Michael Owen

[Felixfan 53]

As the chant goes "What a waste of money"

[TIL 1010 5,159]

Blimey David surely it is way past your bedtime. [:P]

[Norfolk Mustard 106]

I remember there were similar doubts when Dion Dublin first arrived from Celtic... :-)

[ROBFLECK 134]

I read the name of Kevin Phillips here...you can''t compare them. Phillips wasn''t injured half of the time and scored goals as he''s always done. Did his talking on the field... I doubt Owen can still do this for us...

[Hog 0]

Never going to happen

[Row D Seat 7 0]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,411]

[quote user="WeAreYellows49"]No ta, past his best and a mercenary[/quote]

You can say many things about Owen but he is certainly not a mercenary.

 

Took a pay cut to move from Real Madrid to Newcastle to get more first team football and rejected big money offers in America and the Middle East to play for Man U because he still wanted to compete for trophies. He has again turned down MLS/Dubai clubs this summer as he wants to keep playing at as high a level as possible. To me this suggests a player who is still hungry for success.

 

He is of course past his prime and injury problems means he can never expect to get 30 games a season anymore - but he is still determined and driven (despite what people say about him only being interested in horses) and will give 100% for which ever club signs him.

[Gingerpele 0]

I''m torn as to wether he''d be worth a shot.

I kind if agree with what Bethnal has said, Owen does want to play in the Prem. and he''s much more likely to get a big pay day outside of England/Europe. If he were willing to take a pay cut, or take most of his money on a pay as you play deal,mill goal bonuses, we wouldn''t make a huge loss on him if he doesn''t perform.

In a way I''d love Owen here. If he was fit enough to play half and hour every other game (on average) he could very easily score goals that keep us up, push us from 12th to 10th etc etc.

But he could be a waste of money, not fit into the squad, spend his whole time out injured.

[paul moy 235]

If we paid him for only the games he plays he could be worth a shot, but would he accept earning only 50K in a season...

[William Darby 0]

[quote user="paul moy"]If we paid him for only the games he plays he could be worth a shot, but would he accept earning only 50K in a season...[/quote]Seriously, who''s going to pay him top money anyway?  What''s the most he could get, considering everything?

[NWC 291]

I think he still has a bit to offer as an impact sub, but the main problem is location.Owen lives in the same village as me. He is local to the area and settled here with wifey and 4 kids in school at Chester. He isn''t going to move - as neither would you if you had a house like he does! It would be much easier to go to Everton or Stoke as you can get there in about an hour - Norwich is 4-6 hours away, and for that reason alone I think he wouldn''t come. When he was at Newcastle they paid for a nice new eurocopter to make the journey quicker - I don''t see McNally or D&M stretching to that.

[kellybrook 0]

it''d be good in what way?  To watch an old footballer sit on our bench?  To watch him drift on and realise he was all about pace ten years ago?[quote user="Resident Canary Stig"]Pffft... it''d be good, but his wages.

Nah, not a chance. Though I''m surprised he hasn''t found a new home already![/quote]

[6088m canary 0]

Surely the only person left in the UK who thinks Owen is quality, is Owen himself.  Cant believe how the usual "big" names are banded about and all the mugs who listen to so called "experts" such as Lawro, Hansen etc are taken in.  His record at United was hardly great and we are talking about a team that would supply a striker with chance after chance after chance.  He HAD pace, that is long gone and quite honestly bar his ego there is nothing left.  If really wanted to prove the doubters wrong then hed drop into the Championship for a local side to him like Blackburn/Blackpool/Burnley/Preston and show the whole of England he still has what it takes....unfortunately though he doesn''t and hasn''t for the past 5 years or so.  If we are signing players who used to be international quality then Heskey would be a cheaper option......Now ask yourself....do you want to sign Heskey? Whatever you answer to that should also be applied to Owen.And as an end to my little rant....IF he was even half as decent as he thinks he is then any number of mediocre mid table premier sides would have jumped at the chance to offer him a deal.......not seen any interest myself.

