Guest Gallowgate Mag Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 He's manned up at this crucial time, earnt his keep and proved himself to the fans imo. He was the first to applaud the crowd (albeit small) after the defeat to Spurs. If he stays till the end of the season and leaves on a free (If we're still in a mess), then I'll have no complaints. Aye, if his goals keep us up I wont begrudge him a move. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElDiablo Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 12 goals in last 16 apps I think it is. Ridiculous return considering. 3 in the last 3 as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Venkman Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 if he continues to not get picked for england i can see him moving, i do get the impression he likes it here though,or at least he definitely did when kk was in charge, and he certainly looks commited right now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenham Mag Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 He's change my opinion of him this season and end of last, as someone has said he's definitely manned up and leading by example.. a good captain and i will be sad to see him go, one thing i remember from when he signed is he said he would score goals 25 goals in 52 appearances is top notch. Its not his fault he's been injured so much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen927 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 It would be nice if he stayed, but if he would rather leave then goodbye and good luck. Hopefully with new owners in we will spend big and get a worthy replacement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Let's not kid ourselves, he'll be off in a shot and fair play tbh; he's far better than us. Easily our MOTM today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmonkey Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. His poor performances up front prior to switching roles are pretty quickly being forgotten. He's a class act playing from deep, and for that I hope he recognises and appreciates that Kevin Keegan has almost certainly given him a new lease of life. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro111 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. His poor performances up front prior to switching roles are pretty quickly being forgotten. He's a class act playing from deep, and for that I hope he recognises and appreciates that Kevin Keegan has almost certainly given him a new lease of life. What poor performances? He's always looked a class act in a black and white shirt. Sure he may have not been involved much in some games whilst playing high up front but this was the fault of his team mates being unable to produce for him rather than him simply having bad games. I am yet to see him have a game where his touch and distribution are not spot on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtype Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. His poor performances up front prior to switching roles are pretty quickly being forgotten. He's a class act playing from deep, and for that I hope he recognises and appreciates that Kevin Keegan has almost certainly given him a new lease of life. What poor performances? He's always looked a class act in a black and white shirt. Sure he may have not been involved much in some games whilst playing high up front but this was the fault of his team mates being unable to produce for him rather than him simply having bad games. I am yet to see him have a game where his touch and distribution are not spot on. There was a (surprisingly long) period last season where he was playing in a front two with Smith and both were completely, utterly useless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmonkey Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. His poor performances up front prior to switching roles are pretty quickly being forgotten. He's a class act playing from deep, and for that I hope he recognises and appreciates that Kevin Keegan has almost certainly given him a new lease of life. What poor performances? He's always looked a class act in a black and white shirt. Sure he may have not been involved much in some games whilst playing high up front but this was the fault of his team mates being unable to produce for him rather than him simply having bad games. I am yet to see him have a game where his touch and distribution are not spot on. The ones that caused Keegan to switch his position/role in the team. He was spending most of the game doing nothing up front, winning no headers, unable to hold the ball up adequately enough, failing to convert the few chances that did come to him, looking slow and poor in his finishing/shooting range, etc etc. I'm not going to dig up the threads surrounding Owen's poor form at the time, but I can assure you there were plenty who saw it, as it was pretty obvious his diminshing pace was hurting his game when he returned from his second major injury with us. In terms of blaming the rest of the team for a "lack of service", fair enough we we're pretty s*** under the likes of Big Sam, but at the same time its a common excuse for strikers who are providing little for the team to actually work with in the first place - you cant provide service to a striker who cant get away from his marker, and its difficult to regularly provide service to a striker who makes little runs that require world class through balls to be picked out. Owen's lack of pace or strength in the striking role that he was playing for us made it difficult to service him when centrebacks were marking him tightly. For example, even though we're s*** right now and weren't that good under Keegan due to the squad he inherited, we could all see that Alan Smith was struggling badly, and if he finds great form tomorrow or next year in different circumstances, I dont think it'd be an accurate statement to say his poor form previously was down to the team not providing lots of chances. Conversely, now that Owen is making runs from deep with other strikers doing the required jobs up front, he's far more difficult