Owen in a deeper role - could it be the way forward?

[Guest MrShens]

I did like Owen dropping back just in front of Barton and Butt, running with the ball with the Duke and Martins together made the Fulham back four shat their pants.

 

Good stuff.  Still need a proper playmaker though.

[Wallace]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

John Beresford said at that quiz thing the other night, that he had heard that Owen has become much more influential in the dressing room since being made captain and has really stepped up to the role.

 

[Wullie]

Surprised by how well it worked actually. Owen was excellent coming deep. I particularly liked the way players were slotting into others positions and it gave us a much more fluid look than we've had for a while.

[Dave]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

Well done with his goal and general performance, but I think that sort thing is utterly pointless and pathetic.  Not much more than a "show".

 

Anything that potentially improves morale is worthwhile IMO.

[Robster]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

Well done with his goal and general performance, but I think that sort thing is utterly pointless and pathetic.  Not much more than a "show".

 

Anything that potentially improves morale is worthwhile IMO.

 

I always felt Owen was a bit aloof but recently, he seems to come out of his shell a lot more and just seeing that clip of the huddle showed a side of Owen that I hadnt seen before. Was encouraging.

Definite upwards change in his demeanour since KK has come in

[johnnypd]

Good enough to play it until the end of the season but we should be looking for a more natural playmaker in the Summer.

 

this.

 

the good thing with Owen playing this way, as i first suggested a few months back, is that it keeps him in front-line for when we get opportunities to score - set-pieces, crosses from deep etc, without having the burden of having to stretch teams. he'll always pop up with a good amount of goals this way and his general play is crisp and tidy enough to be sufficient. he manages to start off moves, hit it out wide, and then arrive late in the box for instinctive finishes. his days of playing on the shoulder, bursting onto through balls and taking on defences with his pace are long gone. he recognises this and so does Keegan which is why he is now working in the space between defence and midfield. but ultimately he is not skilful enough or strong enough, nor has enough vision, to make this role his own.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

Well done with his goal and general performance, but I think that sort thing is utterly pointless and pathetic.  Not much more than a "show".

 

Anything that potentially improves morale is worthwhile IMO.

 

Just think its kind of pointless "for the cameras" sort of stuff.  We've always been good at mocking other teams for it.

[Greg]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

Well done with his goal and general performance, but I think that sort thing is utterly pointless and pathetic.  Not much more than a "show".

 

Anything that potentially improves morale is worthwhile IMO.

 

Just think its kind of pointless "for the cameras" sort of stuff.  We've always been good at mocking other teams for it.

 

Not really, we did it under Roeder when we finished 7th. Didn't hear many complaints then.

[Dave]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

Well done with his goal and general performance, but I think that sort thing is utterly pointless and pathetic.  Not much more than a "show".

 

Anything that potentially improves morale is worthwhile IMO.

 

Just think its kind of pointless "for the cameras" sort of stuff.  We've always been good at mocking other teams for it.

 

We need everything we can get in this situation though, we're not in a state to be worried about what others think.

[Kanj]

I agree with alot of you here.

 

owen looked excellent playing more withdrawn.  He has much better vision than many give him credit for.  Down to his brain, he was picking out geremi/martins out wide all match to keep the ball moving.  I quite like him there and once he gets more comfortable there I'd be happy to see him continue in that roll, if that means he is still in the side and still getting in on the goals.  he looked like a different player out there today, much happier, much more more confident and i loved seeing him track back as the last man in defense. 

 

Oh and everyone talking about his shot - he had a scorcher of one today from distance.

[Superior Acuña]

Owen's a very good footballer and has always done well when dropping back i think.

[fredbob]

Hard to say to be honest. Have to say no though, hes a very tidy player and very intelligent but i think he;d get found out by a top midfilder such as the likes of Masch or Carrick who defend aggressvivley in the whole.

 

I think Martins would be a good candidate but again im not sure he would be very intelligent with the possession, well not as intelligent as Owen. That position is made for Emre, if you ask me, the only thing he wouldnt offer is a danger in the box. Think he'd be excellent with Owen and Matins running off him.

