Michael Owen gets injured; rejoice!

[Dinho lad]

Haven't read this thread or anything...but am I the only one here that is questioning Owen's loyalty??

 

He signed a 4-year contract, it looks like he's going to have stayed for 4-years, and why should he sign a new contract in the club's current position? Nowt to do with loyalty.

 

And the amount of time he's been out during these 4 years....??

 

Like I've pointed out, around 2/3s of those games were down to two freak injuries which could have knackered anyone.

 

Just out of interest was Craig Moore's loyalty questioned when he walked after 2 injury-hit seasons or it is just because this is Michael Owen?

 

I don't blame him for his injuries whatsoever; I understand that he’s been unlucky. But you can’t say that NUFC haven’t been patient with him! Why doesn’t he hang around for a bit longer and try to get us back to where we should be? After all, we do have a good backbone of players here. Why leave at the earliest opportunity?

 

Owen signed for a 4-year contract, and during that time he's hardly played a lot of games for us. Surely signing a one-year extension, where he’d hopefully put a long run of games together, would at least make up for the 3 or 4 past inconsistent seasons?   If you were impressed of the run that he had last season (what was it...20 games or so without getting injured?), then I think you're easily impressed.

 

If Owen were a foreigner, he’d be labelled as just another Luque, Marcelino etc.

 

And I’m not turning on him or anything. I’ve always backed him to bounce back. I just don’t think we got enough out of him.

 

BTW, you would be happy if every player we signed turns out like Michael Owen as long as he fulfils his contract, are you?

 

[Guest sicko2ndbest]

I will be happy if he stays, but even happier if we sign an up and coming striker on a third of his wages with his best years ahead of him (eg Zaki)!

[Unbelievable]

snip

 

Your maths are bad, if you're saying letting Owen go would "save" money.  Those two players would, unless they are Championship players or very young/unproven, probably run at least 7-10 mil per.  At 50k per week, that's an outlay over four years of 34-40 mil.  Keeping Owen, even on his current wages, is only 20 mil.  A 12-15 league goals per season striker (like, oh say, Peter Crouch?) is worth about 15mil+ in the current market, I should think.  So, replacing Owen would be about...12-15 mil for a conservative estimate.  Plus the wages, of I'd guess around 50k minimum (that's what your fave Oba is on, iirc), over four years is 10 mil.  That's 22-25 mil for a new player and keeping Owen is 20 mil.  How is getting rid of Owen removing the financial burden then?  Both of the options you've outlined are actually more expensive than keeping Owen. 

 

Fair enough, if you think scoring a goal every 1.8 matches isn't enough for a striker to contribute.  Everyone's entitled to an opinion, after all.  But it's enough for me.  A striker scores goals.  I don't ask Shay Given to do more than keep goals out, either (and he's a top-class keeper, no doubt).

 

But then Owen will have no resale value by the end of his contract, and will become more immobile and over-reliant on chances being put on a plate for him as he ages. That wouldn't be the case for cheaper, younger alternatives (e.g. Frazier Campbell, Daniel Sturridge).

 

We're going to have to replace him at some point, and I really struggle to understand anyone who claims Owen is either irreplaceable, or that we'll not see someone of his "calibre" for a long time. If we're worried about replacing him now, then we may as well pack our bags up and go home, because what will have changed in 3 or 4 years time when we come round to finally having to replace him? The situation will always be the same - established stars will cost a bomb, players who look like becoming established stars will only want to sign for CL clubs, youngsters who are available won't have shown enough to suggest that they'll be top class (hence why they're available), foreign unknowns likewise present a significant gamble, etc etc. We'll be in the same boat then that we are in today. It's amusing how other teams, even s*** ones, are finding strikers who look as good as Owen if not better (e.g. Santa Cruz, Zaki, Zarate) yet when it comes to us, these players dont exist because we cant replace Michael Owen, therefore they dont exist (because we cant replace Michael Owen, therefore...).

