Owen wants United improvement
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When Michael Owen signed for Newcastle four years ago he believed he was joining a club going places.
"You only have to look at the club, the support they have and the players currently here to realise it is a very big club, and an even bigger club waiting to happen," he said at the time.
History proves he was wrong to think that way.
Four years on and the Magpies are preparing for life in the second tier of English football following a disastrous season when not even club greats Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer could save them from the drop.
Perhaps most humiliating of all though was that the club's favourite son, Shearer, should suffer the indignity of leading them to relegation after he was unable to turn around their fortunes during an eight-game spell in charge.
Following that car crash of a campaign it must be with some relief, albeit ruefully tinged, that Owen should find himself not only leaving the St James' Park, but joining a club of Manchester United's stature.
If he was misguided in thinking Newcastle were on the brink of something big, then certainly such a statement about the Red Devils could not be confused as hyperbole.
Where Newcastle have not won a major trophy in 54 years, the Red Devils are the three-time reigning Premier League champions - a feat that has moved them level with Liverpool's record of 18 league titles.
They have also reached the final of the Champions League in the past two seasons, lifting Europe's most prestigious trophy in 2008.
During his injury nightmare at Newcastle, Owen could not have dreamed he could again join a club to rank alongside his previous employers Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Indeed, he would have been the most optimistic of thinkers to have imagined Sir Alex Ferguson would come knocking when his Magpies contract expired on July 1.
Only Hull and Stoke had shown any interest and an injury-blighted career in the north-east had seen him fall down the pecking order in England coach Fabio Capello's plans.
It is, therefore, without question a gamble that Manchester United should seek to sign Owen, despite him being available on a free transfer.
Certainly when he joined Newcastle, then chairman Freddy Shepherd took something of a risk in investing a club record £17million - and around £20million more in wages over the length of his four-year deal - to bring England's top marksman back to the Premier League from Real Madrid.
After all, the £15million the Magpies had spent on strike-partner Alan Shearer nine years earlier had been handsomely repaid in the hard currency of goals.
If Owen did the same, Shepherd reasoned, it would be money well spent, while the former Liverpool man would also be in the right place at the right time to prove his ability to lead his country's bid for World Cup glory in Germany during the summer of 2006.
The record books show that the now 29-year-old found the back of the net at a creditable rate during his time in the north-east.
Unfortunately for Newcastle, that amounted to 30 goals in just 79 appearances, a statistic which says as much about the fitness nightmare he has endured on Tyneside as it does about his enduring potency.
It took him just two games to open his account when he struck in a 3-0 win at Blackburn with Shearer also on the scoresheet, and a winner at home to Manchester City a week later had the Toon Army purring.
Niggling injuries then interrupted his progress, but a double in a 3-0 win at West Brom at the end of October and a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory at West Ham in December fully justified the faith invested in him.
But within a fortnight, his season was effectively over and although he may not have realised it at the time, his career was about to hit the buffers.
A collision with international team-mate Paul Robinson in a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham left Owen with a fractured metatarsal which was to sideline him until the end of April, and he would later admit his desperation to return in time for the World Cup finals contributed in part to the knee injury which would effectively rule him out of the 2006-07 campaign.
England's group stage clash with Sweden was just minutes old when Owen caught his studs in the turf and collapsed in agony, with tests later revealing a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament as well as cartilage damage, which ruled him out until the end of April 2007.
Indeed, it was not until the following year that Owen, who had seen the man who signed him, Graeme Souness, his successor Glenn Roeder and Sam Allardyce all depart since his arrival on Tyneside, put together an extended run of games.
He started the final 20 matches of the 2007-08 campaign and scored 10 goals, a major contribution to the revival instigated by new boss Kevin Keegan.
Keegan immediately set about the task of trying to persuade owner Mike Ashley, who had inherited the former Liverpool striker when he bought the club in May 2007, to tie him up on an extended deal, although it was under Joe Kinnear that the offer was finally made in the wake of yet another managerial departure.
With hindsight, Owen was perhaps well advised to put his future on hold until the end of the campaign as the developing chaos behind the scenes came to a head.
In the end, his impending departure was football's worst-kept secret as the disintegration of a club which he had joined hoping to win trophies gathered pace and sent it hurtling through the new Premier League trapdoor.
Owen's move to Newcastle ultimately failed to live up to expectations with his major injuries, through the fault of no-one, severely limiting his impact to leave the Magpies counting the cost, both figurative and literal, of his stay.
Manchester United will hope the next step in his career will prove far more successful for all involved.
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He will play the first game and scored a hattrick against chelsea in the charity shield. I think he will scored 20 goals easily for Man Utd this season.
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Originally posted by ahtansh:
He will play the first game and scored a hattrick against chelsea in the charity shield. I think he will scored 20 goals easily for Man Utd this season.
Lol maybe he wont even start ahead of rooney and berba. Unless SAF try 4-3-3 or leavin rooney on flank again. But tt suck, rooney can be a goal maniac if he is played in his right position.
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hat trick aganist chelsea?
i seriously doubt any club can do that NOW
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berba better than owen??
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Originally posted by Unknown A:
berba better than owen??
Berba is taller in height and if u see his control skills are good, i like this assist alot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpVj1PduJc8. But Owen i think more like rooney and tevez type, run around 1.
