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Jealousy and Bitterness


Stevie

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Jealousy And Bitterness

The thing that amazes me most about the Michael Owen saga - even more than the fact Newcastle would actually agree to a sale clause almost half the size of the fee they paid for him two years earlier - is how much the rest of the country wants the England striker to dump on the Magpies.

 

It's incredible and has revealed the sort of bitterness and jealousy normally reserved for teams who actually win things, not one which constantly under-achievers and has a nasty knack of pressing the self destruct button.

 

You know, clubs that dominate domestic football like Manchester United, Liverpool and, more recently Chelsea. I don't include Arsenal in that, if only because they play the sort of football everyone should admire.

 

As regular readers will know, I'm not a Newcastle supporter, I have an affinity with them because I live in the city and it's my job to follow their fortunes, but I'm not a fan. I'm a Leyton Orient fan and I'm very proud of it.

 

But I still can't hide the fact I've been really irritated by some of the things that have been written about the Owen situation this week. Okay, so I know Freddie Shepherd isn't likely to win any popularity contests in football and Newcastle were probably a little silly to agree to the clause in his contract and then not to expect those close to him to leak its existence to the media, but the venom which has poured out has been shocking.

 

It's almost as if they can't wait for Owen to leave so they can laugh and mock the club for having the audacity to sign him in the first place. You'd expect that from Sunderland fans and in the interests of local rivals, they are perfectly entitled to laugh at the pain and misery of their neighbours!

 

But as for the rest of the country, I don't get it. Why shouldn't Newcastle show ambition? Why shouldn't they sign the best players available. Other clubs don't like it when one of the big boys unsettles and then buys their best players, preventing their ability to build a team which is capable of challenging for silverware, do they? So why enjoy Newcastle's problem so much?

 

I suppose it all boils down to jealousy. After all, how dare Michael Owen join Newcastle and not Liverpool two years ago! How dare he! The cheek of it! He didn't sign for one of the big four when they wanted him? Unbelievable, how very dare he.

 

English football IS the big four, the Champions League, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. The rest are just there to get beaten and pull off the odd shock which influences the title race.

 

And Newcastle - cough splutter - that isn't anywhere near London, it'll take me ages to get up to see Michael play there. Newcastle? , they're in the North, somewhere near Scotland I believe. I hear the people eat their babies up there......

 

As I've already said this week, this story will run and run unless Michael - and I don't often agree with the Newcastle chairman - insists he is going to stay.

 

He could do that now, but he won't because he will be advised not to. He'll be advised to wait and see if any of the big four do make a bid and then he can make a decision. The rest of the country, meanwhile, will lick their lips in anticipation of his departure!

 

I'm sure of you will agree a cracking read there from Luke Edwards of The Journal, who clearly makes Alan Oliver's ramblings look like the back page of The Dandy.

 

The article is spot on.  There are maybe 20 A listers in the Premiership, Michael Owen is definitely one of them, and it could be argued he is the only one who doesn't play for the big four.  You could say Berbatov but he wasn't when he came to Spurs.  The article is correct, none of our so called rivals, the media and the top four can stomach the fact we signed Michael Owen. 

 

The likes of Tottenham, Villa, Everton, Man City etc.. are jealous and kuffaw at the idea of Owen playing for Newcastle, and the key reason for that is, nobody of his current stature would ever sign for their clubs.  The top four, come out with things like he only came for the money, of course he did but at least we had the ambition and resources to do it, so where's the problem.  The southern-centric media aren't happy neither, and it all boils down to a nation wanting to put clubs in certain boxes.  How dare we sign a striker who could walk in any other team, we're only little Newcastle who do we think we are.  The thing what we must do if we are to progress is live outside these boxes, don't class ourselves as a club who are in the group behind the UEFA Cup spot, or a second tier side like Spurs, or even a top four club.  Class ourselves as NUFC, and forget about where we're supposed to be, who we're supposed to be signing and what our ambitions are supposed to be.

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Very difficult to argue with the basis of that article.  Edwards, like me, is not a Newcastle fan, but I can very much relate to the comments he makes.  I find it tiresome when the media talk about the premiership being a 4 team league, Newcastle had the temerity to sign Owen, had people sniggering when Owen suffered 2 long term injuries and now Spurs are now starting on that cycle as the media decides which of the Big 4 will sign Berbatov.

