Michael Owen gets injured; rejoice!

[Guest BooBoo]

I was willing to give him a chance to the very end, more out of desperation and a lack of alternatives than anything. He does have very good natural ability that our other strikers didn't possess and like many I hoped he could help pull us out of a desperate situation. But let's be honest it's got nowt to do with recent events; ever since he arrived the lad has totally taken the piss.

 

It says a lot about him that we've now reached a situation where we're relieved to lose a 29 year old striker with loads of England caps for nothing.

 

He epitomises everything that's wrong with our club in recent times. Vastly overpriced. Vastly overpaid. Past his best. Injury prone. Poor attitude (thinks he's bigger than the club). These could be used to describe various players (and managers) in our recent history, but none moreso than Michael Owen. He is one of the worst things to have happened to this club in recent times.

 

Even before he arrived we weren't good enough for him in his eyes. He was pining for a move to Liverpool, and came on the condition that we put clauses in his contract so he could leg it at the first opportunity at a huge financial loss to the club. And the only reason he didn't leave was because noone wanted him, even at a much reduced price. There were various transfer windows where he undermined the club, staying silent while rumours ran throughout the national press about his departure, before committing himself when he realised noone wanted him. We can only wonder what effect this had on other players in the dressing room, who saw him given the captain's armband and in the first team regardless of form or commitment, while earning two or three times their salaries. His actions ever since he arrived have been thoroughly unprofessional. How many games did we go into without a recognise left back or a right back while Owen was sat on the treatment table commanding the salary of two or three players. There's no doubt he's been a factor in our decline.

 

He'll be very lucky to get a move to someone like Everton. There was a time when only his fitness was in question. Now his form and commitment are too.

 

Best post i've read on here for a while. Sums up my feeleings re the Horse Whisperer.

[Kanj]

Big Al has to be felt let down by him. There were friends, and I'd like to think the tw@t showed his true colors.

[1878]

Any manager worth his salt will go for Martins before Owen, especially one as shrewd as David Moyes.

Yes but Owen is available for free and the Martins isn't.

 

The question is whether Moyes is looking for freebies or looking to take his team to the next level.

 

Owen might appear to be free but sign him up and the chairman isn't getting any other striker for Moyes this summer.

 

So when Owen gets the measles, malaria, typhoid etc and misses all of preseason and then gets his standard knee knock here, ankle knock there and hamstring strain everywhere, and the team is no better off than it was last season because even when he plays he is never match fit, I bet the fans will feel like he is costing them a hell of a lot then.

 

Owen will hold them back if anything and he is only getting older and more pathetic physically. Waste of money.

 

We're absolutely skint so I don't see us going for players like Martins unless City make a daft offer for Lescott and we cash in.

 

I personally believe the Owen rumour and think he will sign. Not very happy about it, mind.

 

Genuine question. How is the new stadium going to be funded?

 

Sale of Goodison, sale of the old training ground, subsidy from Tesco, sale of naming rights and a massive bank loan with sky high interest payments. Sounds good eh?

 

I don't think it will get the go ahead though, thank fuck.

[brummie]

Sale of Goodison, sale of the old training ground, subsidy from Tesco, sale of naming rights and a massive bank loan with sky high interest payments. Sounds good eh?

 

I don't think it will get the go ahead though, thank fuck.

 

I read something the other day that said that Everton only stand to make about 6m a year extra from the move to the new stadium.

 

Goodison is currently a bit of a mess, and a ground from a bygone age, but in my book that's exactly why, if you leave and go to some bland-o-drome, another little piece of football history will die. I'd take a trip to Goodison - poor facilities, bad view and all - over  a trip to something like the Riverside absolutely every day of the week.

 

I hope you don't move.

[1878]

Sale of Goodison, sale of the old training ground, subsidy from Tesco, sale of naming rights and a massive bank loan with sky high interest payments. Sounds good eh?

 

I don't think it will get the go ahead though, thank f***.

 

I read something the other day that said that Everton only stand to make about 6m a year extra from the move to the new stadium.

 

Goodison is currently a bit of a mess, and a ground from a bygone age, but in my book that's exactly why, if you leave and go to some bland-o-drome, another little piece of football history will die. I'd take a trip to Goodison - poor facilities, bad view and all - over  a trip to something like the Riverside absolutely every day of the week.

 

I hope you don't move.

 

That £6m is only if the place is sold out every week which there is no chance in hell of.

 

Even if we started winning things again it wouldn't fill up because there's so much opposition and bad feeling about the thing before it's been built since it's not in the city boundaries. It being a cheap Lego set in a total dump of an area with shocking transport links won't help its cause either.

