Last updated 11:47, Wednesday, 15 October 2008

FIVE goals in eight games hardly sounds like a player in the grip of a crisis of confidence – so why on earth has Michael Owen been overlooked by England?

Owen: 40 goals for England

It’s a wonder Owen has managed to score a single Premiership goal considering all the turmoil and uncertainty he is having to endure at Newcastle United.

For him not to even have a place on the bench for the World Cup qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Belarus is simply madness.

The argument that Owen is little more than a goal-poacher is nonsense – he is of more value to England than Peter Crouch. He is the fourth highest England striker with 40 goals and is capable of digging a goal out of nothing.

His list of ailments could fill a medical dictionary but since recovering from injury and illness which forced him to miss September's wins over Andorra and Croatia he has proved beyond doubt that he is ready for international duty.

At 28, Owen is hardly over the hill and Fabio Capello is wrong to write him off.