[CanaryOne 0]

Surprised anybody is even considering this , Owen has been finished in mind and body for quite a while now and is just the type of signing that will see us relegated . If Hughton brings him in i think we can safely say we picked the wrong man to replace Lambert , all in all Chopra from the Scum would be a better signing ,

[BroadstairsR 2,272]

A bit harsh on young Michael there 6088. He''s a player who knows where the goal is and fair does if he wants to end his career at the highest level.

Multi millionaire Owen must be one of the wealthiest players still in the English game so I shouldn''t imagine that wages would be his priority as against a chance of a few more Prem. games as a swansong.

If he was cheapish and paid on appearances he could well pop up a couple of times or so to win us valuable points next season.

I wouldn''t want him in the starting line up though.

[hazza9 0]

owen i think would still be a good signing for us on a 1 year contract. he still has pace obviously not what he used to have but he has a great footballing brain which helps greatly. i would much rather have owen one on one with the keeper than someone like jackson, not much difference in pace and owen is much more clinical. worth a go imo.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,411]

[quote user="6088m canary"]Surely the only person left in the UK who thinks Owen is quality, is Owen himself.  Cant believe how the usual "big" names are banded about and all the mugs who listen to so called "experts" such as Lawro, Hansen etc are taken in.  His record at United was hardly great and we are talking about a team that would supply a striker with chance after chance after chance.  He HAD pace, that is long gone and quite honestly bar his ego there is nothing left.  If really wanted to prove the doubters wrong then hed drop into the Championship for a local side to him like Blackburn/Blackpool/Burnley/Preston and show the whole of England he still has what it takes....unfortunately though he doesn''t and hasn''t for the past 5 years or so. 
If we are signing players who used to be international quality then Heskey would be a cheaper option......
Now ask yourself....do you want to sign Heskey? Whatever you answer to that should also be applied to Owen.

And as an end to my little rant....IF he was even half as decent as he thinks he is then any number of mediocre mid table premier sides would have jumped at the chance to offer him a deal.......not seen any interest myself.
[/quote]

Owen isn''t the player he was, of course not, injuries and age have seen to that - but he is still a good striker. He had a better goals to minutes played ratio than any other United striker. The reason he hasn''t dropped down a division is he knows he can''t play every week due to past injuries, he needs to be at a club that can use him from the bench and he knows it. His problems really started when Newcastle kept forcing him to play whilst injured because they were desperate, he wants to avoid that happening again and if he was the ''number 1'' striker at any club that is exactly what would happen to him.

 

I''m not suggesting he is brilliant or that Norwich should sign him, but he isn''t as bad as many people make out - and certainly shouldn''t be compared to Heskey.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]

[quote user="6088m canary"]Surely the only person left in the UK who thinks Owen is quality, is Owen himself.  Cant believe how the usual "big" names are banded about and all the mugs who listen to so called "experts" such as Lawro, Hansen etc are taken in.  His record at United was hardly great and we are talking about a team that would supply a striker with chance after chance after chance.  He HAD pace, that is long gone and quite honestly bar his ego there is nothing left.  If really wanted to prove the doubters wrong then hed drop into the Championship for a local side to him like Blackburn/Blackpool/Burnley/Preston and show the whole of England he still has what it takes....unfortunately though he doesn''t and hasn''t for the past 5 years or so. 
If we are signing players who used to be international quality then Heskey would be a cheaper option......
Now ask yourself....do you want to sign Heskey? Whatever you answer to that should also be applied to Owen.

And as an end to my little rant....IF he was even half as decent as he thinks he is then any number of mediocre mid table premier sides would have jumped at the chance to offer him a deal.......not seen any interest myself.
[/quote]

Owen isn''t the player he was, of course not, injuries and age have seen to that - but he is still a good striker. He had a better goals to minutes played ratio than any other United striker. The reason he hasn''t dropped down a division is he knows he can''t play every week due to past injuries, he needs to be at a club that can use him from the bench and he knows it. His problems really started when Newcastle kept forcing him to play whilst injured because they were desperate, he wants to avoid that happening again and if he was the ''number 1'' striker at any club that is exactly what would happen to him.