[Guest toonlass]

I like Goodison because it's an old ground with character. Better than the ikea-flatpack stadiums springing up all over the place.

[Guest Phil K]

I like Goodison because it's an old ground with character. Better than the ikea-flatpack stadiums springing up all over the place.

 

Couldn't agree more.

Made by the same bloke who made Roker Park, Fratton Park and Ibrox with the same tell tale wooden X's down the lengths of the stands. Very distinctive.

Of course most of that has now gone, and not been replaced by anything as distinctive

But still good old fashioned kind of ground - WITH CHARACTER - shame it's three-quarters filled by mouthy scousers (When they're doing well, anyways)

[Keefaz]

Does this mean the new Goodison will be called the Tesco Arena or some such shit?

[1878]

I like Goodison because it's an old ground with character. Better than the ikea-flatpack stadiums springing up all over the place.

 

Couldn't agree more.

Made by the same bloke who made Roker Park, Fratton Park and Ibrox with the same tell tale wooden X's down the lengths of the stands. Very distinctive.

Of course most of that has now gone, and not been replaced by anything as distinctive

But still good old fashioned kind of ground - WITH CHARACTER - shame it's three-quarters filled by mouthy scousers (When they're doing well, anyways)

 

The Archibald Leitch criss crosses are still there on the Bullens Road & Gwladys Street stands albeit the ones at the St End are hidden by advertising boards.

 

Keefaz- the ground in Kirkby wouldn't be sponsored by Tesco, it would be some other company. There would be a new Tesco and a massive retail park next door though. Depressing. 

[Guest BooBoo]

I like Goodison because it's an old ground with character. Better than the ikea-flatpack stadiums springing up all over the place.

 

If you've ever had a seat in the lower tier of the away end, you may change your mind. Comfortably the worst view in the Premier League.

 

Yes it has character, but that doesn't disguise the fact it's a dilapidated shithole of a stadium- see also the Old Wembley.

[Guest toonlass]

I like Goodison because it's an old ground with character. Better than the ikea-flatpack stadiums springing up all over the place.

 

If you've ever had a seat in the lower tier of the away end, you may change your mind. Comfortably the worst view in the Premier League.

 

Yes it has character, but that doesn't disguise the fact it's a dilapidated shithole of a stadium- see also the Old Wembley.

 

Its the only place I ever seem to get seats at Goodison tbh. Still has more character than the Madejski on a monday night.

[Yorkie]

I was willing to give him a chance to the very end, more out of desperation and a lack of alternatives than anything. He does have very good natural ability that our other strikers didn't possess and like many I hoped he could help pull us out of a desperate situation. But let's be honest it's got nowt to do with recent events; ever since he arrived the lad has totally taken the piss.

 

It says a lot about him that we've now reached a situation where we're relieved to lose a 29 year old striker with loads of England caps for nothing.

 

He epitomises everything that's wrong with our club in recent times. Vastly overpriced. Vastly overpaid. Past his best. Injury prone. Poor attitude (thinks he's bigger than the club). These could be used to describe various players (and managers) in our recent history, but none moreso than Michael Owen. He is one of the worst things to have happened to this club in recent times.

 

Even before he arrived we weren't good enough for him in his eyes. He was pining for a move to Liverpool, and came on the condition that we put clauses in his contract so he could leg it at the first opportunity at a huge financial loss to the club. And the only reason he didn't leave was because noone wanted him, even at a much reduced price. There were various transfer windows where he undermined the club, staying silent while rumours ran throughout the national press about his departure, before committing himself when he realised noone wanted him. We can only wonder what effect this had on other players in the dressing room, who saw him given the captain's armband and in the first team regardless of form or commitment, while earning two or three times their salaries. His actions ever since he arrived have been thoroughly unprofessional. How many games did we go into without a recognise left back or a right back while Owen was sat on the treatment table commanding the salary of two or three players. There's no doubt he's been a factor in our decline.

 

He'll be very lucky to get a move to someone like Everton. There was a time when only his fitness was in question. Now his form and commitment are too.

 

100% entirely how i feel on the situation, also. Very well put.

[Cronky]

I was willing to give him a chance to the very end, more out of desperation and a lack of alternatives than anything. He does have very good natural ability that our other strikers didn't possess and like many I hoped he could help pull us out of a desperate situation. But let's be honest it's got nowt to do with recent events; ever since he arrived the lad has totally taken the piss.

 

It says a lot about him that we've now reached a situation where we're relieved to lose a 29 year old striker with loads of England caps for nothing.

 

He epitomises everything that's wrong with our club in recent times. Vastly overpriced. Vastly overpaid. Past his best. Injury prone. Poor attitude (thinks he's bigger than the club). These could be used to describe various players (and managers) in our recent history, but none moreso than Michael Owen. He is one of the worst things to have happened to this club in recent times.

