Fergie cold waters Owen’s WC dream

Michael Owen’s World Cup dream looks to have been KO’d after Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insisted he cannot play alongside Wayne Rooney. Owen is desperate to regain his place in the England squad for this year’s World Cup having joined United in a bid to impress England coach Fabio Capello. So far he has failed to cement a permanent starting position, with Fergie preferring Dimitar Berbatov. "We like to see Wayne Rooney going through the middle,” commented Fergie on Friday. "Everyone knows Michael is a last-defender player, there is none better than that - his movement and positional sense in the last third is excellent. It is difficult to play two directly through the middle in the modern game. Michael needs games and we are going to try to solve that problem as his training form has been good. It is just the blend of your strikers.”