 

I''m not suggesting he is brilliant or that Norwich should sign him, but he isn''t as bad as many people make out - and certainly shouldn''t be compared to Heskey.

[/quote]

Once again you''ve come up with a sensible post there.

 

As you mention, he may not be the player he once was but I can''t say I''d be disappointed if we signed Michael Owen (not that I expect us to).

 

This is a guy who has proven he can score goals at the very highest level of the game. We''d obviously only sign him if the terms and circumstances were right but how could having a player of that quality not benefit Norwich City in some way?

[Kett.canary 0]

Not so sure myself. Everyone knows there is a real possibility that an injury could strike during his first game at his new club. Wherever that may end up. And that''s going to be a hell of a lot of money to sit on the medics table. Let''s keep the young and hungry theme for now.

[Bat for Washes 0]

Are all those who are moaning about Owen signing the same fans that moan that Hughton wants to offload Vaughan? Both crocks but Owen is a better player when he plays.

[First Wizard 0]

How long are the school holidays?

[lake district canary 0]

[quote user="tom cavendish"]Last season Norwich created a huge number of very good chances to score. The conversion rate seemed to be quite low. We need someone to convert a higher proportion of chances into goals, and Owen has always been one of the best in the world at doing that.

The main issue is regarding his fitness but if Norwich were to agree a deal that means they only pay him when he plays then that should be fine.[/quote]

 

 

I would have to question your statement that we created a huge number of chances to score and that the conversion rate was low.  If you take Holt''s conversion rate on its own, it is one of the best in the premiership.     It was often a case of not giving in once having gone behind - which did happen frequently - and scoring when we did get chances - which were sometimes few and far between.   Its difficult to generalise.

 

 

Owen though does also have a good strike rate - the problem is now though that he needs those chances made for him more than he used to.  He was tried as a forward midfield player at Newcastle which looked for a time as if it may be  a role he could adapt to well.  However, he plainly didn''t fancy the extra running he would have to do (for whatever reason) and reverted back to being a  striker - usually from the bench.    I would be very surprised if he would leave his stables for Norwich - unless he has a helicopter (he probably has! ).     Just don''t think he is what we need.  I would rather see Jackson given a longer run in the team to see if he can find his scoring touch. 

 

 

[ca 1]

[quote user="Wiz"]How long are the school holidays?[/quote]

 

Too long [:)]

[paul moy 235]

[quote user="Bat for Washes"]Are all those who are moaning about Owen signing the same fans that moan that Hughton wants to offload Vaughan? Both crocks but Owen is a better player when he plays.[/quote]

Not really a ringing endorsement though is it if he only makes a game or so.

[Google Bot 3,847]

Agree with most that has been written here.

However, if he was to make the move here it would be a signal of his intent to finish on a high. He isn''t going to walk from his big house, family and stables to us just to sit on his arse, i''m sure.

I''m really split on whether i''d like to see it happen though, if he could sort it out mentally and become interested in the game again, would his body match suit?

I know he worked hard on his upper body when he was out injured, but that''s no good when you can''t walk.

[TIL 1010 5,159]

[quote user="Wiz"]How long are the school holidays?[/quote]

Don''t worry Wiz it was BW who managed to start three threads yesterday and have them all deleted.

[Dave 0]

Owen has worked with CH in the past so there could be some truth in this rumour.I feel that owen still has something in him at times at Man U when he was injury free and had a chance he did play quite well.The key issue would be wages and his injury record.If the club could agree some sort of pay as you play deal topped up with goal bonuses he could be a good addition

[timncfc 0]

Im in the camp that would love to see Owen in a city shirt, I think it would give everyone a lift going into the season, my worry is that he would be weeks even months behind everyone else in terms or fitness/match fitness, to rush him into shape could cause more injury problems. Cant believe no one has took achance on him.

[hogesar 10,536]

To brush him off on ability alone is wrong - ability wise he would be the best goal poacher in our squad.The problem is taking into account fitness and wages - two big issues which i think override the ability he has, in my opinion.