So who makes way for Owen?

[JH]

We've got a team that is good enough to challenge for the top 6. We don't have a club that is in a state to challenge at the moment, though. Had nowt have happened after the transfer window closed (Keegan still boss, etc), i'm fairly confident we'd have been up there with Hull and Villa at this point.

 

That's still a really bizarre thing Never thought anyone would ever use 'up there with Hull' in the Premier League

[Yorkie]

In fairness, who would have predicted in 2002 that Chelsea would have won the PL two years in a row, FA Cups, Carling Cups, Champions League finals, etc...?

 

It's money, man. I know - i'm stating the obvious. But this league is entirely dictated by money. There is benefits but it's still a bit sickening. I could have vomitted watching Robinho playing for Citeh tonight.

[Guest koye]

I think our starting line up has the potential too finish top six, so hopefully most of our players can stay fit because our squad is'nt the biggest. Shay, Oba, Owen, Barton, Colo, Beye, Jonas....there's a lot of quality in our team!

[Guest The Libertine]

Is the top-six really that unrealistic? Not one squad outside of the top four and Villa do I think we're not as good as them. Hull won't keep their form up, so I think 6th's there for the taking.

 

not having a go at you here, but in the last few weeks we were odds-on to be relegated in most peoples opinion on here. now we've won 2 games we're top 6 bound.

 

surely? 

[fredbob]

That's a load of bollocks.

 

Ameobi is not and never will be a strong targetman. You don't leave a player like Owen out for a donkey like ameobi. I've yet to see you make any sense in the years you've been on this forum.

 

So your counting on Owen and Martins to hold up the ball in the final third? Shola doesnt do it brilliantly but theres no one better who's available.

if the ball isn't 6ft in the air owen does it a lot better

 

"If" being the operative word here. Wouldnt go as far as saying Owen holds up play better - not with his back to the goal - his link up play is much better but when it comes to recieving the ball with his back to the goal he doesnt retain possession well enough.

 

How many times have we seen Shola go for headers etc - thats basically how we play nowadays.

[madras]

That's a load of bollocks.

 

Ameobi is not and never will be a strong targetman. You don't leave a player like Owen out for a donkey like ameobi. I've yet to see you make any sense in the years you've been on this forum.

 

So your counting on Owen and Martins to hold up the ball in the final third? Shola doesnt do it brilliantly but theres no one better who's available.

if the ball isn't 6ft in the air owen does it a lot better

 

"If" being the operative word here. Wouldnt go as far as saying Owen holds up play better - not with his back to the goal - his link up play is much better but when it comes to recieving the ball with his back to the goal he doesnt retain possession well enough.

 

How many times have we seen Shola go for headers etc - thats basically how we play nowadays.

thats how we play nowadays...when he plays. the best we have played recently is bal on the ground. even shola looked at his best with the ball played low.

[fredbob]

That's a load of bollocks.

 

Ameobi is not and never will be a strong targetman. You don't leave a player like Owen out for a donkey like ameobi. I've yet to see you make any sense in the years you've been on this forum.

 

So your counting on Owen and Martins to hold up the ball in the final third? Shola doesnt do it brilliantly but theres no one better who's available.

if the ball isn't 6ft in the air owen does it a lot better

 

"If" being the operative word here. Wouldnt go as far as saying Owen holds up play better - not with his back to the goal - his link up play is much better but when it comes to recieving the ball with his back to the goal he doesnt retain possession well enough.

 

How many times have we seen Shola go for headers etc - thats basically how we play nowadays.

thats how we play nowadays...when he plays. the best we have played recently is bal on the ground. even shola looked at his best with the ball played low.

 

No question about that - our entire squad is geared towards having the ball on the floor- seems obvious to most people but somehow thats not exactly how we've been playing, personally id like to see all three play, but i dont think that will happen, i think Kinnear will be dying for an excuse to bring Owen on for MArtins and thats how i think it'll go.

[Guest Heneage]

Its tempting to change it up to Owen and Martins as we won't really win anything against Hangeland in the air. But Owen still isn't ready. He needs to come on say 60-70 minutes to get his game time up, but other than that the old "If it ain't broke.."

[madras]

That's a load of bollocks.

 

Ameobi is not and never will be a strong targetman. You don't leave a player like Owen out for a donkey like ameobi. I've yet to see you make any sense in the years you've been on this forum.

 

So your counting on Owen and Martins to hold up the ball in the final third? Shola doesnt do it brilliantly but theres no one better who's available.

if the ball isn't 6ft in the air owen does it a lot better

 

"If" being the operative word here. Wouldnt go as far as saying Owen holds up play better - not with his back to the goal - his link up play is much better but when it comes to recieving the ball with his back to the goal he doesnt retain possession well enough.

 

How many times have we seen Shola go for headers etc - thats basically how we play nowadays.

thats how we play nowadays...when he plays. the best we have played recently is bal on the ground. even shola looked at his best with the ball played low.

