England’s chances of winning the World Cup in South Africa got a massive boost when Sir Alex Ferguson decided to take a huge gamble and sign Michael Owen.

Manchester Utd have not played with a goal poacher since Ruud van Nistelrooy was sold to Real Madrid and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hung up his boots.

But it will take all the coach’s finest attributes to change the fortune of a striker who has not scored since January and was unable to score goals to prevent Newcastle being relegated.

England could do with a fired up Owen if he finds his goal scoring touch again. There are few goal poachers in the England set up, indeed there are few in the English Premier League with the exception of Jermaine Defoe.

England manager Fabio Capello will be watching with interest. So will I. A coach can do such a lot for players and if Owen fits in at Manchester Utd expect to see a different player when he runs out on the pitch. At Newcastle his head was often down and that was evident in his play.

A coach can restore confidence and give a player their touch back. Remember when he was scoring goals for fun for England, Liverpool and Real Madrid? Here’s a reminder: