Michael Owen has always been a cringe monster

No but Nigel Farage speaks out and stands for a controversial political position and so people base their opinions of him on that.

Do you know Michael Owen’s political opinions? O what basis do hoj say that no one likes him except his parents and that he is a shit bloke?

Basically, you, like many others on here, can sit behind a keyboard and say things about him that you wouldn’t dare say in front of his face or his children’s faces.

It makes you very brave calling him a shit bloke just like the othes who have aaid he is autistic etc.

There are many who have said they don’t like his punditry or think ot is boring, that is fine but others like you say things that are personal and are out of order imo

Cue the smart arse response.......
He's not going to shag you mate.
 
Great player at one time but not loved by any supports of any team except maybe the national team. At this point he is just a player that used to play for England. It has to bother him that no matter how hard he tries he will never be in the good graces of Liverpool supporters no matter how hard he tries. Or maybe he just doesn’t give a feck. He just an ex England player to me who had a ton of talent.
 
Right. But I still want the story.

Right. But I still want the story.


I saw Owen at a Tesco in Chester. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.

He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”

I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying.

The girl at the till was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.

When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
 
Are you medically qualified to express such an opinion on a public forum?

It’s a message board. 99.9% of the content is people expressing opinions that they are not qualified to make.

Your persistence in defending him based on a comment that isn’t even an insult is bizarre.
 
I always think people who "hate" Owen must have a serious lack of perspective.

He's about as harmless a character as you'll get. A clean cut, hard working, family guy, who had a superb career, that peaked early and was followed by a lot of injuries.

Wheeling out light hearted clips of laughing at putting a few shots in against a kid is hardly criminal behaviour. It's just quite funny.
I quit enjoyed having him at United and he had more than a few good moments for us.

Are these another brand values that they forgot to put in the brochure?
 
I saw Owen at a Tesco in Chester. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.

He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”

I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying.

The girl at the till was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.

When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.

Amazingly, this is exactly what happened when I met Obama at my local Tesco. Except that he was buying Mars bars (he mumbled something about Mars bars being the only food on Earth suitable to his Martian digestive system). Otherwise, the experience was identical.
 
It’s a message board. 99.9% of the content is people expressing opinions that they are not qualified to make.

Your persistence in defending him based on a comment that isn’t even an insult is bizarre.

Yes opinions about football not opinions about someone having a mental disorder.

There is nothing bizarre about defending someone against people saying they have a mental disorder and my persistence isn’t in defending him, I would defend anyone else who you decided to make unqualified medical judgements in
 
At this point he is just a player that used to play for England.

And probably the most underwhelming Ballon d' Or winner in history (there's a discussion to be had about that - but he's surely a prime candidate).

But he nevertheless is a Ballon d' Or winner.

So, laughable as the brochure (and whatnot) might be - the man has done more than enough to make him a target for ridicule - let's not forget that he actually was very good in his prime. As in - very good. A combination of speed and finishing ability which isn't common at all.
 
Yes opinions about football not opinions about someone having a mental disorder.

There is nothing bizarre about defending someone against people saying they have a mental disorder and my persistence isn’t in defending him, I would defend anyone else who you decided to make unqualified medical judgements in

ASD is not something people need “defending against” ffs. Nobody’s calling him a paedophile.
 
Remember when Owen asked the school his kids go to , to write a letter to all parents asking them not to ask for his autograph
 
It’s fun reading this thread, reading how much of an asshole Owen is, only to see people suggesting that this must be due to him being autistic.
It‘s fun reading this as an autistic person. Real fun.
 
ASD is not something people need “defending against” ffs. Nobody’s calling him a paedophile.

So you would be ok with someone, you had never met, with no medical qualifications posting that you or one of your children was autistic on a public forum.

Would you think that was fine just because they could have posted something worse?
 
It’s fun reading this thread, reading how much of an asshole Owen is, only to see people suggesting that this must be due to him being autistic.
It‘s fun reading this as an autistic person. Real fun.

