Michael Owen's signing by Manchester United is surely the most unexpected and surprising of the season, Pulasta Dhar looks at why it is not such a surprising move by the United Gaffer
It was sheer mockery when Michael Owen was linked to clubs like Hull and Stoke. Well, let’s be serious! They were never an option for the striker. But Everton and Aston Villa were, only for Manchester United to come from nowhere and steal the player…just like Owen comes from nowhere and rattles the net. It is ironical how the striker’s management company had to make a brochure and send it to clubs to spark interest in a player who was one of the most wanted in the world at a time. Well, that folks, is football!
You can be dead sure Sir Alex put his trust in something more than a glossy brochure when he called up Owen and invited him to breakfast. He put his trust in the determination of the player and a goal scoring record which is falls at least in the ‘enviable’ category. He put his trust into those steely eyes and tense jaw which have only one aim….to score. We can’t even argue about the injuries because Owen played in at least 30 matches of Newcastle’s last two seasons. And well, Newcastle usually just plays in the Premier League!
Of course the other qualities cannot be ignored. I am talking about the ones mentioned in the brochure- full of aspiration, cool, devoted and sincere. Who thought the player who burst onto the international scene as a small boy in a white England jersey would be subjected to jeers from the football world. When I saw him bamboozle the Argentines and score a wonder goal, I didn’t, and I’m sure the Argentines also didn’t.
Sir Alex carries with him a war chest of £80 million from the Ronaldo deal and this gives him an edge over most of his counter-parts (let’s ignore Real Madrid). He can easily go and shop at the sharp end of the market but this also gives him the opportunity to take the odd chance. Owen falls neatly into that bracket as prospective targets Karim Benzema, David Villa and Franck Ribery all dream of wearing white some day. Coincidentally, Owen also whore the same kit some day, mostly on the bench. Ferguson has got form for the maverick deal. Eric Cantona was unknown at Leeds until Fergie decided to pull him to the red side of Manchester and promoted him to legendary status at Old Trafford. Henrik Larsson is not that far behind an episode and we all know what he did in just 3 months of his loan spell.
So who gets what from the deal? Owen could have never imagined he would walk into the theatre of dreams when he trudged off the pitch in Newcastle’s last top division game. The lad should pinch himself before wearing red. For united, with the rumoured £50,000 a week (excluding bonuses which could make it £80,000) they are paying him as wages, it is a superb deal. On top of that, its free!!! They should be celebrating this because in today’s unshockable football world, nothing comes for nothing!
Its not only Owen who is benefitting from the deal. His iron-belief and conviction which made him a wonderkid at 16 will spur him on to believe that he is worthy of returning Fergie the favour. It is a simple give and take. The losers here are those who believed that Owen had lost his love for football, only to find him wearing the golden ‘Champions’ Premier League badge next season. An added bonus is that he knows a lot of players at the club. This is also a chance to prove to Fabio Capello that he is still capable of carrying the burden of being a Three Lions striker.
United's reasoning will come under closer scrutiny - but Ferguson's move is based on need and logic as well as his own gut feeling. Owen may have lost the searing pace of his youth, but his goalscoring record when fit still stands up to serious examination.
And as someone who watched United regularly last season, if there was one element missing from the squad that deservedly claimed a third successive Premier League title, it was a ruthless, killer instinct. United have taken a risk, but it is a calculated one and based on a superb career record. If United create chances, which they regularly do, then mark my words, Owen is as good as anyone.
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Administrator
said:
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... It hurts to know what has become of Michael Owen. He was the reason I start watching English football. |
a guest
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... i think man u took him out of lack of choice....owen was a bargain deal with little to lose.....liverpool couldnt take him cuz the fans wont like it, they think hes a traitor.....fergie couldnt keep tevez and got priced out for villa, aguero,benzema, huntelaaar(wages too high).....so the owen transfer was a matter of necessity and not choice... but still, a good transfer methinks... |
Pulasta Dhar
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... Not the wages, the transfer fees were too high. But i still think he should go for a burly midfielder. Carrick aint strong enough, and Hargreaves cant even walk these days. Patrick Vieira is available on a free this season, and even at 33, he can be a good one. But well, fergie said business is done. The rest o the money goes to cancel out bad debts for the Glazers |
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