If Michael Owen can score a hat-trick for Manchester United, even against dispirited and disappointing German champions on a pitch that resembled a school playing field, it must be time to start nudging Fabio Capello's elbow all over again and reminding him that there is a World Cup coming up.
Even in his Liverpool days Manchester United's reserve striker had a habit of making it appear he was more interested in his England career than the club that paid his wages, and when he ended up in the wilderness of the north-east this preference became both more pronounced and more understandable.
In fairness to Owen this time, however, the kneejerk reaction came entirely from the media. All he did in Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena was score three goals to win United the game, which happens to be his job. He was upbeat afterwards, excusably so, but he never once mentioned England and the World Cup, and neither did Sir Alex Ferguson.
It would actually have been a bit silly to mention England or the World Cup, since the tournament is six months away and all Capello has to do until his next friendly in March is attend the Football Association's Christmas party. But of course that does not stop newspapers and other media outlets, for whom the scandal of Owen being surplus to England requirements is a permanent hook on which to hang a story or a two-page spread.
Should Owen make it into the World Cup squad next spring the papers will be able to say "Told you so" and anticipate being further vindicated by his goalscoring feats and matchwinning performances in South Africa, though Owen's chances of making the trip rest squarely on his form for Manchester United between then and now, and always have done.
Owen has a massive opportunity this season at Old Trafford, because the partnership between Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov has not really sprung to life. While both are quality players who could hold their own in any team, there has been little evidence so far that playing the two together brings the best out of them as individuals or improves the attacking quality of the side.
Ferguson, like Capello, appears to have doubts about pairing Owen with Rooney, and is unlikely to drop the latter often to experiment with Owen and Berbatov, yet if he means what he says about his substitute being one of the best strikers around he will have to find a way of playing him if he continues to come up with the goals.
Scoring is all Owen can do to make his case. He can argue that he was playing in a deeper role than usual or remind people that he is fit enough once again to take whole games in his stride rather than just contribute 20-minute cameos, but Champions League hat-tricks are the best currency any striker can produce. If Owen can keep doing that whenever he is called upon, and he is bound to get a few more Premier League games with the present injury situation and the number of fixtures around Christmas, he will give his own manager something to think about.
Capello's position is straightforward. If Owen is not playing for Manchester United he can't pick him. Better to take a striker such as Jermain Defoe or Darren Bent, who not only plays regularly but scores regularly, than a reserve with a big reputation who only occasionally gets a run-out for his club. Were Capello English he might know Owen better and trust him more. As a foreign coach, however, he can only go on what he sees, and cannot run the risk of selecting a player on reputation who may break down or disappoint in South Africa.
At the moment Capello must feel a media bandwagon effect is trying to force his hand, though that is really only because matchwinning feats from Owen have become a rarity and the press are bound to respond when he seizes his chances so well. If he became more of a regular at United it would be less of a story, and that is precisely the challenge in front of him. That is not to say the papers would stop bigging up his chances of an England recall every time he played well or scored a goal, because they wouldn't, but were he playing regularly and well for United he would soon find himself in the England squad anyway. There would no longer be any need for a media campaign.
In that event, newspapers could turn their attention in the new year to Emile Heskey's disappearing act at Aston Villa. In his Wigan days Heskey was a regular, and Capello coaxed even better performances out of him in an England shirt than Steve Bruce was doing at club level. Then, like Owen, he joined a bigger club and became a fixture on the subs bench. He still gets on the field from time to time, and still scores the odd goal, but some of the confidence appears to have gone from his game and Capello no longer seems to regard him as the fixed point around which the rest of the attack revolves. Heskey's importance to Capello was unquestioned a year ago, though if he is going to be only a reserve for England as well as for Villa is it really worth taking a centre-forward who doesn't score goals?
If you wanted an impact sub, someone to get you out of a hole quickly, most people would go for Owen every time. England's formation in South Africa is still a matter of conjecture because of injuries to Owen Hargreaves and Theo Walcott, among others, but in an ideal world, against the stronger opponents he may face, Capello would want two holding midfielders, pace on either flank, and either Frank Lampard in the middle or Steven Gerrard in a free role just behind Rooney. That appears to be England's best use of attacking resources. Anything else, Gerrard playing on the left, say, or Heskey partnering Rooney, is more of a compromise.
Finally, before anyone else chips in to say it, that's enough World Cup for the time being. Now the main distractions are having a rest for a few months, it's time to let the Premier League get a look-in. Just watch those injuries pile up ...