 

Owen should come out publicly and say 'I'm with Newcastle for the long haul', that's my opinion, but his agents and advisors will tell him otherwise just in case a statement like that hampers a money spinning move for Owen (and for them).  I hope Owen stays, Newcastle have aspirations of joining the big 4 at the top table as have Spurs, and they will have greatly reduced chances of achieving that without Owen and Berbatov respectively.  For either of those 2 players to move upwards just makes it harder for the wannabee's to bring their hopes to fruition.

 

The one thing I would disagree with Stevie on is his belief that Spurs etc are jealous of Owen playing for Newcastle.  The vast majority of Spurs fans I know would be delighted to have Owen at Spurs just as most Newcastle fans would be happy to see Berbatov at SJP, but that doesn't constitute jealousy on the fans' part that he isn't.  I would accept that the media get frustrated that Michael Owen doesn't play for Man Utd or Chelsea.  It would make a better and easier story for them if he did.

 

 

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Guest Alan Shearer 9

I dunno if he would walk into any team, he'd probably break down after the first 3 steps with a broken spine

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The one thing I would disagree with Stevie on is his belief that Spurs etc are jealous of Owen playing for Newcastle.  The vast majority of Spurs fans I know would be delighted to have Owen at Spurs just as most Newcastle fans would be happy to see Berbatov at SJP, but that doesn't constitute jealousy on the fans' part that he isn't.  I would accept that the media get frustrated that Michael Owen doesn't play for Man Utd or Chelsea.  It would make a better and easier story for them if he did.

 

 

Yes, but you're missing the point.  Berbatov wasn't a world star he signed for you and probably still isn't, Owen was when he signed for us, the point I was making was Spurs don't have the capacity to go out and buy world stars, unless they're finished like Klinsmann.

 

The point of his article aside, I can't believe this guy is a professional writer. The grammar is horrible.  ;D

Just because he's not a Canadian who went to Harvard University, it doesn't mean his article isn't absolutely spot on.

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The one thing I would disagree with Stevie on is his belief that Spurs etc are jealous of Owen playing for Newcastle.  The vast majority of Spurs fans I know would be delighted to have Owen at Spurs just as most Newcastle fans would be happy to see Berbatov at SJP, but that doesn't constitute jealousy on the fans' part that he isn't.  I would accept that the media get frustrated that Michael Owen doesn't play for Man Utd or Chelsea.  It would make a better and easier story for them if he did.

 

 

Yes, but you're missing the point.  Berbatov wasn't a world star he signed for you and probably still isn't, Owen was when he signed for us, the point I was making was Spurs don't have the capacity to go out and buy world stars, unless they're finished like Klinsmann.

 

The point of his article aside, I can't believe this guy is a professional writer. The grammar is horrible.  ;D

Just because he's not a Canadian who went to Harvard University, it doesn't mean his article isn't absolutely spot on.

Shite, a double negative, I suppose you'll tell me off for that as well.

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Guest Micktoon

I agree 100% with the article. However some of the people who post on here also seem to be of that mindset. If he leaves the amount of "told you so's" on here will far outweigh the guffaws from the rest of the country.

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Guest alex

By virtue of being average Luke Edwards shows how bad Oliver is. Agree with what he says though.

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Guest kingdawson

Jealousy And Bitterness

The thing that amazes me most about the Michael Owen saga - even more than the fact Newcastle would actually agree to a sale clause almost half the size of the fee they paid for him two years earlier - is how much the rest of the country wants the England striker to dump on the Magpies.

 

It's incredible and has revealed the sort of bitterness and jealousy normally reserved for teams who actually win things, not one which constantly under-achievers and has a nasty knack of pressing the self destruct button.

 

You know, clubs that dominate domestic football like Manchester United, Liverpool and, more recently Chelsea. I don't include Arsenal in that, if only because they play the sort of football everyone should admire.

 

As regular readers will know, I'm not a Newcastle supporter, I have an affinity with them because I live in the city and it's my job to follow their fortunes, but I'm not a fan. I'm a Leyton Orient fan and I'm very proud of it.

 

But I still can't hide the fact I've been really irritated by some of the things that have been written about the Owen situation this week. Okay, so I know Freddie Shepherd isn't likely to win any popularity contests in football and Newcastle were probably a little silly to agree to the clause in his contract and then not to expect those close to him to leak its existence to the media, but the venom which has poured out has been shocking.

