Michael Owen Offered 3 Year Extension - Club Statement.

[Unbelievable]

Good to see there's still some people unhappy.

 

What's there to be happy about?

 

He's arguably our best player, and we can ill-afford for him to leave.

 

A 3 year contract at 120k/week gives him every reason to stay.

 

As I´ve said before in this thread, I will not be pleased if he signs on an improved deal as I think we can do better and we are talking another massive 18 million for the duration of this contract. He simply isn´t worth the wages we are offering him; he would be lucky to get just over half of that elsewhere considering his fitness record.

[Guest]

For the people saying we could get a cheaper replacement, what you don't seem to realise is that for future transfers, who's going to have the bigger pulling power...Owen or Defoe/Ashton/etc? Whether people like it or not, he is the biggest name at this club these days...and that includes the name of Kevin Keegan.

[Unbelievable]

For the people saying we could get a cheaper replacement, what you don't seem to realise is that for future transfers, who's going to have the bigger pulling power...Owen or Defoe/Ashton/etc? Whether people like it or not, he is the biggest name at this club these days...and that includes the name of Kevin Keegan.

 

The Premiership is our biggest draw for players from outside the UK. Other clubs manage to sign good players and they don't have to pay their talisman ridiculous wages to attract them either..

[Dave]

Do you not see the conflict between you criticising the club elsewhere for what you perceive as a lack of ambition in the transfer market whilst at the same time hoping for us to get rid of our most high-profile/talented player or offer to pay him less money?

 

This would be a huge financial commitment, isn't that what you want?

[TRon]

For the people saying we could get a cheaper replacement, what you don't seem to realise is that for future transfers, who's going to have the bigger pulling power...Owen or Defoe/Ashton/etc? Whether people like it or not, he is the biggest name at this club these days...and that includes the name of Kevin Keegan.

 

The Premiership is our biggest draw for players from outside the UK. Other clubs manage to sign good players and they don't have to pay their talisman ridiculous wages to attract them either..

 

Owen is still a world class player, so 120k/week reflects that. The ball is in his court now, he's got a fair offer and if he wants to play for us he'll sign. If not, I'm sure we'll find someone by the time he leaves...or even before then.

[Kimbo]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

[Dave]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

He's as close to one as we're going to get at this point in time.

[Unbelievable]

Do you not see the conflict between you criticising the club elsewhere for what you perceive as a lack of ambition in the transfer market whilst at the same time hoping for us to get rid of our most high-profile/talented player or offer to pay him less money?

 

This would be a huge financial commitment, isn't that what you want?

 

You don't understand what I want at all do you? As I've said before, it's not necessarily about the money, it's about building a squad as strong as we possibly can. You will claim that will mean holding onto Owen, but I don't rate Owen that highly anymore. He is injury prone and has lost is pace; in general he is on the decline. I would hate for us to make him one of the best paid Premiership players for even longer. Have a look at Afonso Alves for example; he would have been the sort of attainable target I would have wanted us to go after. Boro bought him for what, 10 mill, and he will be on half the wages that Owen is on, so over 3 years that equates to around the same outlay, but for that you get a player who is in his prime playing days and could be another Berbatov (another such an example) in that the big clubs could come in for him if he does well and you could sell for a profit. I reckon we can get (or would have been able to get) the best part of that transfer sum if we would have flogged Owen this summer when it became clear he wasn't willing to sign a deal that reflected his value as a player more fairly. In short, I am worried that we are investing so many wages in a player who is made out of glass (haven't we learned anything?) at the detriment of the rest of the squad (a creative midfielder of recognised quality please).

[Unbelievable]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

He's as close to one as we're going to get at this point in time.

 

How come other clubs are managing to get quality strikers in who can remain fit? Owen's a good player when fit, but essentially we have still not replaced Shearer as the speerhead of our attack.

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

Surprised that he wasn't called up for England. The good thing is he won't be blamed if England bollocks everything up and he won't get injured playing for them, the bad thing is he may think he needs to go to a 'bigger' club to get back into the England team.

 

Where is this official club statement about Owen being offered a new contract? I've looked on the Official NUFC website and can't see anything about it.

[Dave]

Do you not see the conflict between you criticising the club elsewhere for what you perceive as a lack of ambition in the transfer market whilst at the same time hoping for us to get rid of our most high-profile/talented player or offer to pay him less money?

 

This would be a huge financial commitment, isn't that what you want?

