Steven Gerrard once stood on the Kop and idolised the strikers he would later join in the dressing room.
“Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp were my two heroes. Steve McManaman as well,” he has said. That mix of admiration and friendship now shapes his view on the Fowler vs Owen debate.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Gerrard has reluctantly picked a side in the argument over which striker was sharper, Robbie Fowler or Michael Owen. He praised both men. But he did lean one way.
Fowler rates himself above Michael Owen
The debate did not start with Gerrard. Robbie Fowler was asked to compare himself with Michael Owen on Simon Jordan’s Up Front show. He did not hold back.
“He was quicker than me, but in every other element of being a striker, I genuinely think I was better than him,” Fowler said. He then added some balance too:
“He could say the exact opposite, but that is just my opinion and my self-confidence.”
Owen hit back in his own way. He pointed to results, not style. “When I played for Liverpool, who did the manager pick?”
Gerrard was then asked to settle it. He gave Fowler the edge in one specific area.
“I would say Fowler was a better natural finisher,” he said. Gerrard trained with both men and watched them up close for years.
Owen takes advantage in pace and tactical movements
Gerrard did not stop at finishing. He was quick to explain where Owen had the upper hand.
“But in terms of sort of like fear, in terms of pace, movement…” he said.
Those qualities made Owen a nightmare for defenders chasing balls in behind. No stat sheet captures a fear factor like that. Anyone who watched Owen run at defences in the late nineties will know exactly what Gerrard means.
There is a personal side too.
“I had a real top connection with Michael Owen; it was like we were just on a wavelength together,” Gerrard said.
The pair formed one of the most feared strike partnerships of their era. That chemistry still shapes how Gerrard sees him.
Gerrard was clear about what changed Owen’s career.
“Up until Michael did his hamstring, he was world-class and up there with the best strikers in the world,” he said.
The Fowler comparison works differently. It comes down to timing. Gerrard made his Reds debut in 1998, after Fowler’s best years had passed.
“I didn’t play with Robbie when he was getting 30 goals a season. I came a bit later when he’d had his injuries, and he wasn’t the player he was when he was 18 to 23,” he said.
Fowler’s peak belonged to an earlier Liverpool side, one Gerrard only knew from the stands. Read more on that era in our Gerrard appreciation piece.
Fowler and Owen both are Liverpool greats
None of this settles the Fowler vs Owen question. Gerrard never claimed it would. Instead, he has given fans a rare inside view. Fowler gets credit for his finishing. Owen gets credit for his pace and movement. Both keep their place among Liverpool’s great strikers.
Gerrard has never been shy about sharing strong views on Liverpool’s history. He did it again recently, as shown in Gerrard’s Everton claim. Comparisons to his own standards still follow current players too, a theme covered in the Gerrard comparison story.
Gerrard watched Fowler as a boy, then played beside Owen as a man. He still carries both memories with him. Full details on the original comments are available via the Echo report.