 

Every year new talent is being introduced into the game, every year the big clubs will have to cash in on promising but not that promising youngsters who they can't accomodate into their first teams (e.g. Bentley at Arsenal), every year good but unestablished forwards will leave their clubs to play in a better league, for more money, for first team football, etc etc (think Jonas, who most of us had never seen or heard of, but a striking version). If you remove the filter "established, proven star forward, either an England international, established within the Premiership, or a household name on the international scene" in terms of looking for a replacement, then there are plenty of options to choose from - all of them admittedly having an element of risk, but then that's something that will always be present no matter who we go for. We've broken our transfer record twice for top class England international star strikers in the past dozen or so years, something you would assume would present the lowest risk and surest way of improving the team, yet both times we've neither won anything nor have we really improved as a team overall compared to before they had arrived. In fact, we'd probably have done better had we gone for alternative options (e.g. Anelka instead of Owen). So if he does leave, we should wish good luck to him to his face, say "f*** him he wasn't that good for us anyway" when he's left the room, and then go about finding a good replacement which is what I would hope we've got all those scouts for.

 

Excellent post, especially the bits I've highlighted.

[Guest Sniffer]

You can break the transfer records any amount of times over the years but if you then surround that player with shite you won't win anything. One player can't do it himself. All of the successful teams have a core of very good players not just one or two which is what has happened at Newcastle over the years. None of them have players as bad as we have or as many of them.  That's why it's such a joke that a player like ameobi is still around and being considered for a new contract which IMO, is probably one of the reasons Owen will be on his bike and I can't say that I blame him.

[johnnypd]

snip

 

Your maths are bad, if you're saying letting Owen go would "save" money.  Those two players would, unless they are Championship players or very young/unproven, probably run at least 7-10 mil per.  At 50k per week, that's an outlay over four years of 34-40 mil.  Keeping Owen, even on his current wages, is only 20 mil.  A 12-15 league goals per season striker (like, oh say, Peter Crouch?) is worth about 15mil+ in the current market, I should think.  So, replacing Owen would be about...12-15 mil for a conservative estimate.  Plus the wages, of I'd guess around 50k minimum (that's what your fave Oba is on, iirc), over four years is 10 mil.  That's 22-25 mil for a new player and keeping Owen is 20 mil.  How is getting rid of Owen removing the financial burden then?  Both of the options you've outlined are actually more expensive than keeping Owen. 

 

Fair enough, if you think scoring a goal every 1.8 matches isn't enough for a striker to contribute.  Everyone's entitled to an opinion, after all.  But it's enough for me.  A striker scores goals.  I don't ask Shay Given to do more than keep goals out, either (and he's a top-class keeper, no doubt).

 

But then Owen will have no resale value by the end of his contract, and will become more immobile and over-reliant on chances being put on a plate for him as he ages. That wouldn't be the case for cheaper, younger alternatives (e.g. Frazier Campbell, Daniel Sturridge).

 

We're going to have to replace him at some point, and I really struggle to understand anyone who claims Owen is either irreplaceable, or that we'll not see someone of his "calibre" for a long time. If we're worried about replacing him now, then we may as well pack our bags up and go home, because what will have changed in 3 or 4 years time when we come round to finally having to replace him? The situation will always be the same - established stars will cost a bomb, players who look like becoming established stars will only want to sign for CL clubs, youngsters who are available won't have shown enough to suggest that they'll be top class (hence why they're available), foreign unknowns likewise present a significant gamble, etc etc. We'll be in the same boat then that we are in today. It's amusing how other teams, even s*** ones, are finding strikers who look as good as Owen if not better (e.g. Santa Cruz, Zaki, Zarate) yet when it comes to us, these players dont exist because we cant replace Michael Owen, therefore they dont exist (because we cant replace Michael Owen, therefore...).

 

Every year new talent is being introduced into the game, every year the big clubs will have to cash in on promising but not that promising youngsters who they can't accomodate into their first teams (e.g. Bentley at Arsenal), every year good but unestablished forwards will leave their clubs to play in a better league, for more money, for first team football, etc etc (think Jonas, who most of us had never seen or heard of, but a striking version). If you remove the filter "established, proven star forward, either an England international, established within the Premiership, or a household name on the international scene" in terms of looking for a replacement, then there are plenty of options to choose from - all of them admittedly having an element of risk, but then that's something that will always be present no matter who we go for. We've broken our transfer record twice for top class England international star strikers in the past dozen or so years, something you would assume would present the lowest risk and surest way of improving the team, yet both times we've neither won anything nor have we really improved as a team overall compared to before they had arrived. In fact, we'd probably have done better had we gone for alternative options (e.g. Anelka instead of Owen). So if he does leave, we should wish good luck to him to his face, say "f*** him he wasn't that good for us anyway" when he's left the room, and then go about finding a good replacement which is what I would hope we've got all those scouts for.