 

No question about that - our entire squad is geared towards having the ball on the floor- seems obvious to most people but somehow thats not exactly how we've been playing, personally id like to see all three play, but i dont think that will happen, i think Kinnear will be dying for an excuse to bring Owen on for MArtins and thats how i think it'll go.

i agree but sub the word "MArtins" for "SH ola"

[Guest neesy111]

our season depends on keeping our player's fit

 

given

coloccini

beye

enrique (only decent lb we have)

barton

jonas

duff

martins

owen

 

these are our key players keep these fit then i expect us to beat any1 apart from the top 4 at home, and pickup decent results away

 

it's going to be a very tight mid table from 6th to 12th, so anything can happen tbh, we're 1 point of the top half of the table, we've actually lost less games than man city this season

 

does any1 think it's going to be the season where we play well against the better teams and poorly against the teams we should be beating (i.e. wigan, fulham)

 

[fredbob]

That's a load of bollocks.

 

Ameobi is not and never will be a strong targetman. You don't leave a player like Owen out for a donkey like ameobi. I've yet to see you make any sense in the years you've been on this forum.

 

So your counting on Owen and Martins to hold up the ball in the final third? Shola doesnt do it brilliantly but theres no one better who's available.

if the ball isn't 6ft in the air owen does it a lot better

 

"If" being the operative word here. Wouldnt go as far as saying Owen holds up play better - not with his back to the goal - his link up play is much better but when it comes to recieving the ball with his back to the goal he doesnt retain possession well enough.

 

How many times have we seen Shola go for headers etc - thats basically how we play nowadays.

thats how we play nowadays...when he plays. the best we have played recently is bal on the ground. even shola looked at his best with the ball played low.

 

No question about that - our entire squad is geared towards having the ball on the floor- seems obvious to most people but somehow thats not exactly how we've been playing, personally id like to see all three play, but i dont think that will happen, i think Kinnear will be dying for an excuse to bring Owen on for MArtins and thats how i think it'll go.

i agree but sub the word "MArtins" for "SH ola"

 

No way - Kinnear loves Shola, he'll be scrutinsing Martins performances as hard as possible becasue he's desperate to bring on Owen but not at the xpense of what his his 1950's "how to score goals manual"  says where only a big man little man combo will ever work.

 

AWOOOOOOGA, innit.

[Skirge]

Chelsea are lining up a January move for Michael Owen, with the Stamford Bridge club valuing the 28-year-old Newcastle striker between £3m to £5m. (The Sun)

 

However, they may face competition from Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, who is keen to bolster his striking ranks. (The Sun)

[Cronky]

I've seen this happen so many times in football, at club or international level, where a particular player's standing or reputation makes it difficult for the manager to leave them out. It's happened with Beckham and England, and with us and Shearer in the last two seasons of his career. It's generally a very unhealthy situation which can hold a club back.

 

Owen has his qualities, but he's not 'world-class' and doesn't warrant any special treatment or status. If he was anything like as good as some say he is, he'd still be in the England squad and be playing for one of the big four.

[TRon]

I've seen this happen so many times in football, at club or international level, where a particular player's standing or reputation makes it difficult for the manager to leave them out. It's happened with Beckham and England, and with us and Shearer in the last two seasons of his career. It's generally a very unhealthy situation which can hold a club back.

 

Owen has his qualities, but he's not 'world-class' and doesn't warrant any special treatment or status. If he was anything like as good as some say he is, he'd still be in the England squad and be playing for one of the big four.

 

I agree with that. Obviously there are some cases where a player is so crucial to a side he will always walk back in, such as Ledley King or Fabregas. Michael Owen's situation is more similar to Beckham's though. While he's still quality, he's not the player he was. If he replaces Martins we will lose our threat on the break. If he replaces Shola he might gel with Martins, he might not. In any case the two forwards currently holding the shirt should probably keep them while we are winning.

[Isegrim]

It's ridiculous how many people are now bigging up Shola's performances. He's hasn't done badly, but overall he has foremost simply just done better than expected. It also isn't as if he had built a formidable understanding with Martins to form a pairing a la Shearer/Bellamy. It also isn't as if we had suddenly produced outstanding team performances. We beat West Brom (wahey, incredible) and Villa, nothing more, nothing less.

 

On the other hand I find it ridiculous how some people undervalue Owen, a player who is still our leading goal scorer this season and has overall a goal record for Newcastle of a goal every other game. Maybe someone has the time and calculate a points ratio with and without Owen playing. But I am pretty sure our record is much better with him than without him. When fit he has proved most of the time that he is in the end still the best and therefore most important player in the squad. Of course should he walk back in the squad when fit. Probably not ahead of Martins, but of course ahead of Shola, who in the end is still a donkey.

[ChezGiven]

The only points Owen has put on the board this season was against Bolton and that was a flukey win. The West Ham and Blackburn goals were irrelevant.

 

I agree that its only, so far, a couple of games where his form has been acceptable but if it continues, i'd like to give him and Owen together a chance, especially if Martins is going to turn in a performace like at Sunderland rather than Villa. His form is giving us striking options that we didnt have without Viduka (with possibly a bit more mobility).

