In praise of OG!

No, not the Amorite King of Bashan slain by Joshua at the battle of Edrei, but Manchester United’s secret weapon deployed to spectacular effect this season. Last summer Sir Alex Ferguson signed little Mickey Owen on a free transfer from Newcastle, though he has yet to make a consistent contribution. Owen Hargreaves has been languishing in the treatment room for years after making a great start for Utd. What journalists, pundits and commentators didn’t spot was that SAF had made another signing, not an Owen but Own as in Own Goal or OG as he is affectionately known around Old Trafford.

OG is a real star at the Theatre of Dreams and is Man Utd’s second highest scorer having racked up 10 goals so far this season. OG’s latest goal came in a pulsating game against Aston Villa last night, however, his best performance so far was last Saturday when he scored a hat-trick against Portsmouth.

There has been much debate as to why OG is so prolific and there are several explanations. The first is the quality of Utd’s crosses from their wingers and full backs, especially Evra, Giggs, Valencia and, to the astonishment of all, Nani. Then there is the sheer panic instilled in opposition defences when they see Wayne Rooney dashing into the area snorting steam from his nostrils. Another possible reason is that defences know that they will have to carry on playing into injury time until Utd score, so they might as well get the job done so they can go home and see if JT has left a message on the answer phone.

Anyway, OG is a fantastic coup for Utd and let’s hope he stays fit until the end of the season. Who knows, perhaps Fabio Capello has him pencilled in for the England World Cup squad in the summer? And here is yet more evidence of Ferguson’s genius; he gets the opposition teams’ managers to pay OG’s wages!

David James, Portsmouth and England goalkeeper, after his defenders score another goal for Manchester United.