Starting an unfit Owen over an in form Lovenkrands - What was Hughton thinking?

[The Prophet]

This really got on my nerve end yesterday. Lovenkrands - Two goals in two starts up front and contributes to giving an excellent Man United defence a serious fright. Great news Hull will struggle with him. Oh wait Owen's back he's a big name he will be able to save us despite a lack of match fitness and general sharpness.

 

Playing big names over form players has always been a major gripe of mine when it comes to our international side but here was clear case of it yesterday. Yes Owen when fit and firing is an asset and I'm all for giving him 30-40 minutes in the second half to improve his fitness levels but to start him was an absolutely ridiculous decision.

 

Owen needs service at the best of times but when unfit he'll squander what? Three, four clear cut chances before he'll stick one away. He has no self sufficiency which in the current plight means he isn't going to get many goals if he isn't at his sharpest. Add that to the fact he's never been one to stick up his hand and dig in and we've got a passenger on our hands.

 

Then on top of that, time for Owen to come off and he brings bloody Shola on, Jesus wept. Yet I'm not surprised. This is just another case in point that Hughton has no back bone what so ever. You can imagine poor Chris shitting his pants as soon as Owen asked for a game. This along with the confidence shattering decision to drop R. Taylor, a player who can actually take a corner without smashing it into first man makes me actually hope Kinnear is off his sick bed as soon as possible. Oh dear.

 

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

Hughton must have been influenced by the media who are all saying how Owen will "fire us to safety".

 

Lovenkrands should have kept his place in the team because he has actually scored two goals for us in the last month or so.

 

We all know from before Kinnear turned up that Hughton isn't the answer.

[oldtype]

Houghton? Thinking?

 

Surely you jest.

[Skirge]

Houghton doing what JK told him to do over the phone, its a shambles a total fkn shambles, Shola on for Owen and not Loven was just as fkn stipud too.

[Wullie]

Owen needs service at the best of times but when unfit he'll squander what? Three, four clear cut chances before he'll stick one away.

 

That's Owen when he's fit. When he's not, he won't even touch the ball.

[ikri]

Yesterday highlighted the reason why, in my opinion, we need to lose Owen in the summer.

 

When Owen is anywhere near fit every manager we've had has tried to shoehorn him into the side regardless of whether he's the best option.  Had Owen not been fit for yesterday's game, or if we ever had a manager willing to leave him out of the side, we'd have played Lovenkrands who has looked a far better option for the team whenever he's played up front.  He's got the pace that Owen no longer has & he works harder for the team.

 

Owen is a great player, but he's a luxury who disrupts the balance of the team far too much.

[oldtype]

Owen's gone the way of Duff imo.

 

Legs are gone, permacrock, very occasionally shows flashes of the player he used to be.

 

I think we'll see him go to a surprisingly unglamorous club in the summer.

[Crumpy Gunt]

I said in another thread that the starting 11 should have been the same as Man U.

 

Piss poor from Hughton etc to make the changes they did. And even bringing Shola and R Taylor on and leaving Lovenkrands on the bench was the bigger disgrace.

[Guest]

Let's be honest, Hughton isn't the only manager who'd pick Owen ahead of Lovenkrands & Ameobi even when not fit man.

[Skirge]

I said in another thread that the starting 11 should have been the same as Man U.

 

Piss poor from Hughton etc to make the changes they did. And even bringing Shola and R Taylor on and leaving Lovenkrands on the bench was the bigger disgrace.

 

Spot on, they were cracking vs Man Ure and deserved to be unchanged, Owen has been out for ages and should have only been on as a sub IF needed.

[Jayson]

Agree that Owen should have been brought on midway through 2nd half at most. No idea why Hughton changed anything from the Man u game, fair enough Ryan taylor seriously messed up...but i never saw him do that for Wigan. Surely a one off, you gotta give the guy the benefit of the doubt when you just shed out millions for him and you have Geremi as a replacement. Completely moronic decision, Ameobi coming on was just beyond words. I find it amazing that every single fan knew that was a bad decision but they cannot see it...

 

Reckon as some have been saying though it must be down to Kinnear.

 

Last game Hughton actually brought Lua Lua on.....now that is not a Kinnear move. He also left Ameobi out.

 

Why would the person who starts Lovenkrands against united...pick Ameobi..a player deemed not good enough for that match...over the guy they picked to start who also scored.

 

Have a hard time believing those two sides were picked by the same person.

Reckon Kinnear is doing us from the sidelines making all the decisions. Hes the one who favoured Ameobi.

[Guest Stephen927]

If we were chasing a win, surely they would have brought Lovenkrands on or kept Ryan Taylor in the team. The fact they went for the more defense minded midfield option in Smith and didn't bring Lovenkrands on suggests they were more than happy to take the draw in the end.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I seriously doubt Hughton alone is picking the team. It wouldn't surprise me if Kinnear has some stamp on affairs even from his sick bed. That said, to play a clearly unfit Owen ahead of a confident and sharp Lovenkrands who is actually developing some sort of partnership with Oba and the midfield, is nothing short of shocking. As others have said the team that started at home to Man Utd should have started away to Hull.