 

It's almost as if they can't wait for Owen to leave so they can laugh and mock the club for having the audacity to sign him in the first place. You'd expect that from Sunderland fans and in the interests of local rivals, they are perfectly entitled to laugh at the pain and misery of their neighbours!

 

But as for the rest of the country, I don't get it. Why shouldn't Newcastle show ambition? Why shouldn't they sign the best players available. Other clubs don't like it when one of the big boys unsettles and then buys their best players, preventing their ability to build a team which is capable of challenging for silverware, do they? So why enjoy Newcastle's problem so much?

 

I suppose it all boils down to jealousy. After all, how dare Michael Owen join Newcastle and not Liverpool two years ago! How dare he! The cheek of it! He didn't sign for one of the big four when they wanted him? Unbelievable, how very dare he.

 

English football IS the big four, the Champions League, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. The rest are just there to get beaten and pull off the odd shock which influences the title race.

 

And Newcastle - cough splutter - that isn't anywhere near London, it'll take me ages to get up to see Michael play there. Newcastle? , they're in the North, somewhere near Scotland I believe. I hear the people eat their babies up there......

 

As I've already said this week, this story will run and run unless Michael - and I don't often agree with the Newcastle chairman - insists he is going to stay.

 

He could do that now, but he won't because he will be advised not to. He'll be advised to wait and see if any of the big four do make a bid and then he can make a decision. The rest of the country, meanwhile, will lick their lips in anticipation of his departure!

 

I'm sure of you will agree a cracking read there from Luke Edwards of The Journal, who clearly makes Alan Oliver's ramblings look like the back page of The Dandy.

 

The article is spot on.  There are maybe 20 A listers in the Premiership, Michael Owen is definitely one of them, and it could be argued he is the only one who doesn't play for the big four.  You could say Berbatov but he wasn't when he came to Spurs.  The article is correct, none of our so called rivals, the media and the top four can stomach the fact we signed Michael Owen. 

 

The likes of Tottenham, Villa, Everton, Man City etc.. are jealous and kuffaw at the idea of Owen playing for Newcastle, and the key reason for that is, nobody of his current stature would ever sign for their clubs.  The top four, come out with things like he only came for the money, of course he did but at least we had the ambition and resources to do it, so where's the problem.  The southern-centric media aren't happy neither, and it all boils down to a nation wanting to put clubs in certain boxes.  How dare we sign a striker who could walk in any other team, we're only little Newcastle who do we think we are.   The thing what we must do if we are to progress is live outside these boxes, don't class ourselves as a club who are in the group behind the UEFA Cup spot, or a second tier side like Spurs, or even a top four club.  Class ourselves as NUFC, and forget about where we're supposed to be, who we're supposed to be signing and what our ambitions are supposed to be.

 

As we sit comfortably in 5th position for the second consecutive season i can only imagine how much were kicking ourselves at the fact that you signed Michael Owen :rolleyes:.

 

Klinsmann was washed up when we first signed him??? Yep the 29 goals and PFA Player of the year award really shows that.

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Guest andynufc84

Jealousy And Bitterness

The thing that amazes me most about the Michael Owen saga - even more than the fact Newcastle would actually agree to a sale clause almost half the size of the fee they paid for him two years earlier - is how much the rest of the country wants the England striker to dump on the Magpies.

 

It's incredible and has revealed the sort of bitterness and jealousy normally reserved for teams who actually win things, not one which constantly under-achievers and has a nasty knack of pressing the self destruct button.

 

You know, clubs that dominate domestic football like Manchester United, Liverpool and, more recently Chelsea. I don't include Arsenal in that, if only because they play the sort of football everyone should admire.

 

As regular readers will know, I'm not a Newcastle supporter, I have an affinity with them because I live in the city and it's my job to follow their fortunes, but I'm not a fan. I'm a Leyton Orient fan and I'm very proud of it.

 

But I still can't hide the fact I've been really irritated by some of the things that have been written about the Owen situation this week. Okay, so I know Freddie Shepherd isn't likely to win any popularity contests in football and Newcastle were probably a little silly to agree to the clause in his contract and then not to expect those close to him to leak its existence to the media, but the venom which has poured out has been shocking.

