The papers continue to pour over Portsmouth's possible financial demise on Saturday morning but we instead turn our attentions to a little piece in the Daily Mirror where Brian Reade takes a pop at Michael Owen.

The title of his piece, 'Michael Owen needs to shut up about his England hopes and do his talking on the pitch', gives an inkling as to the line of his argument as he gives the Manchester United striker both barrels.

It's been a bad week for men trying to win back the trust of their country. One-time geniuses who worked wonders a few years ago, but who are now chasing miracles to win back public approval ahead of a major decision next summer.

At least, if the Eton Rifles shoot each other in the feet, Gordon Brown is still in with a chance. But what of Michael Owen? Is he doomed to never again star in a pre-World Cup advert with a box of soap powder under his arm thanking his mum for buying Persil?

On Wednesday morning, Owen used broadsheet interviews (set-up by the sponsors whose watches he promotes) to let Fabio Capello know he's in as good a shape as when he scored his Munich hat-trick, and was practising penalties for next year's World Cup.

By lunch-time a Manchester United fan e-mailed me this: "Why's he talking up his England chances when he can't hold down a United shirt? Now I know how the Geordies felt. What happened to learning to walk before you run?"

Has there ever been a player (with the exception of Brand Beckham) more desperate to play for his country for non-patriotic reasons? Does he struggle to sleep worrying about the demise of his global profile, only reaching the Land of Nod by counting Bobby Charlton's England goals?

Meanwhile, the Guardian secure an interview with Hull City manager Phil Brown and the perma-tanned one does not disappoint. In Daniel Taylor's 'Believe it or not, I'm still enjoying the job, says Hull's manager Phil Brown', it takes just two paragraphs for the Tigers boss to refer to himself in the third person. Brilliant.

The mood is surprisingly jovial given that Phil Brown must be acutely aware his scent has reached the pack of bloodhounds otherwise known as Fleet Street. Brown has always been good company, full of banter and levity. But there are definite glimpses of hurt, too – understandable considering the way his stock has fallen since those heady days when Hull City were threatening to become the story of the 2008–09 season and their manager was being talked about as one of the smarter guys in the business.

The change has been swift and brutal and when Hull had their weekly press conference on Thursday it was revealing that, after all the little one-liners and bonhomie, their manager ended it by asking whether he was going to be "stitched up". He was smiling at the time, but there was still the sense of a man under pressure. He did not recognise the Daily Telegraph correspondent and, at one point, peered at him inquisitively. "I bet you're not a big fan of Phil Brown, are you?" he asked.

Brown also tells an intriguing story about how he and his squad prevented a woman from committing suicide on the Humber Bridge on Wednesday:

"She was considering her future, shall we say," Brown says. "But we saved this girl. Sweet talk, you can say. In the end she tootled off back to wherever she had come from. I think she saw us and realised, 'OK, at least it's not that bad.'"