Owen

[Guest BooBoo]

I'm still searching back for a time we saw Oba use his alleged "electric" pace. 

[ChezGiven]

The first time he got substituted iirc.

[Dave]

I'm still searching back for a time we saw Oba use his alleged "electric" pace. 

 

We're reduced to saying he's not actually quick now then?

[Optimistic Nut]

I would quite happily sell owen for 11 million and go for Anelka with the money, he would be a better pairing up front with Oba. Or vice versa, oba for 12 million and anelka and owen up front.

Just call me Allardice!!

 

Knew I should have had that copyrighted.

[Guest BooBoo]

He was quick off the mark when he caught that stranded bird that time but other than that i seriously cant remember a time when he's sprinted past a defender. And i saw all but one home match this season! And Oba wasnt even playing in the one i missed!!

[Optimistic Nut]

The only blinding example I can think of was when Henchoz (?) was sent-off in our game at Blackburn for bringing him down when he was away.

[Wullie]

Off the top of my head, his goal against Liverpool was all about his pace, despite Reina's error. Agger had a good five yard head start on him.

[ChezGiven]

Liverpool goal at home and when he ran down Paddy Kenny away at Sheff are two that spring to mind Booby.

[Guest BooBoo]

Well....ok then.....but he should use his pace more!!

 

[STM]

West-Ham, AZ Alkmaar at home (albeit running at defenders), blackburn away.... twice?

[Guest Gemmill]

BooBoo, I know what you're getting at.  The fact is that this electric pace we're told about is very rarely used to any great advantage because his movement is so poor.  He tends to use it to make up ground on defenders rather than streak away from them (or to chase down his own misplaced passes ).  He's got pace but it's all but useless because of the way he plays (and admittedly the way WE play).

[GM]

At times this past season, Oba's performances, particularly regarding control and possession has suffered because of a lack of confidence (possibly down to a combination of his own youthful naivety and poor coaching by Roeder) and pressure (being aware of the importance of the number 9 at SJP, and so desperately wanting to become a legend himself).

 

However, I have to say that at various times last season, just when he was about to gain possession, having made an otherwise impressive run to chase the ball down, he has seemed to just panic, consequently screwing up in trying to get control of the ball, and thereby instantly conceding possession.

 

On those occasions, I have to say the lad has looked for all the world like a horny virgin teenager who's managed at long last to get a lass back to his room, only to spunk his load as he's trying to get his kecks off. What Oba needs is a decent coach, but also (like Owen) the confidence that will surely come from (a) having more steadfast service and support from midfield and possibly (b) just the confidence that should come from gaining familiarity with Premiership football - others have used the Drogba analogy, and it's not a bad one.

[Cajun]

People claim Martins is a poor finisher but his goal to shot ratio this season is right up there, given the fact that he takes risks aswell shooting from distance it can't be THAT poor. Yes he has missed a few he should have scored but so have a lot of strikers.

[STM]

At times this past season, Oba's performances, particularly regarding control and possession has suffered because of a lack of confidence (possibly down to a combination of his own youthful naivety and poor coaching by Roeder) and pressure (being aware of the importance of the number 9 at SJP, and so desperately wanting to become a legend himself).

 

However, I have to say that at various times last season, just when he was about to gain possession, having made an otherwise impressive run to chase the ball down, he has seemed to just panic, consequently screwing up in trying to get control of the ball, and thereby instantly conceding possession.

 

On those occasions, I have to say the lad has looked for all the world like a horny virgin teenager who's managed at long last to get a lass back to his room, only to spunk his load as he's trying to get his kecks off. What Oba needs is a decent coach, but also (like Owen) the confidence that will surely come from (a) having more steadfast service and support from midfield and possibly (b) just the confidence that should come from gaining familiarity with Premiership football - others have used the Drogba analogy, and it's not a bad one.

 

The question is, has Oba got the abilty in the sack if he manages to get his load under control?

[STM]

People claim Martins is a poor finisher but his goal to shot ratio this season is right up there, given the fact that he takes risks aswell shooting from distance it can't be THAT poor. Yes he has missed a few he should have scored but so have a lot of strikers.

 

Actually you have hit on a very good point there. I don't think he has enough shots on goals. If he got his movement and first touch sorted he'd probably create a couple more opportunities for himself.

[indi]

Anyone mind if I talk about Owen in this Martins thread?

 

A few people seem to think that Owen is worth £17m simply because that's what we paid for him, he isn't. Before you start, I don't expect you to simply take my word for it, look at the actions of every other team and manager in the world, if he was worth £17m why were we the only club in the world prepared to pay it? Why was the next highest offer around half that? Do you really think that the manager of the team who made that offer (Rafa Benitez) actually wanted to buy Owen anyway? The answers to these questions point to the fact that £17m was way over the odds for Michael Owen. The only reason we paid that amount of money is because Fred knew that the only way we were going to get him to sign for us was to absolutely blow Liverpool out of the water and offer an amount so ridiculously huge that he wouldn't have the option of staying at Real either.

