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One Man's Name Change Dilemma...
Having named my now 6 ½ yr old son Owen after a certain footballer playing for my beloved Liverpool, I have woken this morning to find myself living a potential nightmare!
No longer can I look proudly at him in his replica kits with his (christian) name on the back. Will he, children being fickle as they are, change allegiances now or can I convince him that Fernando Torres is (as he currently is) a better player? Perhaps I can even convince him to let me call him Fernando from now on it will be better.
I really don't know what my wife is going to think about all this! She should have let me call him Picasso that was a safer bet!
I wonder if he (Michael Owen) has really considered the full impact of this move...
Chris, Kahama
Let's Allow The Liverpool To Get Their Revenge In First
First: hahahahahahaha!
Second: "Liverpool fans are going to hate it if he joins United. Especially as the Law of Returning Players means he is absolutely guaranteed to score against them next season."
Apparently not so. The consensus on the official forums is that this is, as my first point indicated, hilarious. United fans goaded us that he was past his best 5 years ago and, if we're honest, he's only confirmed that down the years. I suspect it'll be very confusing at the United medical facility next year, with Owen joining Owen on the treatment table.
On a related note, it looks like we're going to one-up the singing of Owen by bringing Dalglish back to the club. The difference is, we won't be trying to force a has-been to spearhead our attack.
Nick Glover, Scouser in Brum
Madness, Utter Nightmare Madness
This is the stuff (quite literally in my case) of nightmares for a United fan. To depressed to elaborate with prose, but here's why:
- Most blatantly obviously, he's a reject, and a poor player. Form temporary, class permanent? If you've been garbage for 6 years, that's not "form", that's just the player you are.
- He's never going to be first choice, yet is not an impact player either, so effectively is only going to exist to hamper the progress of Welbeck (who's a better player than him already) and Macheda.
- People talk about his goal scoring record, effectively a goal every three games (even in that fabled time on Madrid's bench, he scored a goal every 2.69 games). Well that's just great. Amazing. Did you know that the much-maligned Pauleta has a much better record for Portugal than Owen for England? There are over 20 prem players who have better records than that. Why don't we just get Darren Bent on the "goals to games" logic?
- It signals an end to the glorious fluid front line that we've played for the last few seasons. Van Nistelrooy, greatest goal scorer in the history of the Premiership was carted out in favour of the far less prolific Louis Saha, simply because for a top club now, you need much more flexibility up top. Players who offer goals and nothing more are dead. This is why the likes of Jeffers, Kevin Phillips, Rob Earnshaw etc do not play in the Premiership, let alone for a top club.
- He has a terrible attitude, and a detrimental effect on Rooney (let's hope you guys are right and they never play together).
- Worst of all, this surely signals an end to our attacking purchases this summer. Not that there are many options out there (though I could name you a good 300 or so players better than Owen), but let's say for sake of argument, Aguero. Where would be the point in signing him now?
Truth is our squad is already bloated. It's now just bloated with trash. With another attacker, Welbeck and Macheda would never get a look in, and Owen's presence would be pointless. There may be no transfer fee, but you don't pay big (ish) wages to someone who's just going complain about not starting.
- Oh yes, and this WE'VE REPLACED RONALDO AND TEVEZ WITH VALENCIA AND OWEN.
Alex Smith
...Missing out Benzema was a kick in the balls, but signing EMO instead?! That's like removing my balls completely, selling them for parts, and using the money to pay for Liverpool's new stadium. This goes way beyond gutted...
I've never liked Owen, he was a one trick pony back in the day, and although it was a good trick, without pace it is one he can no longer repeat. As a player he looks like a busted flush. Throw on top of this his banal, bland personality (he makes Shearer seem lively), his scouseness and his absolute self obsession (I've always thought he was more concerned with his own statistics, namely trying to be England's leading scorer). I never want to see that tw*t anywhere near a United shirt.
Some will claim 'Fergie can make him the player he was', but I can't see it, and seriously, what are United fans going to do? I can't see myself cheering him, frankly I'd be tempted to boo his every touch. It hasn't happened that often in my lifetime, but Sir Alex, you've let me down badly. I thought you knew the fans, particularly the 'real fans', better than this.
We all hate Owen. It is that simple.
Lewis, Busby Way
...I fail to see the point in having two crocked up Owens at United. Have we fallen that low? Seriously, while we're on the look-out for some average English striker, why not get Bent (ok not so seriously) as well? Didn't we have a B-plan in case Benzema passed on our deal?