 

It's almost as if they can't wait for Owen to leave so they can laugh and mock the club for having the audacity to sign him in the first place. You'd expect that from Sunderland fans and in the interests of local rivals, they are perfectly entitled to laugh at the pain and misery of their neighbours!

 

But as for the rest of the country, I don't get it. Why shouldn't Newcastle show ambition? Why shouldn't they sign the best players available. Other clubs don't like it when one of the big boys unsettles and then buys their best players, preventing their ability to build a team which is capable of challenging for silverware, do they? So why enjoy Newcastle's problem so much?

 

I suppose it all boils down to jealousy. After all, how dare Michael Owen join Newcastle and not Liverpool two years ago! How dare he! The cheek of it! He didn't sign for one of the big four when they wanted him? Unbelievable, how very dare he.

 

English football IS the big four, the Champions League, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. The rest are just there to get beaten and pull off the odd shock which influences the title race.

 

And Newcastle - cough splutter - that isn't anywhere near London, it'll take me ages to get up to see Michael play there. Newcastle? , they're in the North, somewhere near Scotland I believe. I hear the people eat their babies up there......

 

As I've already said this week, this story will run and run unless Michael - and I don't often agree with the Newcastle chairman - insists he is going to stay.

 

He could do that now, but he won't because he will be advised not to. He'll be advised to wait and see if any of the big four do make a bid and then he can make a decision. The rest of the country, meanwhile, will lick their lips in anticipation of his departure!

 

I'm sure of you will agree a cracking read there from Luke Edwards of The Journal, who clearly makes Alan Oliver's ramblings look like the back page of The Dandy.

 

The article is spot on.  There are maybe 20 A listers in the Premiership, Michael Owen is definitely one of them, and it could be argued he is the only one who doesn't play for the big four.  You could say Berbatov but he wasn't when he came to Spurs.  The article is correct, none of our so called rivals, the media and the top four can stomach the fact we signed Michael Owen. 

 

The likes of Tottenham, Villa, Everton, Man City etc.. are jealous and kuffaw at the idea of Owen playing for Newcastle, and the key reason for that is, nobody of his current stature would ever sign for their clubs.  The top four, come out with things like he only came for the money, of course he did but at least we had the ambition and resources to do it, so where's the problem.  The southern-centric media aren't happy neither, and it all boils down to a nation wanting to put clubs in certain boxes.  How dare we sign a striker who could walk in any other team, we're only little Newcastle who do we think we are.   The thing what we must do if we are to progress is live outside these boxes, don't class ourselves as a club who are in the group behind the UEFA Cup spot, or a second tier side like Spurs, or even a top four club.  Class ourselves as NUFC, and forget about where we're supposed to be, who we're supposed to be signing and what our ambitions are supposed to be.

 

As we sit comfortably in 5th position for the second consecutive season i can only imagine how much were kicking ourselves at the fact that you signed Michael Owen :rolleyes:.

 

Klinsmann was washed up when we first signed him??? Yep the 29 goals and PFA Player of the year award really shows that.

 

Cant' disagree

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And as soon as a decent club went back in for him, he was off like a shot.

 

Klinsmann used Spurs to resurrect his career, off like a shot as soon as he had proved he could still do it. A number of Spurs fans I know don't like Klinsmann because of that.

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Guest kingdawson

And as soon as a decent club went back in for him, he was off like a shot.

 

Klinsmann used Spurs to resurrect his career, off like a shot as soon as he had proved he could still do it. A number of Spurs fans I know don't like Klinsmann because of that.

 

Same could be said for the Owen situation tbh. Anyway my argument was that Klinsmann wasent washed up when we signed him.

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And as soon as a decent club went back in for him, he was off like a shot.

 

Klinsmann used Spurs to resurrect his career, off like a shot as soon as he had proved he could still do it. A number of Spurs fans I know don't like Klinsmann because of that.

 

Same could be said for the Owen situation tbh. Anyway my argument was that Klinsmann wasent washed up when we signed him.

He was stuck at Monaco, still good but past his best wasting away in the French League.  Someone like West Ham, Tottenham or Southampton were always going to be his best bet.

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Guest elbee909

 

As we sit comfortably in 5th position for the second consecutive season i can only imagine how much were kicking ourselves at the fact that you signed Michael Owen :rolleyes:.

