celebritystudded England side.

If Guus Hiddink's men were coveted by the Champions League regulars, you can bet your thousand-pound season ticket that snatch squads would have been sent from London to Moscow. Or from Madrid and Milan.

Which brings us to the great paradox of English football.

For four decades now, the national team have been consistently out-witted by opponents with less money but more technical and tactical know-how.

Recent example: Croatia in Zagreb, where a population of 4.5 million watched a team who are fond of the odd fag humiliate the Hollywood studio of vaunted English talent.

Under Hiddink, Russia posed a similar threat. Never mind that the mention of their name evokes symphonies, great triumphs in war and endless time-zones: the disparity between global recognition and achievements down on the pitch continued to reflect badly on England as they sought to peg back Russia's narrow advantage in Group E.

In the planet's most expensive football arena, England grappled with the best of CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg, with contributions from Dynamo and Lokomotiv from the Russian capital.

Only three of last night's squad had been enticed outside her borders.

One to Seville, one to Udinese and a third to Nuremburg. Not a truly A-list club in sight.

But these labels mean nothing in the maelstrom of international football, where England had been spinning wretchedly until the 3-0 win over Israel restored momentum and morale.

Owen has had his own share of turbulence. His misfortunes with injury coincided with his move to a collapsing Newcastle side for whom he missed countless games.

Even now there is talk of the manager Sam Allardyce preferring others for his 4-3-3 formation.

Last night's double-hit rendered it senseless to go on questioning Owen's potential contribution to Premier League football.

Not 28 until December, he is surely guaranteed to seize Charlton's crown provided his well-rested body holds firm beyond his 30th birthday.

Often we say that players who have had calamitous luck with injuries will come back 'better than ever'.

Often we are wrong. For Owen the golden years are back.