But right now there is an even more important question that needs answering: will we go a complete season without a no.7? I doubt if Valencia will be given that privilege.
Aardash
Owen Makes More Sense Than Benzema
If Owen does join United, would he offer us anything worse than what Carlos Tevez did last season? Tevez tried, but he knew the inevitable was going to happen, and that reflected in his performance and goals return.
Owen is a scouse reject, but has something to prove (it's World Cup year remember...), costs nothing, and will be on 1/4 the wage we would have paid Tevez or even Benzema, had he joined.
The most important thing to consider is the effect this signing will have on Rooney. Having Benzema in the team would have been no different to having Cristiano (tactically), as far as Rooney is concerned. Benzema would have been the focal point of attack and it would have isolated Rooney to the wide support role he played towards the end of the last season. 4-3-3 with Benzema supported by Rooney and Valencia from wide position would have become the norm.
Owen is being signed us a back up to Rooney and Berbatov. And he knows it. With Macheda and Wellbeck to back them, United have enough squad fire-power to enable them to get through the season, and perhaps Fergie can use the Ronaldo money where it is needed more urgently, and that is in the middle of the park (perhaps replacing Park.). If (and this is an even bigger if than whether Owen's knees hold up for the whole season) Hargreaves can make it back to full fitness, he and Fletcher will battle it out for the defensive midfield cover that was so desperately missing against Barcelona.
Bigger problems lie in replacing Scholes in the middle of the park. Anderson hasn't shown that creative spark, though he is a willing runner and grafter.
United need someone with creativity and imagination. Ronaldo was not creative, he was a finisher. But because he scored all the goals, this lack of creativity from the middle of the park went unnoticed. United need an Iniesta, a Fabregas (dare I say it) type influence in their midfield if they are to realistically challenge for top European honours this season.
I hear Xabi Alonso is available.....
Aleem Tharani, Kenya
A Potential Masterstroke
If, as widely reported, Owen does sign for United, then I think it could be a cracking bit of business by Sir Alex. OK, so its been a few years since Owen was at his best, but at Manchester United he'll have the backing of the back-room team that have kept Giggs (of the notoriously flaky hamstrings) and the asthmatic Paul Scholes at top condition well into their 30s, he won't be under the pressure of being the big name in the team, he'll have the challenge of having to prove he's not past it and the potential carrot of a last hurrah at the World Cup should he strike up an effective partnership with Rooney.
Owen gets a last chance to prove he's still big time, United potentially get the 'fox in the box' they could do with to finish some of the moves of Rooney, Berbatov, Scholes et. al.
He's free, his wages are going to be performance related (and we've just shed Ronaldo and Tevez off the wage bill), so its hardly going to break the bank. If it doesn't work it costs us some money in wages, if it does work we get a guy who was one of the most lethal finishers in the game for nothing. The likes of Macheda and Welbeck get another great striker to work with in training, that alone could be worth whatever we pay him as a 'basic' wage.
Manchester United isn't Newcastle United, there's nowhere for Owen to hide, no excuses that the rest of the team aren't up to it. If Owen can't get himself fully fit and motivated to play for the League Champions then its time to retire. If he can, then United get a great player on a free.
Someone in the mailbox complained that he's only motivated by money and playing for England. That may have been the case at Newcastle, where a decent cup run and a top-half finish were all that was likely to come from his efforts. If he can't motivate himself to challenge for the league and in Europe then he may as well quit, and besides, he's 29, not 19. He's only going to be at the club a few years, who cares what he's motivated by, as long as he's motivated.
Mike Christie, Manchester
Lots Of Good Reasons Why...
As a Man United fan, I don't know how Michael Owen will fare at Old Trafford, he may be a super-sub in the Solskjaer mold or he might be a striker in the Diego Forlan mold, either way I think Sir Alex has done the right thing but not for football reasons.
Transfer fees this summer have been ridiculous, driven by several factors, probably the most significant of which are the £80m that Real paid for Ronaldo and the money Man City are offering every club under the sun for their big name players. Karim Benzema would have been a better signing for Man Utd, of that there is no doubt but £40m for a player who scored on average one every other game in the lower standard French league is still not a guaranteed return of goals in the Premier league, plus he might not gel with Rooney or Berbatov and might take time to adjust.
