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Michael Owen gets injured; rejoice!


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The sooner we get rid of the high earners the better.

Owen is my choice for first one out.

 

Him, Viduka, Cacapa & Lovenkrands are already effectively out, so you've got no choice!  :cheesy:

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The sooner we get rid of the high earners the better.

Owen is my choice for first one out.

 

As was mentioned earlier though, after June he's out of contract and therefore not our problem.  We might have a problem getting rid of some of the high-earning wasters with years still on there contracts however.

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Guest Stephen927

Really hope he doesn't go to the World Cup next year .

 

Hasn't got much chance really unless he scores 15+ next season, in which case he might be on the bench. Capello favours team players.

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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.

 

Let's not forget how Owen ended up at Madrid in the first place though. He strung Liverpool and their fans along without ever signing a new contract, forcing the club to cash in on him for only 8M. People say he wasn't Benitez's cup of tea but he can't have been happy at losing the club's top scorer, an England international in his mid-20s, for only 8M quid. And bear in mind, Champions League aside, Benitez struggled in the beginning with Liverpool, finishing 5th.

 

Getting back to Owen, you may be right about the way in which we pursued him, but have you ever heard of a player doing that to a club? I agree it seems our tactic was indeed to blow Liverpool's offer out the water and force his hand. But equally how often do you hear about minimum-fee clauses which halve a player's value in just two seasons? I have never heard of a player so desperate to get out of a club before they'd even played a game.

 

You are absolutely right that the contract he was given was madness from Shepherd, but given his lack of commitment to Liverpool and then to Newcastle I have plenty of reason to doubt Owen's character. His little interview recently claiming he doesn't believe he is injury-prone, after four seasons of almost constant injury and loads of niggly injuries at Liverpool, was an insult to the fans' intelligence.

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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.

 

Leitch built the beautiful old Trinity Road stand at Villa Park, with its gables and stately home style steps / entrance, which Ellis tore down.

 

Shame on him, that's the one thing above all others I can never forgive him for.

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he's due a 2 million loyalty bonus as well

 

You better be yanking me mother fuking chain mate.

 

I'm not sure if its £2m but he will get a 7 figure loyalty fee, for staying the duration.

 

Part of his contract, when he'd expected to be off after a year or two.

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he's due a 2 million loyalty bonus as well

 

You better be yanking me mother fuking chain mate.

 

I'm not sure if its £2m but he will get a 7 figure loyalty fee, for staying the duration.

 

Part of his contract, when he'd expected to be off after a year or two.

 

Fuking hell man, that's just criminal.  :rant:

 

Hope he waves the fee for the sake of his health as i might just have to break his legs.  :knuppel2:

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