I think Michael Owen being a tosser and Michael Owen being autistic are two unrelated things but it doesn’t mean they can’t both be true. There are plenty of anecdotes and observations about his behaviour that suggest autistic traits. My brother’s diagnosed with ASD but “high functioning” so I tend to pick up on the traits when I see them.
 
So you would be ok with someone, you had never met, with no medical qualifications posting that you or one of your children was autistic on a public forum.

Would you think that was fine just because they could have posted something worse?

Personally I wouldn’t care less because I don’t feel like there is anything wrong with it. I wouldn’t be shocked if my kid did get diagnosed in a few years to be honest.
 
So you would be ok with someone, you had never met, with no medical qualifications posting that you or one of your children was autistic on a public forum.
Personally I wouldn’t care less because I don’t feel like there is anything wrong with it. I wouldn’t be shocked if my kid did get diagnosed in a few years to be honest.

No one said that there was anything wrong with being autistic, what is wrong is you and others suggesting someone is autistic on a public football forum in the same sentence that you say he is a shit bloke.
 
No but Nigel Farage speaks out and stands for a controversial political position and so people base their opinions of him on that.

Do you know Michael Owen’s political opinions? O what basis do hoj say that no one likes him except his parents and that he is a shit bloke?

Basically, you, like many others on here, can sit behind a keyboard and say things about him that you wouldn’t dare say in front of his face or his children’s faces.

It makes you very brave calling him a shit bloke just like the othes who have aaid he is autistic etc.

There are many who have said they don’t like his punditry or think ot is boring, that is fine but others like you say things that are personal and are out of order imo

Cue the smart arse response.......
Christ if we can't laugh at Michael Owen on an internet forum what can we fecking do. He's an odd bloke with strange behaviours (Dubai helicopter video being a stone-cold classic) that played for United and our biggest rivals. I've seen our own players get a lot worse. This is just a bit of fun ffs.
 
No one said that there was anything wrong with being autistic, what is wrong is you and others suggesting someone is autistic on a public football forum in the same sentence that you say he is a shit bloke.

I disagree.

You’ve had your say. Would you mind boring off now?
 
And probably the most underwhelming Ballon d' Or winner in history (there's a discussion to be had about that - but he's surely a prime candidate).

But he nevertheless is a Ballon d' Or winner.


The thing is, when Owen won the Ballon d’Or it wasn’t considered a big award (at least in England) in the way it was during the Messi-Ronaldo era when it merged with the FIFA award.

Owen winning is mentioned much more retrospectively when people think Ballon d’Or = World Player of the Year than they did at the time. In reality it was the equivalent of the FWA player of the year which also had some weird winners (Scott Parker, Henderson).
 
No one said that there was anything wrong with being autistic, what is wrong is you and others suggesting someone is autistic on a public football forum in the same sentence that you say he is a shit bloke.
I disagree.

You’ve had your say. Would you mind boring off now?

You can’t justify saying Michael Owen is a shit bloke in the same sentance as saying he is autistic and so your only argument is to ask me to go away.
 
The thing is, when Owen won the Ballon d’Or it wasn’t considered a big award (at least in England) in the way it was during the Messi-Ronaldo era when it merged with the FIFA award.

Owen winning is mentioned much more retrospectively when people think Ballon d’Or = World Player of the Year than they did at the time. In reality it was the equivalent of the FWA player of the year which also had some weird winners (Scott Parker, Henderson).

You'll be saying that back when he played for Liverpool, Real Madrid and United that they were the equivalent of non league sides next.
 
Christ if we can't laugh at Michael Owen on an internet forum what can we fecking do. He's an odd bloke with strange behaviours (Dubai helicopter video being a stone-cold classic) that played for United and our biggest rivals. I've seen our own players get a lot worse. This is just a bit of fun ffs.
I agree with the fun and banter what I was objecting to was people saying he is autistic in the same sentance as he is a shit bloke. That is all.
 