[Guest Jungle Barry]

Owen's a very good footballer and has always done well when dropping back i think.

 

Exactly this, he's just a f*cking good footballer and we're lucky to have him. Some of the grief he gets on here is bizarre really

[Guest Spark]

Owen's a very good footballer and has always done well when dropping back i think.

 

Exactly this, he's just a f*cking good footballer and we're lucky to have him. Some of the grief he gets on here is bizarre really

 

Aye people seem quite surprised at his general ability. His touch and movement are superb. Very good player, even when he's not scoring goals.

[Consortium of one]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

Well done with his goal and general performance, but I think that sort thing is utterly pointless and pathetic.  Not much more than a "show".

 

See, I disagree with this big time.  On a team that has been lacking confidence, getting the lads pumped up can only help.  I give credit to Viduka for doing the same thing.  There were a couple of occasions earlier in the fisrt half when I saw him encouraging other players.  At one point Enrique advanced up the left side and attempted a canny pass that almost slipped past the defender to Viduka's feet.  The pass was knocked away and as both Viduka and Enrique turned back to defense the cameras caught Viduka raising his fist and nodding his head towards Enrique as if to say "great job recognizing the opportunity and the pass was almost there."

 

I guess part of my point is that it's awfully hard to be creative when you are afraid to make a mistake and this team has played kind of scared for a while.  What I saw today was a team that started to come out it's shell a little and not be afraid to take a few chances.  I think experienced finishers like Viduka and Owen leading the cheers is a good thing and I hope they continue doing so.

[Guest sittingontheball]

Its a new role for him and there are things he has to learn, but the first signs were quite promising.  His distribution was good on the whole and he still ghosted in onto that Geremi cross. He tried a couple of things that were too risky for our own half, but they can be coached out of him.  Compared to him barely being involved or simply chasing high balls, it was a big improvement.

[Shak]

Bodes well for him, and us as a consequence, that he's starting to find ways to be effective other than what he's relied on his whole career.

 

Now that he can't push opposition defences back with just the threat of his pace, he has to find other ways to help the team in build up play, and some of his link-play the last two games has been very tidy.

 

I don't think playing as an attacking midfielder is the way forward for him, but he'll certainly have to become involved in games more than he has most of his career. Been quite impressed with his all-round game the last two matches I must say.

[Mowen]

Bodes well for him, and us as a consequence, that he's starting to find ways to be effective other than what he's relied on his whole career.

 

Now that he can't push opposition defences back with just the threat of his pace, he has to find other ways to help the team in build up play, and some of his link-play the last two games has been very tidy.

 

I don't think playing as an attacking midfielder is the way forward for him, but he'll certainly have to become involved in games more than he has most of his career. Been quite impressed with his all-round game the last two matches I must say.

 

Shearer adapted and became incredibly effective after his injuries. Owen's main attribute, imo, has always been his brain. If he can adapt his game with anywhere near the results that Shearer had he will be a fantastic player for some time to come.

[Robster]

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether he's relishing the extra responsibility of being a little more involved. Obviously he's also been made captain, and seemed to be instigator-in-chief of the huddle before the game today.

 

Well done with his goal and general performance, but I think that sort thing is utterly pointless and pathetic.  Not much more than a "show".

 

See, I disagree with this big time.  On a team that has been lacking confidence, getting the lads pumped up can only help.  I give credit to Viduka for doing the same thing.  There were a couple of occasions earlier in the fisrt half when I saw him encouraging other players.  At one point Enrique advanced up the left side and attempted a canny pass that almost slipped past the defender to Viduka's feet.  The pass was knocked away and as both Viduka and Enrique turned back to defense the cameras caught Viduka raising his fist and nodding his head towards Enrique as if to say "great job recognizing the opportunity and the pass was almost there."