to pick up, and is considerably more dangerous - it's added a new dimension to his game, one that is compensating for him losing his pace. On top of being more difficult to pick up, he's actually contributing to the team now when hes not on the end of a chance, the opposite of which was a major problem when he was up front (effectively playing with 10 men alot of the time). And as we can see, that contribution is pretty good given his consistency in his touch, passing and awareness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. His poor performances up front prior to switching roles are pretty quickly being forgotten. He's a class act playing from deep, and for that I hope he recognises and appreciates that Kevin Keegan has almost certainly given him a new lease of life. What poor performances? He's always looked a class act in a black and white shirt. Sure he may have not been involved much in some games whilst playing high up front but this was the fault of his team mates being unable to produce for him rather than him simply having bad games. I am yet to see him have a game where his touch and distribution are not spot on. There was a (surprisingly long) period last season where he was playing in a front two with Smith and both were completely, utterly useless. And he still got a few goals in that time despite playing in a sh*t team, and sh*t strike partner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtype Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. His poor performances up front prior to switching roles are pretty quickly being forgotten. He's a class act playing from deep, and for that I hope he recognises and appreciates that Kevin Keegan has almost certainly given him a new lease of life. What poor performances? He's always looked a class act in a black and white shirt. Sure he may have not been involved much in some games whilst playing high up front but this was the fault of his team mates being unable to produce for him rather than him simply having bad games. I am yet to see him have a game where his touch and distribution are not spot on. There was a (surprisingly long) period last season where he was playing in a front two with Smith and both were completely, utterly useless. And he still got a few goals in that time despite playing in a sh*t team, and sh*t strike partner. Scored 4 in 17 pre-Keegan. Yeah, that's four more than Smith scored, but still pretty shit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taff2727 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 if his goals keep us up this season. then financially he has been worth it,i thought he tried hard today. a lot better than some of the shirkers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wullie Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I've been a critic but he's been fantastic for months and at the moment is one of very few playing like he gives a toss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rebel_yell12 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I think he is once again looking like the Michael Owen that Newcastle supporters expected when he was signed in 2005. This is the player who was greeted by thousands. Shockingly, all it took was his return from a string of long-term injuries. 12 in last 16 -- and three in five from five abysmal losses (okay the second half today wasn't abysmal, but the first was). Fit [touch wood] and playing 90 minutes every match, running his socks off. Rumour was Capello was to be at SJP today. Wonder if he's still thinking Owen doesn't belong in the England squad? I've naught against Defoe, really, but an England kit is like kryptonite to Superman for him. Also, I expect that if he can't get into the England squad at Newcastle, he will want a move -- sooner, rather than later (ie January). I've heard a long list of interested clubs -- including that both Everton and Villa are looking not at a June free, but a January buy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocalHero Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Owen interview after match if anyone's interested. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7639916.stm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro111 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 His quality should never have been called into question by so many, and if he does decide to leave there's not a chance in hell (if things don't drastically improve) that we'll be able to replace him with someone of equal quality. His poor performances up front prior to switching roles are pretty quickly being forgotten. He's a class act playing from deep, and for that I hope he recognises and appreciates that Kevin Keegan has almost certainly given him a new lease of life. What poor performances? He's always looked a class act in a black and white shirt. Sure he may have not been involved much in some games whilst playing high up front but this was the fault of his team mates being unable to produce for him rather than him simply having bad games. I am yet to see him have a game where his touch and distribution are not spot on. The ones that caused Keegan to switch his position/role in the team. He was spending most of the game doing nothing up front, winning no headers, unable to hold the ball up adequately enough, failing to convert the few chances that did come to him, looking slow and poor in his finishing/shooting range, etc etc. I'm not going to dig up the threads surrounding Owen's poor form at the time, but I can assure you there were plenty who saw it, as it was pretty obvious his diminshing pace was hurting his game when he returned from his second major injury with us. In terms of blaming the rest of the team for a "lack of service", fair enough we we're pretty s*** under the likes of Big Sam, but at the same time its a common excuse for strikers who are providing little for the team to actually work with in the first place - you cant provide service to a striker who cant get away from his marker, and its difficult to regularly provide service to a striker who makes little runs that require world class through balls to be picked