A lot of England fans hit the emotional panic button when they heard the news that Michael Owen had broken his foot.

It was like the end of the world for some people – or at least the end of the world cup – as they contemplated the fact that Owen could be out of action for up to three months.

But, while it is certainly an absolute disaster for Newcastle, it is actually nothing short of fantastic news for England fans.

Don’t get me wrong, the lack of Owen during the World Cup would be a huge blow. But the chances are now he will be much, much fresher for the big tournament than he would have been had he been playing consistently for the next five months.

Based on the example of other England stars who have had the same metatarsal injury – and that’s a long list including the likes of Beckham, Gerrard, Neville and Rooney – Owen should be back in training in about eight weeks.

Three or four weeks after that he should be ready to turn out in matches which will take us up to the end of March. That gives little Mickey a good six or seven weeks of top-level competitive football to get himself fully fit.

But, unlike many other players, he will be so much fresher for his three months off.

So this is one particular metatarsal bone that could actually turn out to be a lucky break for England.

Steven Gerrard

Normally I would be the first to criticise a player for stamping on an opponent. It’s just something that is so out of order there can be no excuse for it.

But, in Steven Gerrard’s case, I don’t think he was guilty of anything other than landing awkwardly when his foot ended up on Kevin Nolan’s chest on Monday afternoon.

Bolton boss Sam Alardyce has suggested Gerrard deliberately stamped on Nolan during their clash at the Reebok Stadium. But the Liverpool player has said it was nothing more than an unfortunate collision.

“I am mates with Kevin Nolan. He is a good Scouser. So why would I ever try to deliberately hurt him? We spoke at the end of the match. I wished him all the best for the rest of the season. The tackle was never even mentioned,” Gerrard said.

But Allardyce was not happy.

“It is serious foul play. The incident is clear, plain and obvious. It’s difficult, I know, for referees in a split second but it couldn’t be anything other than intentional and that’s sad,” big Sam said.

To be honest, television replays tend to support the Allardyce view as it did look a lot like Gerrard aimed for Nolan. But, having said that, the passion with which the player has denied it was deliberate leads me to feel it was an accident.

Deliberately setting out to hurt opponents through bad tackles is a side of his game which Gerrard has, ahem, stamped out in recent years and not one which I think he is aiming to resurrect.

He deserves the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Josef Reina

Talking of Liverpool’s match on Monday, wasn’t that an impressive mistake by goalkeeper Jose Reina which gifted Bolton the lead? I thought those type of blunders were the sole domain of Dudek? Isn’t that why the Polish keeper has been so unceremoniously dropped? Hmmm.

Favourite quote

Now for one of my favourite quotes of last year which dates back to England’s rugby victory over Australia.

At the time, Australia coach Eddie Jones – later fired – had tried to defend the result: “If you take the scrum out of the equation, we played well.”

But a top Australian television commentator apparently disagreed:

“If you take the assassination out of the equation, the President and Mrs Kennedy quite enjoyed the drive from Dallas to the airport.”

That’s quite a put down.

The bookmakers

It’s official. Bookmakers are barking mad.

As we enter 2006, some of England’s top betting organisations have offered the public the opportunity to gamble their hard earned cash on some pretty bizarre wagers.

How about sticking some money on Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho to settle their differences and get married to each other in a civil ceremony during 2006? Odds: 1000-1.

Then there is the slightly less ridiculous idea – but still pretty out there – of Wenger becoming Mourinho’s assistant manager. Odds: 200-1

Or what about England winning the World Cup by beating Germany 4-2 after extra time in the final? Odds: 1000-1.

And what about Sven proposing to Nancy live on air after England winning the summer tournament? Odds: 500-1.

I don’t know about you, but I think I will be keeping my money in my pocket for now. So, knowing my luck, expect Wenger and Mourinho to start dating sometime in May…

Contact James on: [email protected]