 

I guess part of my point is that it's awfully hard to be creative when you are afraid to make a mistake and this team has played kind of scared for a while.  What I saw today was a team that started to come out it's shell a little and not be afraid to take a few chances.  I think experienced finishers like Viduka and Owen leading the cheers is a good thing and I hope they continue doing so.

 

Plus, this season, a lot of people have been saying that we havent had any leaders on the pitch and that we dont appear to have a natural leader.

The huddle suggested to me that Owen is trying to take on that role.

[Taylor Swift]

Bodes well for him, and us as a consequence, that he's starting to find ways to be effective other than what he's relied on his whole career.

 

Now that he can't push opposition defences back with just the threat of his pace, he has to find other ways to help the team in build up play, and some of his link-play the last two games has been very tidy.

 

I don't think playing as an attacking midfielder is the way forward for him, but he'll certainly have to become involved in games more than he has most of his career. Been quite impressed with his all-round game the last two matches I must say.

 

Shearer adapted and became incredibly effective after his injuries. Owen's main attribute, imo, has always been his brain. If he can adapt his game with anywhere near the results that Shearer had he will be a fantastic player for some time to come.

 

I'd disagree. I'd say his main attribute is his instincts, and the fact that he's shown that he has some footballing IQ has surprised quite a few people (not me ). But, to big him up would be exaggerating his qualities. We've played two pretty shite teams (honestly) who didn't threaten us enough. He's good enough to finish off the season but just imagine if we get a real playmaker in, a traditional '10'. With the space that Owen found himself in today, any playmaker of decent quality (VdV, Diego etc.) would have raped Fulham. Owen did well and kept possession, which is always nice, but because he doesn't offer any threat from long range, he'll be easily marked out by better teams.

[Guest rebel_yell12]

Does anyone else think that the strikers were unhappy under Allardyce?  All three seem to have entirely different attitudes already under Keegan, the most marked improvement being from Owen, clearly.  Owen said, just after Keegan's arrival, that Allardyce concentrated entirely on the defence, and then hoped to nick a goal to win.  Keegan concentrates on attack -- just the sort of play to involve and motivate the strikers. 

 

I don't think Owen belongs as a Rooney-esque deep-lying striker.  He may be the best option that Newcastle currently have, but he'd be unlikely to do as well as he did today against the best midfields and defences -- the top 6 or top 8 squads.  I think Keegan is doing well to utilise what is available, and I give credit to KK for seeing Owen's capabilities as both captain and in this new role.  Owen may just do well enough to keep Newcastle out of the mire for the rest of the season (how nice is it to be moving UP the table, rather than down?) but I don't think he or Keegan will want him to do it "long-term".  Sorting the midfield will be a priority over the summer, one should think.  Michael Owen is utilised to best effect in the final sixth or so of the pitch -- making runs, ghosting about, popping up for a little tucked-away goal.  His style would seem to suit a 4-4-2 best, but the problems in midfield at Newcastle don't give many options for a 4-4-2 at the moment.  For now, Owen playing deeper could be the way to survival, but I simply don't think it's the way forward. 

 

Full credit, though, to the lad for doing as the team needs.  He's been accused of being selfish and not a team player, not interested in the club or the fans, but he seems to be disproving all that.  He's running his socks off, playing in a position that is new and doesn't entirely suit his best skills, but DOES suit the CLUB's needs at the moment.  Good example from the captain, and he was everywhere encouraging the other lads as well.  He even run over to have a word and a handshake with Martins when Oba came off. 

[Decky]

How about we just get rid and cut our loses?

[cosmic]

Interestingly, all 3 strikers up front came from the 3 previous managers - Owen from the Souness regime, Oba from Roeder and BSA brought in Viduka

[La Parka]

Brilliant performance, looked comfortable. The good thing about it is that no one seemed to pick him up. As you know I am not his biggest fan, however, in that role he was brilliant.

[ElDiablo]

He's aware enough to play the position against poorer teams, he's the type who thinks about what he would want as a ball through and tries to give that to someone else, a bit like Shearer was with crossing. I like players like that. Not the answer though long term imo. Long term I think we'll go back to 442.