 

So what is Michael Owen worth, well I'm not sure really, maybe around £11m perhaps, what do you reckon?

 

If you think about it, if that is about what he's worth it actually works out "better" in terms of us keeping hold of him. Everyone's talking as if £11m for Owen would be a bargain, too good for anyone to turn down, well I don't think that's true at all, it only appears to be a bargain due to the huge price we paid for him. Other clubs don't give a shit about what we paid for him when they evaluate what he's worth, do they!! Real paid £8m for him a couple of years ago, before he'd had these injuries, when he was arguably at the top of his game. Liverpool apparently offered a similar (lower?) amount to Real when we bought him. Why would anyone now offer £3-4m more now? Has he improved since he's been with us? How would you know!?!

 

The more I think about it the less likely I think it is that he'll go anywhere this summer and even if he does, it won't be on the cheap, it'll be for what he's worth, maybe even more. Yeah, maybe we'd have got ripped off, but it won't have been by another club, it'll have been by us, we'll have ripped ourselves off and we'll have no-one else to blame.

[nufcjmc]

Anyone mind if I talk about Owen in this Martins thread?

 

A few people seem to think that Owen is worth £17m simply because that's what we paid for him, he isn't. Before you start, I don't expect you to simply take my word for it, look at the actions of every other team and manager in the world, if he was worth £17m why were we the only club in the world prepared to pay it? Why was the next highest offer around half that? Do you really think that the manager of the team who made that offer (Rafa Benitez) actually wanted to buy Owen anyway? The answers to these questions point to the fact that £17m was way over the odds for Michael Owen. The only reason we paid that amount of money is because Fred knew that the only way we were going to get him to sign for us was to absolutely blow Liverpool out of the water and offer an amount so ridiculously huge that he wouldn't have the option of staying at Real either.

 

So what is Michael Owen worth, well I'm not sure really, maybe around £11m perhaps, what do you reckon?

 

If you think about it, if that is about what he's worth it actually works out "better" in terms of us keeping hold of him. Everyone's talking as if £11m for Owen would be a bargain, too good for anyone to turn down, well I don't think that's true at all, it only appears to be a bargain due to the huge price we paid for him. Other clubs don't give a shit about what we paid for him when they evaluate what he's worth, do they!! Real paid £8m for him a couple of years ago, before he'd had these injuries, when he was arguably at the top of his game. Liverpool apparently offered a similar (lower?) amount to Real when we bought him. Why would anyone now offer £3-4m more now? Has he improved since he's been with us? How would you know!?!

 

The more I think about it the less likely I think it is that he'll go anywhere this summer and even if he does, it won't be on the cheap, it'll be for what he's worth, maybe even more. Yeah, maybe we'd have got ripped off, but it won't have been by another club, it'll have been by us, we'll have ripped ourselves off and we'll have no-one else to blame.

 

a player is only worth what are club are willing to pay for him, at the time i dont think anyone would have complained about signing owen, i remember hearing stuff like " top drawer" "new shearer" "we lost out on rooney but got a gem in owen" and now two seasons down done nowt for us, hasnt been blasting them in when he has played and with the this speculation about his contract no wonder the lad ran off to ireland. If he does go i hope he goes for top wack like alot of the press has said i think for him to attract a better club than ourselves he needs to be on fire for england if it doesnt go well then we keep him and SA workis with him to get him back on form. Seen as their are strikers out there for the 10-15 million bracket i dont see it as being a big thing if he stays or goes except from  apersonal point of view where there is something special about seeing owen score for us (maybe cause he scored so many against us) if he does stay just wait for the chants when he is stuffing scumderland back the championship

[midds]

Anyone mind if I talk about Owen in this Martins thread?

 

A few people seem to think that Owen is worth £17m simply because that's what we paid for him, he isn't. Before you start, I don't expect you to simply take my word for it, look at the actions of every other team and manager in the world, if he was worth £17m why were we the only club in the world prepared to pay it? Why was the next highest offer around half that? Do you really think that the manager of the team who made that offer (Rafa Benitez) actually wanted to buy Owen anyway? The answers to these questions point to the fact that £17m was way over the odds for Michael Owen. The only reason we paid that amount of money is because Fred knew that the only way we were going to get him to sign for us was to absolutely blow Liverpool out of the water and offer an amount so ridiculously huge that he wouldn't have the option of staying at Real either.

 

So what is Michael Owen worth, well I'm not sure really, maybe around £11m perhaps, what do you reckon?