 

 

Cheers for keeping the 5th place seat warm for us, anyway.  All going well next season we'll be having that, at least.

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As we sit comfortably in 5th position for the second consecutive season i can only imagine how much were kicking ourselves at the fact that you signed Michael Owen :rolleyes:.

 

 

Cheers for keeping the 5th place seat warm for us, anyway.  All going well next season we'll be having that, at least.

 

To be honest though in our last few years (Souness/Roeder) you have grown as  a squad (albeit with 1000 midfielders) whereas all we have done is go backwards. We have fallen behind a  couple of teams in this respect.

 

Now I am hopeful with a good manager and some funds with a scouting network we might actually make it back up to UEFA cup spots if not next year then the year after.

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Guest alex

The one thing I would disagree with Stevie on is his belief that Spurs etc are jealous of Owen playing for Newcastle.  The vast majority of Spurs fans I know would be delighted to have Owen at Spurs just as most Newcastle fans would be happy to see Berbatov at SJP, but that doesn't constitute jealousy on the fans' part that he isn't.  I would accept that the media get frustrated that Michael Owen doesn't play for Man Utd or Chelsea.  It would make a better and easier story for them if he did.

 

 

Yes, but you're missing the point.  Berbatov wasn't a world star he signed for you and probably still isn't, Owen was when he signed for us, the point I was making was Spurs don't have the capacity to go out and buy world stars, unless they're finished like Klinsmann.

 

The point of his article aside, I can't believe this guy is a professional writer. The grammar is horrible.  ;D

Just because he's not a Canadian who went to Harvard University, it doesn't mean his article isn't absolutely spot on.

Shite, a double negative, I suppose you'll tell me off for that as well.

What you said makes perfect sense. I.e. it does not mean it is not spot on. It's only incorrect if you say something like: "Don't have none" when you mean "Don't have any". I hope that clears things up ;)

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The one thing I would disagree with Stevie on is his belief that Spurs etc are jealous of Owen playing for Newcastle.  The vast majority of Spurs fans I know would be delighted to have Owen at Spurs just as most Newcastle fans would be happy to see Berbatov at SJP, but that doesn't constitute jealousy on the fans' part that he isn't.  I would accept that the media get frustrated that Michael Owen doesn't play for Man Utd or Chelsea.  It would make a better and easier story for them if he did.

 

 

Yes, but you're missing the point.  Berbatov wasn't a world star he signed for you and probably still isn't, Owen was when he signed for us, the point I was making was Spurs don't have the capacity to go out and buy world stars, unless they're finished like Klinsmann.

 

The point of his article aside, I can't believe this guy is a professional writer. The grammar is horrible.  ;D

Just because he's not a Canadian who went to Harvard University, it doesn't mean his article isn't absolutely spot on.

s****, a double negative, I suppose you'll tell me off for that as well.

What you said makes perfect sense. I.e. it does not mean it is not spot on. It's only incorrect if you say something like: "Don't have none" when you mean "Don't have any". I hope that clears things up ;)

It makes sense, but is also grammatically incorrect.

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Guest alex

The one thing I would disagree with Stevie on is his belief that Spurs etc are jealous of Owen playing for Newcastle.  The vast majority of Spurs fans I know would be delighted to have Owen at Spurs just as most Newcastle fans would be happy to see Berbatov at SJP, but that doesn't constitute jealousy on the fans' part that he isn't.  I would accept that the media get frustrated that Michael Owen doesn't play for Man Utd or Chelsea.  It would make a better and easier story for them if he did.

 

 

Yes, but you're missing the point.  Berbatov wasn't a world star he signed for you and probably still isn't, Owen was when he signed for us, the point I was making was Spurs don't have the capacity to go out and buy world stars, unless they're finished like Klinsmann.

 

The point of his article aside, I can't believe this guy is a professional writer. The grammar is horrible.  ;D

Just because he's not a Canadian who went to Harvard University, it doesn't mean his article isn't absolutely spot on.

s****, a double negative, I suppose you'll tell me off for that as well.

What you said makes perfect sense. I.e. it does not mean it is not spot on. It's only incorrect if you say something like: "Don't have none" when you mean "Don't have any". I hope that clears things up ;)

It makes sense, but is also grammatically incorrect.

I think it's ok grammatically tbh. I'm no expert though.

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