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Berba can be a little lazy at times.
Or maybe that's his playing style.
Last season, that was one of the reasons why some Man U fans were jeering at him in some games.
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lazy but earn good $$
hard to achieve that kind of standard LOL!
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Originally posted by charlize:
Berba can be a little lazy at times.
Or maybe that's his playing style.
Last season, that was one of the reasons why some Man U fans were jeering at him in some games.
Lol cuz he know got rooney will run ma so slack lor, but there alot striker like him also ma who are lazy.
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Shorty, just look at the height diff in the pic!
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he is 170cm tall
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Originally posted by marcteng:
he is 170cm tall
No no. Michael is 1.76 m tall.Taller than many of the sg guys.
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Owen with Rooney for forwards. Interesting line up.
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rooney and owen from england team so shd be play better because of they both play for national too maybe berba become a sub if owen reraise as a phoenix..
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Originally posted by marcteng:
he is 170cm tall
Then Gill is like 56318735873895789133cm tall
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Man Utd fans better don't have fat hopes on Owen .... or be disappointed .
Cos once in a while , he will get injured out of no where .
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Originally posted by youyayu:
hat trick aganist chelsea?
i seriously doubt any club can do that NOW
1)my mind is still entrenched with the german captain's ostrich-mating dance
2) a hat trick is impossible, but any team losing against Chelsea should try to get one man sent off cause against 10 man, Chelsea lost their heads.
No offense meant.
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Originally posted by Poolman:
Man Utd fans better don't have fat hopes on Owen .... or be disappointed .
Cos once in a while , he will get injured out of no where .
given he is free, and playing on pay as U earn, if he can hamdam 10 goals and play more often than torres, he is a good buy.
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Let me hear the battle cry
Calling on the wind
Let me see the banners fly
Before the storm begins
Let me feel the spirits soar
Destroy the enemy
Striking at the evil core
For all the world to see
This day will last forever
Deep in the hearts of men
Courage and victory
Remember, remember
One shot at glory
In the crossfire overhead
Fate stands before me
Words have all been said
One shot at glory
Driving hard and seeing red
Destiny calls me
One night of fire
One shot at glory
Fighting on with dignity
In life and death we deal
The power and the majesty
Amidst the blood and steel
I still hear the battle cry
The call goes on and on
I still see the banners fly
The battles always won
ONE SHOT A GLORY- Judas Priest
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Michael Owen has called on all his Manchester United team-mates to "step up to the plate" as they look to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.
Owen enjoyed the perfect start to life as United's new number seven by scoring a late winner as the Red Devils opened their Far East tour with a 3-2 win over a Malaysia XI.
Given his reputation, Owen will be one of the main men asked to replace the 67 goals Ronaldo scored in the two seasons prior to his world record £80million move to Real Madrid.
Owen is confident he can deliver. And he is hoping to help the rest of Sir Alex Ferguson's players give that little bit extra as well.
"Hopefully I might add something the team haven't got at the moment," he said.
"Nobody is going to replace Ronaldo, even though I wear his shirt, but if someone like Wayne (Rooney) could improve his game five per cent, that would help. I can add a little bit, there is Antonio Valencia.
"Everyone is going to have to step up to the plate a bit more to make up for him."
No-one, least of all Owen himself or manager Ferguson is going to get carried away by one 30 minute cameo.
Nevertheless, there were encouraging signs that Owen's trademark runs will be spotted by the likes of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs just as the former Liverpool striker felt on the day he jumped at the chance of joining United.
"There are so many players on my wavelength - world-class players," he said.
"I would hope there is no-one similar to me in the way that I play. I can see Wayne Rooney or Paul Scholes as soon as they get the ball looking for one of my runs."
Ferguson spotted it too, although his words were of caution in the knowledge that it is against Birmingham on August 16 that Owen's contribution can start to be judged.
"It was a friendly game," he said.
"I am sure Michael will be delighted he got off the mark but I am looking ahead to the season.
"I know he will give us a good contribution of goals. That will be a more important time to appraise him."
However, Owen was able to empathise with fellow goalscorer Wayne Rooney about how good it feels to find the net again.
"It's always nice to get off the mark, not just when you join a new club but any time," he said.
"I was sat chatting to Wayne in the dressing room afterwards and he feels the same way."
As Owen replaced Rooney after an hour at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, the pair have not been on the pitch at the same time yet.
That situation might be rectified on Monday when United tackle the same opposition, in the same stadium, having been forced into a hasty tour revamp following the terrorist atrocity in Jakarta on Friday.
Ferguson has pledged to make changes, which Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher both hoping to have recovered from minor niggles that kept them out on Saturday.
United have confirmed Park Ji-sung will not be available as he will not join his team-mates until they land in Seoul on Wednesday evening after being given an extended summer break due to his international commitments with South Korea.
For Owen though, a first Manchester United start on Monday will offer another opportunity to impress, having only been highlighted in the centre of Ferguson's radar when Karim Benzema rejected Old Trafford in favour of a move to Real Madrid.
"In previous years it has been the little things that have gone against me, like clubs not being able to agree a fee, but this time it has gone in my favour," reflected Owen.
"You have bad and good luck in your career which people don't get to find out about it.
"I don't care whether I was first or 100th choice. I just want to do well for Manchester United."