 

You don't understand what I want at all do you? As I've said before, it's not necessarily about the money, it's about building a squad as strong as we possibly can. You will claim that will mean holding onto Owen, but I don't rate Owen that highly anymore. He is injury prone and has lost is pace; in general he is on the decline. I would hate for us to make him one of the best paid Premiership players for even longer. Have a look at Afonso Alves for example; he would have been the sort of attainable target I would have wanted us to go after. Boro bought him for what, 10 mill, and he will be on half the wages that Owen is on, so over 3 years that equates to around the same outlay, but for that you get a player who is in his prime playing days and could be another Berbatov (another such an example) in that the big clubs could come in for him if he does well and you could sell for a profit. I reckon we can get (or would have been able to get) the best part of that transfer sum if we would have flogged Owen this summer when it became clear he wasn't willing to sign a deal that reflected his value as a player more fairly. In short, I am worried that we are investing so many wages in a player who is made out of glass (haven't we learned anything?) at the detriment of the rest of the squad (a creative midfielder of recognised quality please).

 

Fair enough.

 

Regardless of how you rate the player though, surely you agree it'd send out a hugely negative message to any such players we're trying to attract? Michael Owen, our 'biggest' player, perceived by most (rightly or wrongly) as our best player, our record signing, allowed to leave the club because we're not willing to pay him enough.

[Kimbo]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

He's as close to one as we're going to get at this point in time.

 

That doesn't mean we should offer him the budget.

 

I'm split on this matter, i'd rather wait to see how he does this season to see if he deserves a pay rise, because right now he doesn't, the problem is that isn't an option because he WOULD leave. Him being offered more leaves a bad taste in my mouth, if it was the same as he is currently on I would find it easier to stomach. I've got to question his commitment if he's turned down the same terms.

[Guest]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

He's as close to one as we're going to get at this point in time.

 

How come other clubs are managing to get quality strikers in who can remain fit? Owen's a good player when fit, but essentially we have still not replaced Shearer as the speerhead of our attack.

 

How many of these players would be signing for those clubs if they had, or had a chance, of signing Michael Owen?

[ChezGiven]

Good to see there's still some people unhappy.

 

What's there to be happy about?

 

He's arguably our best player, and we can ill-afford for him to leave.

 

A 3 year contract at 120k/week gives him every reason to stay.

 

As I´ve said before in this thread, I will not be pleased if he signs on an improved deal as I think we can do better and we are talking another massive 18 million for the duration of this contract. He simply isn´t worth the wages we are offering him; he would be lucky to get just over half of that elsewhere considering his fitness record.

 

His worth elsewhere will have been made very clear by his agent during the negotiations. The higher the demands, the higher the offer elsewhere.

[TRon]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

If there weren't doubts over his fitness record, I'm pretty sure he'd be with someone else.

[Unbelievable]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

He's as close to one as we're going to get at this point in time.

 

How come other clubs are managing to get quality strikers in who can remain fit? Owen's a good player when fit, but essentially we have still not replaced Shearer as the speerhead of our attack.

 

How many of these players would be signing for those clubs if they had, or had a chance, of signing Michael Owen?

 

Heh?

[Guest]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

He's as close to one as we're going to get at this point in time.

 

How come other clubs are managing to get quality strikers in who can remain fit? Owen's a good player when fit, but essentially we have still not replaced Shearer as the speerhead of our attack.

 

How many of these players would be signing for those clubs if they had, or had a chance, of signing Michael Owen?

 

Heh?

 

If the likes of Boro, West Ham, etc. were big enough to sign, or could afford Michael Owen, do you think they'd have signed who they have done rather than Owen? I doubt it.

[Unbelievable]

Do you not see the conflict between you criticising the club elsewhere for what you perceive as a lack of ambition in the transfer market whilst at the same time hoping for us to get rid of our most high-profile/talented player or offer to pay him less money?

 

This would be a huge financial commitment, isn't that what you want?

 

You don't understand what I want at all do you? As I've said before, it's not necessarily about the money, it's about building a squad as strong as we possibly can. You will claim that will mean holding onto Owen, but I don't rate Owen that highly anymore. He is injury prone and has lost is pace; in general he is on the decline. I would hate for us to make him one of the best paid Premiership players for even longer. Have a look at Afonso Alves for example; he would have been the sort of attainable target I would have wanted us to go after. Boro bought him for what, 10 mill, and he will be on half the wages that Owen is on, so over 3 years that equates to around the same outlay, but for that you get a player who is in his prime playing days and could be another Berbatov (another such an example) in that the big clubs could come in for him if he does well and you could sell for a profit. I reckon we can get (or would have been able to get) the best part of that transfer sum if we would have flogged Owen this summer when it became clear he wasn't willing to sign a deal that reflected his value as a player more fairly. In short, I am worried that we are investing so many wages in a player who is made out of glass (haven't we learned anything?) at the detriment of the rest of the squad (a creative midfielder of recognised quality please).

