The Premiership Diaries

Michael Owen, England's deadliest striker, finds himself an unwanted man in Madrid and unable to find a way home.

The 25 year old who smashed Argentina aged 18, and held his nerve to put Brazil one down in the World Cup quarter finals, struck out on an adventure into world football having made his reputation at his home town club. Football does strange things and Liverpool became European Champions without him and in World Cup year Michael can't get a game.

Ghanaian Miichael Essien has arrived at Chelsea via Lyons and the Blues face Spurs suddenly enboldened with dynamic Davids arriving from Milan having made his name as one time maestro of the Dutch national team.

At the City of Manchester Stadium Portsmouth will be fielding Lua Lua who emerged at the Layer Road ground of Colchester United who found the Kinshasha born striker playing in London. If Pogatetz makes the Middlesborough side against Charlton on Sunday it will be despite having been banned while playing for Spartak Moscow on loan from Bayer Leverskusen. Its all a great big global game and the path of the individual can seem random, chaotic and much governed by chance.

Strange fortune put Abromovich and Chelsea together and the Blues fluked past Arsenal before stamping all over West Brom. Manchester United showed good form in Europe and there must be a fear that the class divide in the Premiership is deepening to leave just a bun fight to avoid relegation. Perhaps the domestic cup competitions will be a sterner test for the big boys now that the like of Spurs and Middleborough are assembling larger competitive squads. As its England there will always be room for a Wimbledon or Wigan or whoever else can get a taste of glory.

The Premiership will ruminate and heave itself through autumn and winter before throwing up another Champion and there is no knowing who will be treading what path. A man called Montgomery threw himself across a Wembley goal to keep out a shot from the dominant title winning side of the day and gift victory to a second division Sunderland. A man called Sanchez put his team 1-0 up against Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final and they held onto win. Montgomerys save helped beat Leeds United and Sanchez played for a club that no longer exists, the crazy gang of Wimbledon.

There are no certainties, no definite outcomes and no clear path through. As with an individual journey, so with a collective, you set out towards your destination, but can never be sure of arriving.

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