 

Even before he arrived we weren't good enough for him in his eyes. He was pining for a move to Liverpool, and came on the condition that we put clauses in his contract so he could leg it at the first opportunity at a huge financial loss to the club. And the only reason he didn't leave was because noone wanted him, even at a much reduced price. There were various transfer windows where he undermined the club, staying silent while rumours ran throughout the national press about his departure, before committing himself when he realised noone wanted him. We can only wonder what effect this had on other players in the dressing room, who saw him given the captain's armband and in the first team regardless of form or commitment, while earning two or three times their salaries. His actions ever since he arrived have been thoroughly unprofessional. How many games did we go into without a recognise left back or a right back while Owen was sat on the treatment table commanding the salary of two or three players. There's no doubt he's been a factor in our decline.

 

He'll be very lucky to get a move to someone like Everton. There was a time when only his fitness was in question. Now his form and commitment are too.

 

Isn't the club more at fault here than the player though? A large part of me thinks that we got what we deserved in the end.

 

If you remember, the week before he signed, he said that he was only prepared to go to us on loan, and that he wanted to join Liverpool, who were the other club in the running. Shepherd then made an inflated bid which made it impossible for Real to accept Liverpool's offer, so we deliberately put Owen in the position where he either had to bite the bullet and join a club he didn't want to, or spend a season in Real's reserves and therefore possibly miss out on the World Cup. Okay, we didn't force him to join, but morally speaking we were in the wrong IMO, and it was a foolish move anyway because if you manipulate a player into joining you like that, his commitment isn't going to be the same.

 

Then Keegan comes in and makes him the Captain, not because he's the most suitable player for the job, but because he's fallen out with Owen in the past and he wants to make a public gesture that things are okay. Then when he reaches the final year of his contract, the club doesn't issue him with the sign or move ultimatum that is normal and sensible, because Wise and Keegan aren't working together properly and Keegan insists that he stays and we should try to sign him again on the same ridiculous terms that he'd never get anywhere else.

 

It's the club that has cocked this up. As many will know, I don't rate Owen the player but I've no problem with Owen the man.

[Karjala]

owen is a cunt.

[Jayson]

 

Isn't the club more at fault here than the player though? A large part of me thinks that we got what we deserved in the end.

 

If you remember, the week before he signed, he said that he was only prepared to go to us on loan, and that he wanted to join Liverpool, who were the other club in the running. Shepherd then made an inflated bid which made it impossible for Real to accept Liverpool's offer, so we deliberately put Owen in the position where he either had to bite the bullet and join a club he didn't want to, or spend a season in Real's reserves and therefore possibly miss out on the World Cup. Okay, we didn't force him to join, but morally speaking we were in the wrong IMO, and it was a foolish move anyway because if you manipulate a player into joining you like that, his commitment isn't going to be the same.

 

Then Keegan comes in and makes him the Captain, not because he's the most suitable player for the job, but because he's fallen out with Owen in the past and he wants to make a public gesture that things are okay. Then when he reaches the final year of his contract, the club doesn't issue him with the sign or move ultimatum that is normal and sensible, because Wise and Keegan aren't working together properly and Keegan insists that he stays and we should try to sign him again on the same ridiculous terms that he'd never get anywhere else.

 

It's the club that has cocked this up. As many will know, I don't rate Owen the player but I've no problem with Owen the man.

 

yer, but everyone needs a scapegoat & michael owen is the most enjoyable one to choose cause he has the highest status basically

There isnt much reasoning going on beyond that.

[gazzaA2]

Owen is now apparently setting his sights on a move to Liverpool and is waiting for the call from Rafa.

 

He knows they're skint and Rafa will have to scale down all his targets. One way or another, it looks like he'll be back in scouseland come August.

[Decky]

Fuck me a move to Liverpool is perfect for this cunt, no justice.

[JH]

Owen is now apparently setting his sights on a move to Liverpool and is waiting for the call from Rafa.

 

He knows they're skint and Rafa will have to scale down all his targets. One way or another, it looks like he'll be back in scouseland come August.

 

Has he always been this delusional?

 

Money problems or not, I find it quite laughable that Owen reckons Rafa's gonna come calling; the same Rafa that sold him when he first arrived at Liverpool.

 

He'll go to Everton IMO.

[Guest Mani]

People that say Owen is a cwnt is right.

 

The fooker was nurtured through the youth system at liverpool and they helped him to become a star and he treated them like sh1t.  When he realised Houllier hit a brick wall and liverpool were never looking to win a major honour , Owen ran his contract down and forced the scouse to sell him on the cheap to Madrid.  Attitude like that would not have endeared himself to Rafa. 