 

Excellent post, especially the bits I've highlighted.

 

agreed. however for every zaki or zarate there is a xisco or nery castillo, so we'd be taking a risk - if we end up with a duffer then we're going to miss owen's goals greatly. i'm not against him going, it might be best to make a clean break and try to assemble a coherent team as owen is quite an awkward player to fit into a side, but if he does it has to be at the end of the season. if he leaves we might have to go and buy 3 strikers as viduka looks like he'll be finished come may and shola/xisco/smith arent to be relied on. get another pacy number 9 to compete with martins and two number 10s like santa cruz/berbatov.

[Guest michaelfoster]

League: 45 appearances out of possible 130 (10 sub) 24 goals

League Cup: 2 appearances out of possible 7 (1 sub) 2 goals

FA Cup: 3 appearances out of possible 8 (0 sub) 1 goal

 

Total: 50 out of possible 145 (11 sub) 27 goals

 

His game to goal ratio is pretty decent as he averages a goal every 2 games but he's played just over 1/3 of possible games. It works out as around 363k per game, rougly including 100k+ wages but thats before any appearance or goal bonuses.

 

IMO it would be best for both parites if he left either in january or the summer

 

Clown.

 

Why not add the cost of relegation to your shitty little stats, cause that's where we will end up if Owen goes next month.

 

Honeslty, he averages a goal every 1.8 matches in the league when he starts yet you still want rid. 

 

So you feel we have got value for money over the last 4 years then?

 

For arguements sake lets say he's on 100k per week (could be more, could be less but lets go off the 'reported figure') thats £19.2m over 4 years plus his transfer fee thats £35.2m before any appearance or goal clauses he might have.

 

As someone has said above he has not justified his transfer fee, his stupidly high wages or his world class status

[Fatwax]

You can write off a year of his wages to be fair, since the FA paid them.

 

At the end of the day when Owen has played for us we've got a decent deal out of it. He's been professional and scored crucial goals that arguably kept us up last season. The only downside is one massive freak injury and a load of niggles that tend to reoccur. He doesn't 'owe' us anything and I wouldn't blame him for leaving for free come July. If better companies were after my employment I doubt I'd stay with a company that was in as much of a mess as this club. He's 29 now and only has a few years left, he has a right to be selfish and go for a deal/club that can bring him as much as possible.

 

[Guest michaelfoster]

JOE Kinnear has guaranteed Michael Owen will be at Newcastle United until the end of the season – but he is not confident his captain will follow the lead of the club’s other out-of-contract players and commit to the Magpies next week.

 

The interim manager has plenty to worry about today, with Nicky Butt, Damien Duff, Danny Guthrie, Shola Ameobi and Sébastien Bassong facing fitness tests ahead of tomorrow’s early kick-off at Portsmouth.

 

But, having been given the manager’s job until the end of the season, he is also trying to keep an eye on the longer term. Kinnear expects Butt to sign a 12-month extension on Monday and anticipates Ameobi and Steve Harper penning the new deals put to them in writing on Tuesday. But he has no such confidence about his star player.

 

“Michael’s got to consider the offer,” he said, echoing the stance reported in last Saturday’s Journal. “I’m led to believe Michael’s got numerous options and lots of clubs have made enquiries to his agent.” Kinnear is convinced United will not cut their losses and sell the striker on the cheap in January rather than risk losing him for free when his contract expires in the summer.

 

“Yes 100%, I’ve already been down that road,” he said. “What’s the point of getting £3m if we get relegated?

 

“There is no chance of him going in January. Why lose a goalscorer when you’re fighting relegation?”

 

Negotiating a transfer as a free agent is far more lucrative as much of the money saved on transfer fees tends to make its way to the player’s bank balance, so even if United did decide to sell it is hard to imagine Owen agreeing. The 61-year-old does not have any concerns about Owen playing half a season for Newcastle having already decided to leave.

 

“I would assume Michael would want to put himself in the shop window and bang in as many goals as possible,” he said. “If he gets 15-16 goals

 

who knows who’ll come in for him?” Kinnear says he will be sitting down with his out-of-contract quartet on Tuesday before confusingly adding he expected Butt to sign the previous day.

 

“Nicky’s contract was done from last year, he had to play I think 19 games to guarantee him a new contract – a one-year extension,” he explained. “He’s played 14 (in the league, two in the League Cup) so I said to Nicky, ‘Why bother to wait for the 19? In my mind you will reach that target so just come into the office and sign it’.