 

[TRon]

It's ridiculous how many people are now bigging up Shola's performances. He's hasn't done badly, but overall he has foremost simply just done better than expected. It also isn't as if he had built a formidable understanding with Martins to form a pairing a la Shearer/Bellamy. It also isn't as if we had suddenly produced outstanding team performances. We beat West Brom (wahey, incredible) and Villa, nothing more, nothing less.

 

On the other hand I find it ridiculous how some people undervalue Owen, a player who is still our leading goal scorer this season and has overall a goal record for Newcastle of a goal every other game. Maybe someone has the time and calculate a points ratio with and without Owen playing. But I am pretty sure our record is much better with him than without him. When fit he has proved most of the time that he is in the end still the best and therefore most important player in the squad. Of course should he walk back in the squad when fit. Probably not ahead of Martins, but of course ahead of Shola, who in the end is still a donkey.

 

I don't know why you find these opinions 'ridiculous' in all honesty. No one is claiming Shola is a world beater and should stay in the side indefinitely, just while we are winning no need to rush Owen back. Also while you are playing down the wins against WBA and Villa, a couple of weeks ago if someone had offered a draw at home against Villa many would have taken it. The team has performed relatively well in the last few matches without Owen, so it's hardly 'ridiculous' to consider giving them the chance to continue.

[Optimistic Nut]

It's ridiculous how many people are now bigging up Shola's performances. He's hasn't done badly, but overall he has foremost simply just done better than expected. It also isn't as if he had built a formidable understanding with Martins to form a pairing a la Shearer/Bellamy. It also isn't as if we had suddenly produced outstanding team performances. We beat West Brom (wahey, incredible) and Villa, nothing more, nothing less.

 

On the other hand I find it ridiculous how some people undervalue Owen, a player who is still our leading goal scorer this season and has overall a goal record for Newcastle of a goal every other game. Maybe someone has the time and calculate a points ratio with and without Owen playing. But I am pretty sure our record is much better with him than without him. When fit he has proved most of the time that he is in the end still the best and therefore most important player in the squad. Of course should he walk back in the squad when fit. Probably not ahead of Martins, but of course ahead of Shola, who in the end is still a donkey.

[tmonkey]

Owen needs to be brought back slowly, but it would be interesting to see how we'd fare if Owen was played behind Martins, and not alongside him.

 

Gutierrez, Owen and Barton pulling the strings in midfield with Martins leading the line as he did against Villa...its worth a try at the very least.

[buzza]

My thoughts:

Football is a TEAM game, the present team is working well and the partnership upfront is reaping huge benefits. Shola and Martins are playing 100% at the moment, a lot of people on here are giving Shola & martins their nod for man of the match...

Bring on Owen after 60 minutes for whoever isn't playing well against Fulham, if they are both playing well then Joe will have to show us that he is big enough to keep owen on the bench until he's needed for ball retention and calming tactics!

[Scoreboard82]

The only points Owen has put on the board this season was against Bolton and that was a flukey win. The West Ham and Blackburn goals were irrelevant.

 

I agree that its only, so far, a couple of games where his form has been acceptable but if it continues, i'd like to give him and Owen together a chance, especially if Martins is going to turn in a performace like at Sunderland rather than Villa. His form is giving us striking options that we didnt have without Viduka (with possibly a bit more mobility).

 

Owens goals v W Ham/Blackburn may not have brought points, but that was more to do with our failings at the back. Owen did HIS job.

I don't see how anyone can prefer Shola ahead of Martins.

IMO Shola is slow, poor in the air for someone his size, where as Martins has speed, can beat defenders with a quick turn and hit a ball properly. Despite Sholas' improvement/efffort, i think if you're picking our best 11 you'd pick Martins before Shola.

[Optimistic Nut]

I'd sooner have Owen & Martins' pace against Hughes & Hangeland. Think they'd be able to cope with Ameobi better.

[Optimistic Nut]

My thoughts:

Football is a TEAM game, the present team is working well and the partnership upfront is reaping huge benefits. Shola and Martins are playing 100% at the moment, a lot of people on here are giving Shola & martins their nod for man of the match...

 

Chelsea are playing well without Drogba, but do you think when he's fully-fit again he's not going to get back in?

[TRon]

Owen needs to be brought back slowly, but it would be interesting to see how we'd fare if Owen was played behind Martins, and not alongside him.

 

Gutierrez, Owen and Barton pulling the strings in midfield with Martins leading the line as he did against Villa...its worth a try at the very least.

 

Good shout. Owen stealing in from deep like last season maybe. Not sure Martins will hold the ball up effectively enough though, that's not the best part of his game.

[Cronky]

It sounds from JK's comments that Owen will come on from the subs bench, citing his fitness levels.

 

I think he's just being tactful myself. Most players, if they're fit to be on the subs bench one week, are fit to start a week later.

 

But it's a wise move. Owen should have to win his place back like anyone else.