In spite of scoring a hat-trick the previous weekend, Robbie Fowler was rested for the game against Charlton. This may have been because of his mid-week exertions in the Champions League or a continuing friction with stand-in manager, Phil Thompson, but Liverpool's management probably realise that the return of Michael Owen precluded it

Although their styles of play are not identical, they are clearly not complementary There is also probably a deep rivalry between the two with Fowler winning the race to be the youngest player to Premiership player to 50 goals by just three days

The table shows the results of Liverpool's league games since Owen's debut, in May 1997, when either or both of them started the game. As can be seen they perform markedly worse when they are paired. Owen, in particular, suffers: his goal-scoring rate of just over 4 goals every 10 games contrasting strongly with the 65% clip he achieves without Robbie The 1.89 points a game averaged would be good enough for second or third place most seasons and the team might be better served by selling Fowler and investing the money elsewhere

The result of the game at The Valley? Sure enough Owen scored, Liverpool won. And some people would have them lining up for England together

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