 

If you think about it, if that is about what he's worth it actually works out "better" in terms of us keeping hold of him. Everyone's talking as if £11m for Owen would be a bargain, too good for anyone to turn down, well I don't think that's true at all, it only appears to be a bargain due to the huge price we paid for him. Other clubs don't give a shit about what we paid for him when they evaluate what he's worth, do they!! Real paid £8m for him a couple of years ago, before he'd had these injuries, when he was arguably at the top of his game. Liverpool apparently offered a similar (lower?) amount to Real when we bought him. Why would anyone now offer £3-4m more now? Has he improved since he's been with us? How would you know!?!

 

The more I think about it the less likely I think it is that he'll go anywhere this summer and even if he does, it won't be on the cheap, it'll be for what he's worth, maybe even more. Yeah, maybe we'd have got ripped off, but it won't have been by another club, it'll have been by us, we'll have ripped ourselves off and we'll have no-one else to blame.

 

That's absolutely spot on indi. 

[indi]

[Guest BooBoo]

I just hope that if Owen wants to go, then he buggers off asap. The last thing we want is a summer of transfer speculation of him leaving only for him to upsticks in late August, leaving us limited time to get in any sort of replacement or use the funds wisely.

[KaKa]

Owen happy to bestow Allardyce a fair hearingGeorge Caulkin

Michael Owen’s future may remain a matter of conjecture, but the England striker has held positive discussions with Sam Allardyce about the new manager’s plans for Newcastle United. Allardyce made speaking to the club’s record signing a priority on taking up his position at St James’ Park last week.

 

Owen’s status on Tyneside has become uncertain after the 27-year-old’s long-awaited return from knee surgery. Mention of a £9 million release clause in his contract and reported interest from Manchester United and Liverpool recently provoked Freddy Shepherd, the Newcastle chairman, into saying that Owen should “come out and tell our fans he is happy here”.

 

That declaration has not followed, although Owen has never expressed a desire to leave the club, having said in October: “I’m here as long as everybody wants me.”

 

When Allardyce met members of the Newcastle squad for the first time last week, Owen was in Ireland, indulging his passion for horses.

 

His absence was prearranged – other players, including Kieron Dyer, had also left on holiday – but it did not assist in deflecting the notion that Owen is disconnected from the club who bought him from Real Madrid for £16 million in 2005. It is a situation that Glenn Roeder’s successor wishes to address promptly.

 

Allardyce, who is on a family break in France, briefly returned to Newcastle last Thursday, when he spoke to Owen by telephone. He detailed his desire to revamp the club’s coaching and medical structure, as well as strengthen the team after a miserable, injury-blighted season. Leighton Baines, the Wigan Athletic left back, is reputedly a target.

 

Allardyce’s backroom staff should be strengthened with the addition of Mike Forde, the Bolton Wanderers performance director, who rejected the newly created position of general manager at the Reebok Stadium. Bolton will seek compensation for Forde, but they hope instead to appoint Frank McParland, Liverpool’s joint chief scout.

 

Mark Taylor, Bolton’s head of sports science and medicine, is another on Allardyce’s list. With Phil Brown committing himself to Hull City yesterday, Neil McDonald, the Carlisle United manager, is the clear favourite to be appointed as Allardyce’s assistant.

 

Owen’s response to the new manager’s plans was encouraging and he will return to preseason training on July 2 in a positive frame of mind should no club trigger the escape clause that Newcastle assented to when they beat Liverpool to his signature two years ago.

 

Manchester United were pursuing Owen before he suffered anterior cruciate knee-ligament damage at the World Cup finals, while the notion of Liverpool resigning their former player has long held strong appeal within the Anfield boardroom. It has also been suggested that Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has expressed his admiration for both Owen and Obafemi Martins, the Nigerian.

 

Developments are unlikely before the three imminent England appearances that Owen is anticipating. Having played for only 247 minutes since his recuperation, his match fitness is yet to be demonstrated. But the England B fixture against Albania in Burnley on Friday, the friendly against Brazil at Wembley on June 1 and the European Championship qualifying tie in Estonia on June 6 should give him every opportunity.

 

The prospect is welcome to Steve McClaren, the England head coach. “Michael Owen and even Joe Cole are going to be like new signings and they are inspirational players,” he said yesterday. “Michael has proved that he scores goals, vital goals. He scores goals out of nothing, when the team is probably not playing well, and every successful team needs a goalscorer like that.

 

“It’s not going to be easy for Michael; he’s been out a year. It’s just great to have him back. But let’s be patient because the it does take a while to get your timing back, although he looks very fit and very sharp.”

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/newcastle/article1821553.ece

 

[Dave]

A positive article for once.

[KaKa]

A positive article for once.

 

I know right! Also coming from the Times who Owen has a column with so it is pretty promising.

 

Still think Big Sam will not play two littleuns upfront judging from his history at Bolton, and so if Owen remains Oba might be out.

[Guest TheOrder]

Very good.

 

 

[Guest Alan Shearer 9]

Martin's pace is very good; his speed on the ball is poor.