out. Owen's lack of pace or strength in the striking role that he was playing for us made it difficult to service him when centrebacks were marking him tightly. For example, even though we're s*** right now and weren't that good under Keegan due to the squad he inherited, we could all see that Alan Smith was struggling badly, and if he finds great form tomorrow or next year in different circumstances, I dont think it'd be an accurate statement to say his poor form previously was down to the team not providing lots of chances. Conversely, now that Owen is making runs from deep with other strikers doing the required jobs up front, he's far more difficult to pick up, and is considerably more dangerous - it's added a new dimension to his game, one that is compensating for him losing his pace. On top of being more difficult to pick up, he's actually contributing to the team now when hes not on the end of a chance, the opposite of which was a major problem when he was up front (effectively playing with 10 men alot of the time). And as we can see, that contribution is pretty good given his consistency in his touch, passing and awareness. Fair enough, but were those times not blighted by niggly injuries here and there? A fully fit Owen with games under his belt Is better than anything we have had up front since Shearer pre 97 imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbelievable Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I think he is once again looking like the Michael Owen that Newcastle supporters expected when he was signed in 2005. This is the player who was greeted by thousands. Shockingly, all it took was his return from a string of long-term injuries. 12 in last 16 -- and three in five from five abysmal losses (okay the second half today wasn't abysmal, but the first was). Fit [touch wood] and playing 90 minutes every match, running his socks off. Rumour was Capello was to be at SJP today. Wonder if he's still thinking Owen doesn't belong in the England squad? I've naught against Defoe, really, but an England kit is like kryptonite to Superman for him. Also, I expect that if he can't get into the England squad at Newcastle, he will want a move -- sooner, rather than later (ie January). I've heard a long list of interested clubs -- including that both Everton and Villa are looking not at a June free, but a January buy. I guess it makes sense that the second tier clubs will come in for him in Jan and offer a few million then because in the summer the bigger clubs will come in for him as well if he's been able to stay fit for the season and the second tier clubs will have no chance. Everything depends on what Owen himself will want to do; he holds all the cards. Oh, and fair play to him so far this season; I agree with the sentiment that he is showing what he is made off mentally in this tough time for the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen927 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I think he is once again looking like the Michael Owen that Newcastle supporters expected when he was signed in 2005. This is the player who was greeted by thousands. Shockingly, all it took was his return from a string of long-term injuries. 12 in last 16 -- and three in five from five abysmal losses (okay the second half today wasn't abysmal, but the first was). Fit [touch wood] and playing 90 minutes every match, running his socks off. Rumour was Capello was to be at SJP today. Wonder if he's still thinking Owen doesn't belong in the England squad? I've naught against Defoe, really, but an England kit is like kryptonite to Superman for him. Also, I expect that if he can't get into the England squad at Newcastle, he will want a move -- sooner, rather than later (ie January). I've heard a long list of interested clubs -- including that both Everton and Villa are looking not at a June free, but a January buy. I don't think he's the same Michael Owen in the way that he's lost a lot of pace and isn't hanging off the last man for that crucial through ball anymore... Goals-wise he's delivering right now though, and it's a shame we dont have the players around him to compliment him and turn his goals into wins, not consolations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
quayside Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Owen is and always has been a great professional. He'll work his arse off for whoever he plays for - whether he's in form or not, recovering from an injury etc. He has always been totally committed on the pitch when he's played for us. Consider what's happened in his time at the club and ask yourself what you would do in his situation next summer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 If there is a takeover and money is ploughed into the team by the new owners there's always the chance he might want to be a part of it. Look how the mood changed at Man City overnight. I would say that's the only chance he will be here next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro111 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 If there is a takeover and money is ploughed into the team by the new owners there's always the chance he might want to be a part of it. Look how the mood changed at Man City overnight. I would say that's the only chance he will be here next season. I agree and watching that interview there i get the feeling that he cares for the club more than alot of us realise. I dont reckon its totally nailed on yet that he is leaving, we'll just have to wait and see. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Feel gutted towards Owen. Really, really hope we get a takeover in place, a decent manager in and a contract for him he'll agree to. Took so much undeserved shit in the past. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggs Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Get rid, he's useless and doesn't care about the club. What a fookin stupid comment, do you think he has not put any effort in recent games and if he didnt care he would shy off with injury you muppet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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