 

“He said, ‘I’m happy to sign, I’ll be in on Monday morning’ – he was delighted.

 

“Ameobi wants to stay definitely, guaranteed. I spoke to him on Friday. Harps, I hope he’ll stay, he’s got to think of his own future with Shay (Given) being first choice but the ball will be in his court.”

 

Kinnear is now aiming to make five signings in the January transfer window – which was yesterday extended to 5pm on Monday, February 2.

 

“I’m hoping to bring in four or five players, maybe three on loan,” he explained. “I don’t mind selling some of my fringe players. I haven’t any offers for them yet – unfortunately.

 

“I’m talking about the players who never get on the bench, or only get on in emergencies. If we can put two or three of those together I might only get one decent one in return. I’m not talking about any of the players who played last week.”

 

Butt, who has a hamstring problem, is the most likely of the injured quintet to journey to the south coast. Duff (groin), Ameobi (foot and ankle) and Bassong, with an injury Kinnear refused to reveal, are struggling to be fit.

 

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender will contest his sending off against Stoke City. It is believed to be a case of mistaken identity with Kinnear’s assistant, Chris Houghton.

 

Meanwhile, West Yorkshire businessman Afzal Khan is the latest to be linked with buying Ashley’s stake.

 

http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/newcastleunited/sundaysun//tm_headline=owen-will-finish-the-season-at-magpies%26method=full%26objectid=22467187%26siteid=61634-name_page.html

 

[mrmojorisin75]

butt & sholagoals secured then?  the future's bright, the future's JFK

[Guest rebel_yell12]

snip

 

Your maths are bad, if you're saying letting Owen go would "save" money.  Those two players would, unless they are Championship players or very young/unproven, probably run at least 7-10 mil per.  At 50k per week, that's an outlay over four years of 34-40 mil.  Keeping Owen, even on his current wages, is only 20 mil.  A 12-15 league goals per season striker (like, oh say, Peter Crouch?) is worth about 15mil+ in the current market, I should think.  So, replacing Owen would be about...12-15 mil for a conservative estimate.  Plus the wages, of I'd guess around 50k minimum (that's what your fave Oba is on, iirc), over four years is 10 mil.  That's 22-25 mil for a new player and keeping Owen is 20 mil.  How is getting rid of Owen removing the financial burden then?  Both of the options you've outlined are actually more expensive than keeping Owen. 

 

Fair enough, if you think scoring a goal every 1.8 matches isn't enough for a striker to contribute.  Everyone's entitled to an opinion, after all.  But it's enough for me.  A striker scores goals.  I don't ask Shay Given to do more than keep goals out, either (and he's a top-class keeper, no doubt).

 

But then Owen will have no resale value by the end of his contract, and will become more immobile and over-reliant on chances being put on a plate for him as he ages. That wouldn't be the case for cheaper, younger alternatives (e.g. Frazier Campbell, Daniel Sturridge).

 

We're going to have to replace him at some point, and I really struggle to understand anyone who claims Owen is either irreplaceable, or that we'll not see someone of his "calibre" for a long time. If we're worried about replacing him now, then we may as well pack our bags up and go home, because what will have changed in 3 or 4 years time when we come round to finally having to replace him? The situation will always be the same - established stars will cost a bomb, players who look like becoming established stars will only want to sign for CL clubs, youngsters who are available won't have shown enough to suggest that they'll be top class (hence why they're available), foreign unknowns likewise present a significant gamble, etc etc. We'll be in the same boat then that we are in today. It's amusing how other teams, even s*** ones, are finding strikers who look as good as Owen if not better (e.g. Santa Cruz, Zaki, Zarate) yet when it comes to us, these players dont exist because we cant replace Michael Owen, therefore they dont exist (because we cant replace Michael Owen, therefore...).

 

Every year new talent is being introduced into the game, every year the big clubs will have to cash in on promising but not that promising youngsters who they can't accomodate into their first teams (e.g. Bentley at Arsenal), every year good but unestablished forwards will leave their clubs to play in a better league, for more money, for first team football, etc etc (think Jonas, who most of us had never seen or heard of, but a striking version). If you remove the filter "established, proven star forward, either an England international, established within the Premiership, or a household name on the international scene" in terms of looking for a replacement, then there are plenty of options to choose from - all of them admittedly having an element of risk, but then that's something that will always be present no matter who we go for. We've broken our transfer record twice for top class England international star strikers in the past dozen or so years, something you would assume would present the lowest risk and surest way of improving the team, yet both times we've neither won anything nor have we really improved as a team overall compared to before they had arrived. In fact, we'd probably have done better had we gone for alternative options (e.g. Anelka instead of Owen). So if he does leave, we should wish good luck to him to his face, say "f*** him he wasn't that good for us anyway" when he's left the room, and then go about finding a good replacement which is what I would hope we've got all those scouts for.