You'll be saying that back when he played for Liverpool, Real Madrid and United that they were the equivalent of non league sides next.

Obviously not. But when Owen won it they basically presented it on the pitch and it was talked about for about a week. It wasn’t like the Oscars with a weird ceremony and players campaigning for it for months like it became in the late 2000s. FIFA World Player of the Year was considered the “proper” award when I was young.
 
You can’t justify saying Michael Owen is a shit bloke in the same sentance as saying he is autistic and so your only argument is to ask me to go away.

When did this happen?

It’s not an “argument” either. I’m just bored of you derailing this thread. If you don’t like it, just leave the thread and make another one about what a great chap Michael Owen is. You’re not going to change my mind about what is and isn’t an appropriate thing to post so what are you trying to achieve?
 
Christ if we can't laugh at Michael Owen on an internet forum what can we fecking do. He's an odd bloke with strange behaviours (Dubai helicopter video being a stone-cold classic) that played for United and our biggest rivals. I've seen our own players get a lot worse. This is just a bit of fun ffs.
Laugh at him all you want. I don’t give a shit. But don’t suggest his perceived assholeness comes down to being autistic. Especially since there is no diagnosis whatsoever. Is it that difficult to understand?
 
Laugh at him all you want. I don’t give a shit. But don’t suggest his perceived assholeness comes down to being autistic. Especially since there is no diagnosis whatsoever. Is it that difficult to understand?
Who suggested he's an arsehole because they think he's autistic?
 
I can’t say I’ve ever thought that Owen has ASD, specifically why do people think this?

Maybe I need to watch a compilation or something but having worked with autistic children for years (my daughter also has high functioning ASD) I can’t say it’s ever crossed my mind, I maybe missing something.
 
It’s not an “argument” either. I’m just bored of you derailing this thread. If you don’t like it, just leave the thread and make another one about what a great chap Michael Owen is. You’re not going to change my mind about what is and isn’t an appropriate thing to post so what are you trying to achieve?

I’ve always thought the same thing about Owen. He seems very aspie.

Does anyone like Michael Owen except for his mum and his wife?

he’s what we’d call in Sydney a shit bloke.

You keep insisting you weren’t using ‘aspie’ as a derogatory term......I’ll let others be the judge of that......

I am not going to make another thread about how great he is because personally I never liked him that much.
 
I can’t say I’ve ever thought that Owen has ASD, specifically why do people think this?

Maybe I need to watch a compilation or something but having worked with autistic children for years (my daughter also has high functioning ASD) I can’t say it’s ever crossed my mind, I maybe missing something.

- He struggles with basic household tasks (i.e. can’t make a cup of tea, his mum did his banking)
- Was unable to cope with the change in routine when he moved to Madrid, to the extent where he claims he only left the hotel to go to training, play matches or drive to the airport to buy English newspapers.
- Didn’t really have much of a social life or meet new people (he met his wife in primary school!)
- Seems awkward and stilted in conversation and doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humour or irony.
- His horses seem to be his “special interest”
- He has only watched 8 films and claimed to hate them all.


I’m not diagnosing him but there seems enough information to speculate.
 
You keep insisting you weren’t using ‘aspie’ as a derogatory term......I’ll let others be the judge of that......

So not the same sentence then. Two different posts in fact!

“Aspie” is the commonly used term within the community and is not derogatory at all. I would again suggest winding your neck in because from your posts about “mental disorders” it seems you really don’t have much clue about the subject.
 
- He struggles with basic household tasks (i.e. can’t make a cup of tea, his mum did his banking)
- Was unable to cope with the change in routine when he moved to Madrid, to the extent where he claims he only left the hotel to go to training, play matches or drive to the airport to buy English newspapers.
- Didn’t really have much of a social life or meet new people (he met his wife in primary school!)
- Seems awkward and stilted in conversation and doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humour or irony.
- His horses seem to be his “special interest”
- He has only watched 8 films and claimed to hate them all.


