Michael Owen's achievements should be hounoured with one final fling for England in Republic of Ireland friendly At club level, Owen has always been a divisive figure. Even at Liverpool, where he enjoyed the best days of his career, he was never embraced as whole-heartedly as Robbie Fowler or the likes of Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez have been since. Owen was always regarded as too clean-cut and too focused on England to win the hearts of the Kop, and he also struggled to win admirers at Newcastle and Manchester United during his spells at St James" Park and Old Trafford. But in a week when high-profile withdrawals have damaged the reputation of the England team, Owen's devotion to national service can never be questioned. Owen always put country before club and he paid a heavy price for rushing back from injury to play at the 2006 World Cup when he suffered the knee injury against Sweden which sidelined him for almost a year. That injury took away what was left of his pace and led to Fabio Capello dispensing with him from the England team following his last appearance, in a friendly against France in Paris in March 2008. But five years on, would it really be a pointless exercise to hand Owen a Wembley farewell against the Irish? Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England, has already spoken of plans to offer Owen an ambassadorial position once he retires, so why not kick-start that role with the image of the forward being flashed around the globe with a cameo appearance against Giovanni Trapattoni's team? The FA has been criticised for treating the game's legends badly in the past by ignoring the opportunity to mark their achievements, so here is a chance to do the right thing by Owen.