 

Wow, and all I did was point out some problem in maths & logic (it's not cheaper).  If you don't think Owen has contributed enough, that's your opinion.  If you think he owes this messed up club anything more than to see out his full contract, that's your opinion.  If you think even players like Jonas will be interested in coming to a club that's 4th bottom with an owner trying to sell and a manager who's sorta of maybe "permanently" here, that's your opinion.  You are certainly entitled to it.  Just don't expect me to agree with it.  However, claiming it is cheaper is a fallacy of reason.  Claiming you can let Owen go, to take a risk on a younger player who will be a servant to the club for much longer (someone like Oba, maybe) is a fine enough reason. 

 

I still think it's been a massive cock-up on the part of the board that Owen's contract has been allowed to run-down.  Despite what Liverpool fans who have bad memories will assert, Owen did not let his contract run down to nothing.  He was offered a new contract in summer 2004, which he expected to sign, except at the same time Madrid came in for him. He wanted to play abroad, felt it was a one-time chance to go to Madrid, so he went.  Liverpool got 8mil for him, in a day before the likes of Keane went for 20+.  At any rate, Liverpool got 8 mil for a player that they got for free at age 11, and more than paid off his development costs in goals & trophies.  That'd be a bit like Newcastle complaining if they somehow got 100mil+ for him (8x the incoming fee).  Pretty good value for outlay there.  If this club was being run well, Owen's contract would have, imo, been sorted BEFORE the summer (like, April-ish of last year) so this summer all he had to do was sign it or be sold on if he wanted out.  The clubs simply shouldn't let players contracts run below one year if they don't want to risk situations like this.  If Owen's now got offers from the likes of Villa, Everton, etc. in for him, I don't blame him for looking at his options, and/or leaving.  Newcastle has been one big mess since he arrived -- he's had five managers now in four seasons, iirc (Souness, Roeder, Allardyce, Keegan, & Kinnear) plus a few periods of "fill-in" management by assistants, two owners, three "board" configurations...personally, I don't blame any player who wants out of that mess.

[Optimistic Nut]

Just came to me, but didn't we have the chance to offer Owen a new contract LAST summer, but Allardyce said he wanted to wait a season because he wanted Owen to prove his fitness or whatever?

 

Might well regret that.

[gray]

Give the lad whatever he wants man, it doesn't get better

[Optimistic Nut]

Big Sam, October '07...

 

I'd like to see him play for the next 20 games on the trot or more and then enter into a new contract," he said.

 

"The most important thing is that he's available for selection every week and we can control it."

 

"Whether that means we lose him at the end of the day or not is non-negotiable because if it happens it happens but we want to see him fit, playing and scoring on a regular basis.

 

[Guest uma]

i think he will go to everton!!!

 

 

 

[gray]

i think he will go to everton!!!

 

 

 

 

doubtful

[tmonkey]

Being interviewed. Let's see if they ask him about his contract.

[Dokko]

Not offered a deal yet.

[Optimistic Nut]

Very diplomatic.

[pedro111]

One decent chance, one goal.

 

General performance was shit though.

 

Get rid of him

 

 

Fucking class man.

[James]

There is going to be a meeting on Tuesday.

 

EDIT: Source is Kinnear BBC interview. Kinnear is prepared for the possibility that Owen will anounce an unwillingness to sign a contract at this meeting.

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

Dunno if its been posted, but 5live just played a bit of an interview with him.  Basically...

 

- Hasn't had anything from the club yet (we already know)

- He's seen all the different clubs he's linked with in the papers

- He obviously can't do anything until the club speak to him

- He's read in the papers its apparantly happening this week

 

He was then asked if he'll sign.  He said it depends on the contract he's offered.  He said if he's offered a 6 month extension (then laughed), then obviously he feels he has more to offer than that.  Again re-iterated he'll have to see what we put on the table.

 

Oh, he said things like this are usually private, and rarely go public before, the interviewer said nothing seems to be private at Newcastle, he laughed again and agreed.