I believe that Fergie has looked at the market and thought 'why spend £40m on Benzema when I can get Michael Owen for free, pay him peanuts and have back-up for the not exactly useless Rooney and Berbatov?' I also don't think that Owen will be the last arrival at Old Trafford this summer, I think Fergie has realised that having a single striker on who you rely is fraught with risk (see, Van Nistelrooy, Ruud) so it's better to have lots of players who can chip in with goals than one main man. I am hoping to see a midfield maestro in the mold of Scholes rather than a big name hitman, we have those in Berbatov (who will do better now that Ronaldo won't be hogging the ball) and Rooney (ditto).
For all those Man Utd fans who are no doubt writing in as I write this to slag off Fergie for losing his marbles (and all those Liverpool fans who will find this funny) think on this, Owen scored 10 goals last season from 31 appearances, for a Newcastle side that got relegated and, at times, were a shambles. Will he score goals for United? If he is fit then undoubtedly, he is still a goal scorer, I'd rather we didn't pay £40m for a player who is an unknown Premiership player, I would rather the club held fire and spent that money on a creative player, if we are going to spend it at all.
Paul Milton, Man Utd
...I think the Owen transfer makes sense on a number of levels. Provided of course he passes this 'stringent' fitness test, which is obviously a must.
Firstly, if he passes this test, then clearly there must be the possibility of him playing some part in this coming season's proceedings. If he does play some part, then he will score goals, pure and simple. He's always been a one in two striker, and playing for a team that creates the chances that United will do, I see no reason why that will change.
Secondly, it's World Cup year, and he isn't called EMO for nothing. Like Mark Viduka suddenly coming alive when there's a contract to play for, I fully expect Owen to get a sudden boost in the hope that The Don will notice him again.
Thirdly, it'll piss a number of Scousers off. Not all of them, before they all take umbrage, but judging by some of the comments at the foot of the story yesterday, some of them are suddenly wishing he'd go back to Anfield again.
Fourthly, he's free and relatively inexpensive on the wage front. Just because there's 80 mil rolling around in the coffers, doesn't mean it all HAS to be spent.
Fifthly, his partnership with Rooney at England level always had potential, judging by the way it began in Euro '04.
And finally, he won't be expecting (or able, probably) to play every game. This means Berbatov won't do a Tevez, and Rooney won't be shunted out to the left. If we get 20 league games out of him, that should be another 10 goals, plus I think he could do a job as an impact substitute.
All in all I think it's a very shrewd move. Yes he could get injured and spend a large chunk of the season on the sidelines, but that's what Welbeck and Macheda are for, and let's face it, there's always a chance that Torres, Adebayor and Drogba could get injured as well, nobody's immune.
Dan Ferretti
...Owen would provide the perfect backup as he's reliable goal scorer who would not mind spending time on the bench. Plus, it'll be a low risk gamble as he would cost nothing at all except for some 40-50k wages in which Man U are used to paying.
If anything, this coming season will be the most exciting season ever. Remember when Henry left Arsenal and the likes of Fabregas stepped up without the pressure of having to rely on the team's talisman? Well, I'm just hoping the same for Man Utd. Once and for all. This will be the season. Where all our questions on players like Nani, Anderson, Rooney and Berbatov will be answered. World class/good/decent/flops. Which category do they fall into? There's no more hiding for them so let's all just watch silently as we enter the new season.
William, Malaysia
...Owen is a class striker who will back those 2 up well. Its a good move, much like the Sheringham deal and the Laarson deal (both worked extremely well for United), he knows the league and knows the Man Utd players well too. A very good signing for me. Now they need to buy another winger and a central midfielder and they'll be in good shape (If they don't try to sign Robben they are crazy).
Mark, Windsor
...Fergie will still have his eye on another striker for this season meaning a quartet of possibly Rooney, Berbatov, Owen and Fabiano/Huntelaar??? So if Owen is Man United's 4th choice striker and gets 10 league goals, for me that's a great bit of business from a free transfer. Fergie did the same thing with Henrik Larsson a few seasons ago so this could be a similar master stroke by the gaffer.
David Byrant
In The Balance
So, off to Man Yoo for Mickey? He'll either be the most inspired signing in the history of the universe ever, or just another chancer trying to fill the void of uselessness that's been empty since David Bellion's departure.
I cannot see his heart being in it but if he can stay fit, he knows he'll be going to South Africa next year. And if it means that Carlton Cole doesn't go, then that's a good thing for everyone.
