Michael Owen Offered 3 Year Extension - Club Statement.

[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?

[Optimistic Nut]

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?

[Optimistic Nut]

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.

[Unbelievable]

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 f***ing 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.

 

Agreed about the KK part.. It's not because you make a mistake once, that it is the logical thing to do it again though. If this is what KK wants than the club is doing the right thing in making it happen, but I can personally disagree with Keegan's judgement in this matter, can't I?

[Consortium of one]

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..

 

You make some really good points but what top flight striker would come to us when we can't offer European football?  Perhaps the thought is that by paying Owen to stay gives us a better chance at Euro football next year with him than we would have without him.  It's a gamble and the team loses if he has a lot of those niggling injuries but if he stays healthy, we know he can hit the back of the net and maybe steal a berth in Europe next year.

 

It's a tough call.

[Optimistic Nut]

Another point is, any striker who comes to replace him will think, "Well Owen was on £xk and I'm replacing him, so I want close to £xk as well"...so really selling him wouldn't save a great deal I'd imagine even in terms of wages, and signing a player as good as him will be hard.

[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.

 

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.

 

Do those guys come free or will we have to pay a transfer fee? Did you factor that in?

[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.

 

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 s****.

 

Do those guys come free or will we have to pay a transfer fee? Did you factor that in?

 

None of them came for significantly more than 10 million and their wages will be well, well below Owen's reported (offered) wages. Also, there would be an incoming transfer fee for Owen, so a deal for a player like this would be cost neutral financially.

[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 s****.

 

Do those guys come free or will we have to pay a transfer fee? Did you factor that in?

 

None of their fee's were close to Owens.

[Dave]

None of them came for significantly more than 10 million and their wages will be well, well below Owen's reported (offered) wages. Also, there would be an incoming transfer fee for Owen, so a deal for a player like this would be cost neutral financially.

 

Uh-oh, that's not good.

[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.

 

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 s****.

 

Do those guys come free or will we have to pay a transfer fee? Did you factor that in?

 

None of their fee's were close to Owens.

 

That's relevant to ongoing deals I'm sure.

 

 

[Cronky]

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.

 

This is what bugs me. Why pay a player as though he's one of the world's best when he patently isn't?

 

People are trying to introduce all sorts of unnecessary complications ie what is the cost of replacing him, does his reputation attract other players, will it annoy Keegan, will his replacement expect the same money, will someone else snap him up. Just offer the guy the going rate for a player of his standard, and if he doesn't sign, listen to offers.

 

We got into this mess by trying to be too clever and over-paying him to overcome his reluctance to sign. Let's just play it straight from now on. In the long run, that'll pay dividends.

[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 s****.

 

Do those guys come free or will we have to pay a transfer fee? Did you factor that in?

 

None of their fee's were close to Owens.

 

That's relevant to ongoing deals I'm sure.

 

 

 

Well why bring up transfer fee's if they're not relevant?

[brummie]

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.

 

But how many other PL clubs would be prepared to pay Michael Owen over 100k a week? Serious question, how many? My money's on very, very few indeed.

 

I think he's a good player. I do think he's a massive injury risk, but that salary (I'm assuming it is in that region, I cant be arsed to traipse through the whole thread for it) is absurd.

 

3 years at 100k a week is what, 15m ish, plus signing on fees etc etc etc. That's a huge commitment.

[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.

 

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 s****.

 

Do those guys come free or will we have to pay a transfer fee? Did you factor that in?

 

None of their fee's were close to Owens.

 

That's relevant to ongoing deals I'm sure.

 

 

 

Well why bring up transfer fee's if they're not relevant?

 

Because those players you mentioned will all command a transfer fee.

[Dr Venkman]

trust your managers judgement, keegan knows what he thinks he's worth, he talked in his book about how he would give pay rises to players when he felt they deserved them, even if the players didnt ask, he is loyal to the players who deserve it and expects the same in return, he's no fool.

[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 s****.

 

Do those guys come free or will we have to pay a transfer fee? Did you factor that in?

 

None of their fee's were close to Owens.

 

That's relevant to ongoing deals I'm sure.

 

 

 

Well why bring up transfer fee's if they're not relevant?

 

Because those players you mentioned will all command a transfer fee.

 

I didn't say we should buy them, i'm comparing Owens wages to more productive players in the same league. The question is, assuming these players are on less than 50k, why does Owen get 120k for doing less?