[Guest timmy boy]

Dunno if its been posted, but 5live just played a bit of an interview with him.  Basically...

 

- Hasn't had anything from the club yet (we already know)

- He's seen all the different clubs he's linked with in the papers

- He obviously can't do anything until the club speak to him

- He's read in the papers its apparantly happening this week

 

He was then asked if he'll sign.  He said it depends on the contract he's offered.  He said if he's offered a 6 month extension (then laughed), then obviously he feels he has more to offer than that.  Again re-iterated he'll have to see what we put on the table.

 

Oh, he said things like this are usually private, and rarely go public before, the interviewer said nothing seems to be private at Newcastle, he laughed again and agreed.

 

That interview is from here http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/match_of_the_day/7782659.stm

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

He's speaking about the offer having to be right.  If he's implying he wouldn't be happy with a 6 month extension (his words), then it seems to suggest he wouldn't take a 1 year deal (which personally, I thought he might, as it still gives him the freedom to walk away sooner rather than later).

 

I'm thinking if we offer him something like another 2 years, probably with a high salary, he'll take it.  However if we ask him to commit for another 3-4 years I think he'll tell us to get fucked.

[Taylor Swift]

He's speaking about the offer having to be right. If he's implying he wouldn't be happy with a 6 month extension (his words), then it seems to suggest he wouldn't take a 1 year deal (which personally, I thought he might, as it still gives him the freedom to walk away sooner rather than later).

 

I'm thinking if we offer him something like another 2 years, probably with a high salary, he'll take it. However if we ask him to commit for another 3-4 years I think he'll tell us to get fucked.

 

I think he'll be wanting a long-term deal, if possible. A 2 year deal takes him to 31 when he's free to sign for another club and he won't get 100k/week from anyone at that age and for any length of time. Sign a 4 year deal now and he's done with the club at 33 after collecting 100k/week for 8 years. Pretty sweet deal if money's a priority for him.

 

There's still a good chance that he'll stay. I think he knows that no other club are as desperate (?) as we are and none are also willing to accommodate him to the extent that we are (the chopper, for example). He's captain here. He's wanted, needed even. He's guaranteed a first-team place, lots of money and the club has potential if we can sort out this mess.

 

Villa play a different style, Everton can't pay his wages, Spurs play one up front and have got two expensive strikers and City seem to have set their sights on a different tier of talent. I just don't know where else he'd go because the top 4 are even less likely to sign him.

 

He's smart so he'll consider what other clubs have to offer and I expect that he won't sign a contract with anyone soon.

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

He's speaking about the offer having to be right.  If he's implying he wouldn't be happy with a 6 month extension (his words), then it seems to suggest he wouldn't take a 1 year deal (which personally, I thought he might, as it still gives him the freedom to walk away sooner rather than later).

 

I'm thinking if we offer him something like another 2 years, probably with a high salary, he'll take it.  However if we ask him to commit for another 3-4 years I think he'll tell us to get f***ed.

 

I think he'll be wanting a long-term deal, if possible. A 2 year deal takes him to 31 when he's free to sign for another club and he won't get 100k/week from anyone at that age and for any length of time. Sign a 4 year deal now and he's done with the club at 33 after collecting 100k/week for 8 years. Pretty sweet deal if money's a priority for him.

 

There's still a good chance that he'll stay. I think he knows that no other club are as desperate (?) as we are and none are also willing to accommodate him to the extent that we are (the chopper, for example). He's captain here. He's wanted, needed even. He's guaranteed a first-team place, lots of money and the club has potential if we can sort out this mess.

 

Villa play a different style, Everton can't pay his wages, Spurs play one up front and have got two expensive strikers and City seem to have set their sights on a different tier of talent. I just don't know where else he'd go because the top 4 are even less likely to sign him.

The only thing making me think he'll not commit for another 4 years is that there is no indication of where we're heading.  I'm guessing that he's still hungry to win things, which are pretty much none existant with us.  The way Liverpool fans described his mentality at his time there, he'll be desperate for his England place back, so again it depends if he still thinks he has a chance of regaining that while playing for Newcastle.  Spoony said on 6-0-6 he makes that 8 in 12, which should get him a place in the squad regardless of who he's playing for.

 

Ultimately I think it'll come down to whether he's more bothered by picking up money or possibly picking up the odd medal or two.  We can offer the former, but probably not the latter.