I’m not diagnosing him but there seems enough information to speculate.

I have no dog in this fight but what the hell

- Spoiled footballer who is accustomed to being waited on hand and foot
-Some people have trouble moving to a new country, especially when the language is different
-Introvert
-Boring personality and people act one way in public vs at home. He might be the funniest bloke around when he's with his mates.
-He likes horses
-I know quite a few people who don't watch any films or haven't seen the popular ones. This isn't that strange, if Owen concentrated on sports and things that interest him, he might not have had the time to see many movies
 
- He struggles with basic household tasks (i.e. can’t make a cup of tea, his mum did his banking)
- Was unable to cope with the change in routine when he moved to Madrid, to the extent where he claims he only left the hotel to go to training, play matches or drive to the airport to buy English newspapers.
- Didn’t really have much of a social life or meet new people (he met his wife in primary school!)
- Seems awkward and stilted in conversation and doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humour or irony.
- His horses seem to be his “special interest”
- He has only watched 8 films and claimed to hate them all.


I’m not diagnosing him but there seems enough information to speculate.

I genuinely didn’t know anything about his personal life. Perhaps much of this could be related to the fact that he has always been a footballer and never really had to (or was encouraged to )develop other interests outside of football, hard to say really.

The main tells for my daughter are her use of language (insane vocabulary) and difficulties forming relationships with other children of her own age. She is also very sensitive and commentates as she is playing or doing something which is very Sweet but exhausting at times!

She also has issues with loud noises which is very common in ASD.

I don’t see any verbal speech patterns (echolalia) with Owen or use of vocabulary that would indicate ASD but it’s such a varied spectrum it’s hard to be sure.
 
I have no dog in this fight but what the hell

- Spoiled footballer who is accustomed to being waited on hand and foot
-Some people have trouble moving to a new country, especially when the language is different
-Introvert
-Boring personality and people act one way in public vs at home. He might be the funniest bloke around when he's with his mates.
-He likes horses
-I know quite a few people who don't watch any films or haven't seen the popular ones. This isn't that strange, if Owen concentrated on sports and things that interest him, he might not have had the time to see many movies

Yeah, I mean it’s not a certainty or anything. Footballers have never really lived “normal” lives so it’s hard to judge them by our standards. It’s interesting that a few people have independently come to the same conclusion though. It’s not like people are saying the same thing about every footballer or even every footballer they dislike.

The thing is there are actually way more people on the spectrum than most people realise so a lot of people who are just considered introverts may well be undiagnosed aspies. It’s basically only the people who really stand out as “different” when they’re kids who end up being diagnosed. If you have a less obvious form of autism it generally goes unrecognised during childhood (this is especially common for women, as the common view of autism is based around a stereotypically male presentation of ASD).
 
Yeah, I mean it’s not a certainty or anything. Footballers have never really lived “normal” lives so it’s hard to judge them by our standards. It’s interesting that a few people have independently come to the same conclusion though. It’s not like people are saying the same thing about every footballer or even every footballer they dislike.

The thing is there are actually way more people on the spectrum than most people realise so a lot of people who are just considered introverts may well be undiagnosed aspies. It’s basically only the people who really stand out as “different” when they’re kids who end up being diagnosed. If you have a less obvious form of autism it generally goes unrecognised during childhood (this is especially common for women, as the common view of autism is based around a stereotypically male presentation of ASD).

Michael Owen being on the spectrum isn't a death sentence or anything. I'm not saying he is or he isn't, none of us can know for sure. As you say it is difficult to discern whether Owen's behaviour is due to him being on the spectrum or just a footballer.

I'm going to wade out of this conversation now though, I'm not comfortable discussing his or anyone else's mental health for that matter.
 
Real shame we got him a PL medal. Seemed funny at the time as he never got a sniff of one with Liverpool, but just annoying now.