 

Fair enough.

 

Regardless of how you rate the player though, surely you agree it'd send out a hugely negative message to any such players we're trying to attract? Michael Owen, our 'biggest' player, perceived by most (rightly or wrongly) as our best player, our record signing, allowed to leave the club because we're not willing to pay him enough.

 

That's a fair point as well, but the club do not seem so worried about the signals they are sending out do they? For me, I would like to keep Owen but on our terms, not his. This just feels like we are being held to randsom, and if he doesn't want to be here and help the club out we should just sell him and cut our losses. In my opinion we could be better off in the long run.

[Unbelievable]

Owen isn't a world class player ffs. World class is Eto'o, Drogba, Ronaldo, Totti etc. If he was in that league he wouldn't be with us.

 

He's as close to one as we're going to get at this point in time.

 

How come other clubs are managing to get quality strikers in who can remain fit? Owen's a good player when fit, but essentially we have still not replaced Shearer as the speerhead of our attack.

 

How many of these players would be signing for those clubs if they had, or had a chance, of signing Michael Owen?

 

Heh?

 

If the likes of Boro, West Ham, etc. were big enough to sign, or could afford Michael Owen, do you think they'd have signed who they have done rather than Owen? I doubt it.

 

My entire point is: can WE afford Owen on that sort of deal?

 

Edit: by that I mean the Owen we know, who is injured half of the time and who we cannot seemingly accomodate with any of our other strikers except for the even more injury prone Viduka? Can we afford to build our team around this sort of player, or would we be better off starting afresh and finding a long term partner for Martins?

[Guest]

Well we've offered him it, so yes. 

[TRon]

Owen is still scoring goals. Sometimes it's easy to take it for granted but it's a precious commodity, especially in a side like ours where so many players look flash but can't produce end product. I have my doubts about him, but he's worth a bit extra everything considered.

[Dave]

That's a fair point as well, but the club do not seem so worried about the signals they are sending out do they? For me, I would like to keep Owen but on our terms, not his. This just feels like we are being held to randsom, and if he doesn't want to be here and help the club out we should just sell him and cut our losses. In my opinion we could be better off in the long run.

 

The figures bandied about are just guesses aren't they though? And even if the £120k is correct, we'll surely have done something to protect ourselves in case of his injuries recurring - I imagine there will be some kind of build up to that figure based on appearances and stuff. I'd fucking hope so anyway.

 

Btw don't forget he held us to ransom in the first place because it was pretty clear he didn't really want to come here. So we've already screwed ourself from that front and set the precedent.

 

Also don't forget what KK would think. I'm sure he doesn't care about wages, he'd just see one of his best players leaving. I think the difference with Milner going is clear, just in case you bring it up.

[Unbelievable]

Owen is still scoring goals. Sometimes it's easy to take it for granted but it's a precious commodity, especially in a side like ours where so many players look flash but can't produce end product. I have my doubts about him, but he's worth a bit extra everything considered.

 

Put it this way, if we could sell him tomorrow for let's say 7 million and we could save 18 million in wages over the next 3 years, thatr would give us 25 million to attract a striker (transfer fee and wages) to build our team around. I think there are options out there who would prove to add more value than Owen has done in the past three years for us.

 

Obviously I appreciate there is only one day left in the transfer window, so all of this is now merely a theoretical possibility, which is exactly why I am not happy with this news: we have failed to deal with this situation when we could and are now in a position where we are no longer the party in control..

[Dave]

Owen is still scoring goals. Sometimes it's easy to take it for granted but it's a precious commodity, especially in a side like ours where so many players look flash but can't produce end product. I have my doubts about him, but he's worth a bit extra everything considered.

 

Put it this way, if we could sell him tomorrow for let's say 7 million and we could save 18 million in wages over the next 3 years, thatr would give us 25 million to attract a striker (transfer fee and wages) to build our team around. I think there are options out there who would prove to add more value than Owen has done in the past three years for us.

 

Obviously I appreciate there is only one day left in the transfer window, so all of this is now merely a theoretical possibility, which is exactly why I am not happy with this news: we have failed to deal with this situation when we could and are now in a position where we are no longer the party in control..

 

The offer could have been made ages ago.

[Kimbo]

Owen is still scoring goals. Sometimes it's easy to take it for granted but it's a precious commodity, especially in a side like ours where so many players look flash but can't produce end product. I have my doubts about him, but he's worth a bit extra everything considered.

 

On the other hand when you look around the league there are players scoring more that probably aren't on a 3rd of what Owen is being offered. Yakubu, Santa Cruz, Carew, Berbatov, and Keane were all more productive than him last season. I won't mention Benjani because he's shite.