Everton more than Rooney, says Owen

MICHAEL OWEN has warned his Liverpool team-mates they have got more to worry about than just his new England strike partner Wayne Rooney in Saturday’s Merseyside derby.

Liverpool's top scorer claims there is more to Everton than just their 17-year-old striker but he reckons Liverpool have more chance of beating Everton at Goodison Park than Anfield.

Owen insisted: "Everton can sit back at Anfield, where a draw is a good result for them. But I can't see them sitting back when they are in front of their own crowd.

"We won at their ground last year and we drew at Anfield. We seem to get a lot more space at Goodison because they come at you more than they do at Anfield."

Owen is aware, obviously, of the threat of Rooney, who has played alongside him in England's last two matches. But Owen cautions that it is Everton's overall improvement rather than just the emergence of Rooney that should make Liverpool wary.

"Everton have improved this season. I think their manager David Moyes has done really well, and it's a great achievement for them to be where they are in the league," he said.

"If they have European football next season it will be an unbelievable achievement."

On Rooney, Owen said: "Everton have other good players we will have to watch out for. Obviously, Wayne is a very talented one, but he's only started about a dozen or so games for Everton and everyone is still anticipating how good he is going to be.

"This is going to be a very big game. It's probably one of the most eagerly-awaited derbies in the last few years because Everton have improved a lot. But we're looking forward to it and we'll see what happens on the day."

But Rooney's impact has certainly made a few Liverpool stars sit up and take notice, including defender John Arne Riise.

"Wayne Rooney has impressed me a lot. When the England lads came back from the recent international games I was asking them what he was like in training, they said he's amazing," the Norwegian said.

"He has great skills, he is strong, he scores goals and he does things with the ball you wouldn't expect a normal 17-year-old to do.

"He can go on to be a very, very good player."

Riise, nevertheless, agrees with team-mate Owen that Liverpool have a better chance of winning at Goodison Park than many people think.

"We have to be confident that we can go there and win. We have been better away from home than at Anfield this season so there's no reason why we can't get the three points at Everton," he said.

"Of course if we do win it will give us a big boost for the last four games. We're certainly going there in good heart anyway.

"Ever since the win in the Worthington Cup final our confidence has been growing and hopefully we can continue in good form until the end of the season and get ourselves into that top four."

And while Owen is quick to praise Rooney and Everton's impressive season, his own boss Gerard Houllier refuses to let the spotlight be hogged by Everton's young sensation.

Houllier heaps praise on Owen, who was also scoring in the Premiership at 17, to underline that Liverpool's strike force is equally as daunting as Everton's.

The Frenchman said: "Michael will be awesome next year. We must remember he is still only 23. Most players do not peak until they are 27 but with Michael it will happen earlier because he played in the first team when he was only 17.

"He has the game of a world class footballer. His ball control, speed of turn and movement have all improved."