 

The irony is, the season he left liverpool to hunt for major trophys, Liverpools wins the champions league without him!  ahahahah!  upyours michael owen you muppet! major fail!  I remember watching the champ league final on the box, Owen was out injured for Madrid (surprise)and he was given the pleasure of joining the ITV live panel hahaha, u should have seen his face after the match when the scouse did their lap of honour after lifting the cup!  hahaha, absolutely gutted he looked!  Fooking Karma son!

[Dinho lad]

[Ronaldo]

People that say Owen is a cwnt is right.

 

The fooker was nurtured through the youth system at liverpool and they helped him to become a star and he treated them like sh1t.  When he realised Houllier hit a brick wall and liverpool were never looking to win a major honour , Owen ran his contract down and forced the scouse to sell him on the cheap to Madrid.  Attitude like that would not have endeared himself to Rafa. 

 

The irony is, the season he left liverpool to hunt for major trophys, Liverpools wins the champions league without him!  ahahahah!  upyours michael owen you muppet! major fail!   I remember watching the champ league final on the box, Owen was out injured for Madrid (surprise)and he was given the pleasure of joining the ITV live panel hahaha, u should have seen his face after the match when the scouse did their lap of honour after lifting the cup!  hahaha, absolutely gutted he looked!  Fooking Karma son!

 

indeed

 

and would they have lifted the trophy with Owen in the team? Would they fuck

[LesPaul]

owen is a c***.

La la la la

[Guest SB]

MICHAEL OWEN will have to take a staggering £70,000-a-week pay cut if he wants to resurrect his career at Aston Villa.

 

The out-of-contract striker was picking up £120,000 a week at Newcastle. But Villa boss Martin O'Neill has made it clear he is not prepared to smash the Club's pay structure.

 

Villa chairman Randy Lerner has already made contact with Owen's representatives and the 29-year-old believes that teaming up with O'Neill could help him rediscover his form and force his way into the England squad.

 

 

Everton are also interested but sources close to Owen say the ex-Liverpool striker is wary of the move.

 

 

Spurs are also monitoring the situation.

 

[Guest]

People that say Owen is a cwnt is right.

 

The fooker was nurtured through the youth system at liverpool and they helped him to become a star and he treated them like sh1t.  When he realised Houllier hit a brick wall and liverpool were never looking to win a major honour , Owen ran his contract down and forced the scouse to sell him on the cheap to Madrid.  Attitude like that would not have endeared himself to Rafa. 

 

The irony is, the season he left liverpool to hunt for major trophys, Liverpools wins the champions league without him!  ahahahah!  upyours michael owen you muppet! major fail!   I remember watching the champ league final on the box, Owen was out injured for Madrid (surprise)and he was given the pleasure of joining the ITV live panel hahaha, u should have seen his face after the match when the scouse did their lap of honour after lifting the cup!  hahaha, absolutely gutted he looked!  Fooking Karma son!

 

indeed

 

and would they have lifted the trophy with Owen in the team? Would they f***

 

Considering they won it with the likes of Mellor, Baros & Pongolle playing for long spells up front, I don't think it's that unbelievable to think they'd still have done it.

 

They'd have certainly finished better than 5th in the league that's for sure.

[Dave]

http://www.birminghampost.net/midlands-birmingham-sport/west-midlands-sports/aston-villa-fc/2009/06/08/o-neill-ready-to-try-and-bring-michael-owen-to-aston-villa-65233-23811674/

Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill appears ready to make his long anticipated move to bring in former England striker Michael Owen on a free transfer from Newcastle.

 

O’Neill has his sights on partnering 29-year-old Owen with former England strike partner Emile Heskey.

 

But the Irishman will still have to fend off interest from a number of other clubs to net a player whose profile may have fallen significantly over the last four years since a £16 million move from Real Madrid, but not sufficiently enough to allow Villa a free run at his signature.

 

There has been speculation that Owen is not keen to blight the memory of his eight years at Liverpool by playing for their city neighbours Everton, but David Moyes is also rumoured to be ready to make his move.

 

Owen will also have a number of offers from abroad with his contract set to run out on Tyneside on June 30, with Roma said to be keeping an eye on developments.

 

Villa cannot get anywhere near Owen’s current six figure wages at Newcastle but their recent offer of £80,000 a week to try to tempt Gareth Barry to stay is evidence of their clout.

 

Owen endured a miserable four years at Newcastle scoring 29 goals in 71 appearances with last season nothing short of a disaster.

 

His looked out of sorts when he arrived on the field as a late substitute at Villa Park on the final day of the season after a year that had seen him start just 21 league matches and score 8 goals.