[Yorkie]

Starting Owen, fair enough.

 

Bringing Shola on for him instead of Lovenkrands. Insane.

[Mowen]

Starting Owen, fair enough.

 

Bringing Shola on for him instead of Lovenkrands. Insane.

[Ronaldo]

Starting Owen isn't fair enough though, his form before injury was fucking shit and cant be expected to be any better returning from injury. Lovenkrands has earned the shirt, and has lost it based on this fucking myth that Michael Owen is some sort of great footballer. Fucking pathetic the lot of em

[Guest]

Starting Owen isn't fair enough though, his form before injury was f***ing s*** and cant be expected to be any better returning from injury. Lovenkrands has earned the shirt, and has lost it based on this f***ing myth that Michael Owen is some sort of great footballer. f***ing pathetic the lot of em

 

Thank God Keegan didn't have that opinion last season else we might not be talking about relegation this season, because we might have done it a year earlier instead.

[KaKa]

Not only was Owen not fit but he was playing rubbish leading up to his injury, so I really don't know what the hell the motivation to put him back in was.

 

I remember predicting that Owen would return just in time to hamper us further by being thrown straight into the team though being undeserving of it.

 

Same bollox every time.

[Ronaldo]

Starting Owen isn't fair enough though, his form before injury was f***ing s*** and cant be expected to be any better returning from injury. Lovenkrands has earned the shirt, and has lost it based on this f***ing myth that Michael Owen is some sort of great footballer. f***ing pathetic the lot of em

 

Thank God Keegan didn't have that opinion last season else we might not be talking about relegation this season, because we might have done it a year earlier instead.

 

things have changed

[Gallowgate Toon]

I think he was thinking we're in the shitter, i have no idea what i'm doing, the players don't have any respect for me, i'm not a manager but in one of the most pressured jobs in football, what the fuck am i supposed to do?

With the Owen thing i can see why he did it, an act of desperation really it makes sense in a way to play him, just to nick something. I personally wouldn't of as Lovenkrands and Martins should be the starters away from home imo, plus MO is crap when he's fit.

BUT

Geremi, Smith and Butt in the same side, i don't care how spineless or stupid you are, that is the most ridiculous thing i've ever seen on a football pitch. We're in a relegation fight, we need more than a point against the sides we should be beating but we go there playing 2! destroyers they've been woeful at the KC so why not risk it, we're not in a position to not take up opportunities like that. There's an obvious angle as to why Hughton did it, we're in the shit so get as much experience in as possible, but honestly everyone knows that's just not the way it works you need more than just experience to beat the drop.

[TRon]

I think he was thinking we're in the shitter, i have no idea what i'm doing, the players don't have any respect for me, i'm not a manager but in one of the most pressured jobs in football, what the fuck am i supposed to do?

With the Owen thing i can see why he did it, an act of desperation really it makes sense in a way to play him, just to nick something. I personally wouldn't of as Lovenkrands and Martins should be the starters away from home imo, plus MO is crap when he's fit.

BUT

Geremi, Smith and Butt in the same side, i don't care how spineless or stupid you are, that is the most ridiculous thing i've ever seen on a football pitch. We're in a relegation fight, we need more than a point against the sides we should be beating but we go there playing 2! destroyers they've been woeful at the KC so why not risk it, we're not in a position to not take up opportunities like that. There's an obvious angle as to why Hughton did it, we're in the shit so get as much experience in as possible, but honestly everyone knows that's just not the way it works you need more than just experience to beat the drop.

 

Nail on the head. Much bigger mistake than starting Owen IMO.

 

 

[Frazzle]

Starting Owen isn't fair enough though, his form before injury was f***ing s*** and cant be expected to be any better returning from injury. Lovenkrands has earned the shirt, and has lost it based on this f***ing myth that Michael Owen is some sort of great footballer. f***ing pathetic the lot of em

 

Thank God Keegan didn't have that opinion last season else we might not be talking about relegation this season, because we might have done it a year earlier instead.

 

things have changed

 

Exactly.  Owen's goals to games ratio is even better this season.

[Ronaldo]

Starting Owen isn't fair enough though, his form before injury was f***ing s*** and cant be expected to be any better returning from injury. Lovenkrands has earned the shirt, and has lost it based on this f***ing myth that Michael Owen is some sort of great footballer. f***ing pathetic the lot of em

 

Thank God Keegan didn't have that opinion last season else we might not be talking about relegation this season, because we might have done it a year earlier instead.

 

things have changed

 

Exactly.  Owen's goals to games ratio is even better this season.

 

with 1 in the last 9, yeah he's clearly found a new lease of life

[Parsley]

Lovenkrands has to start in front of Owen alongside Oba. He can beat a man, create something out of nothing and break with pace on the counter - all things that Owen just cannot seem to do at the moment. We just can't provide the sort of service that Owen needs to play to his best whereas Peter can make things happen for himself.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

The Geremi/Smith/Butt thing is criminal, there's not a less mobile midfield in the country.