Mike Hall
The Law Of The Returning Player
Picture the scene. It's 20th march 2010. Manchester United vs Liverpool. At Old Trafford. The season is heading towards an incredible climax. United and Liverpool have been slugging it out like two prize heavyweight fighters in the league and are within a few points of each other. A victory in this game for either team could be considered a massive knock out blow in the context of the title race. The game in October was a hard fought 0-0 draw with neither team giving anything away.
It's similar in this game. Chances have been few a far between. 70 minutes gone and Sir Alex beckons to the bench and looks at the players that could make that difference. He decides to gamble and tells one M.Owen of 40 goals in 89 international games fame to get his tracksuit off. Owen comes on for Anderson and United go 4-3-3 with Rooney and Berbatov pushed right up front. It's now the 90th minute. Rooney breaks down the left touchline, breaks inside and whips in another cross. The ball ricochets around the box and falls to the arch predator (EMO), who with one well placed swing of his right boot, pokes the ball into the bottom left hand corner to win the game for United! The OT Crowd goes absolutely berserk. Owen runs around the pitch cupping his ear to the away fans in a Scholes-esque fan winding-up moment!
In the words of Keggy, I would love it, just love it, if that actually happened!
B>Pete (My Liverpool supporting mates are NOT happy at this news! It's worth it purely for the wind up even if he doesn't play a game!) Ridding MUF
A Quick Observation
Just a quick one, to everyone who says Ronaldo was trying the be the hero in the Champions league final shooting on sight etc.. This was on instruction from Ferguson because he, and the whole world actually, knows that Valdes isn't exactly the most reliable keeper and that long range shots tend to bounce off him, so if you watch carefully you'll see that every time Ronnie had a go little JS Park and Rooney were following up (see free kick in the first 20 mins) in the hope of a rebound and an easy tap in..they were practising it in the Stadio Olympico in training the night before..
Now I'm not defending Ronaldo. Just pointing something out.
Aaron Lowry
So Where's Mandelson When We Need Him?
Sir,
As our favourite Anglophobe, Mr Blatter has pointed out, football is a product and Real Madrid spending obscene sums to break the contracts of talented players is a harmless indication that the product is healthy and in demand. Of course, piles of healthy Spanish Euros are different to the diseased Roubles, Dollars and Pounds that English clubs will lay out because, well, it's just different - obviously.
Much has been said lately about how Spain is much more attractive to players in large part because of low levels of personal taxation when compared to playing in England but for a long time now it's been EU policy to harmonize tax in member states to give businesses a level playing field. Where tax gives one state a significant advantage over another then they're supposed to act.
Premier League Football is an entertainment product that generates billions in overseas revenue for the UK. If any other industry were being undermined by unequal taxation in this way they'd be yelling the pace down in Brussels, why is it ok when it's only football? Isn't it about time Mandelson and some of those shiny new MEP's woke up and did something to put clubs across Europe on a more equal business footing?
Tony J
The Worst Chelsea Team Of The Past Ten Years
Interesting mail earlier this week about the worst signings your team has ever made.
Got me thinking about a whole team of disasters. Being a Chelsea fan we really have made some pretty awful signings (pre and post Abramovich) over the past 10 years or so. In fact enough to make a number of dire teams. Here is my own personal rogues gallery. I'm sure I have missed some key players.
1) Neil Sullivan - Even worse than Bosnich, shaky at best.
2) Bernard Lambourde - More like Bernard Lampost.
3) Christian Panucci - Fat Italian international who scored against Swiss giants St Gallen (who knocked us out of Europe).
4) Asier Del Horno - Got sent off against Barca, scored against Spurs, that's it.
5) Winston Bogarde - Still living in Cobham and flying back to Amsterdam for his lunch.
6) Brian Laudrup - Played 20 minutes then realised he was homesick for Denmark (or Glasgow).
7) Manu Petit - Good work Arsene, you sold us an overworked dud.
8) Slavisa Jokanovic - What was Ranieri thinking, legend has it he actually passed the ball forward in one game.
9) Gabriele Ambrosini - The Italian Ryan Giggs.
10) Chris Sutton - 10 million quid for 5 goals (2 against Hull in the FA cup?) A disaster.
11) Mateja Kezman - Cow's arse, banjo, barn door
Subs:
Mark Bosnich - Hitler salutes, oh dear.
Sebastian Veron - Cost 15m, his house got burgled, went back to Italy.
Andriy Shevchenko - 3 times the price of Chris Sutton, for essentially the same player.
Emerson Thome - Brazilian centre back, who wasn't very Brazilian.
Chris Nixon, HK
