Odds and Sods

As Arsenal found out so painfully this season, scoring goals is rather important in football.  Largely because of that, strikers are often the most prized, the most overvalued, the biggest names, and the biggest divas.  With nearly every big club in England, Spain, Italy, and Germany in the market, and with a plethora of prominent names circulating the rumor mills and back pages, many of these fabulous forwards appear to be on the move.  The Sexy Striker Sagas will be a series of articles seeking to decipher which of these debutantes will be the belle of the ball for your club in August.  The first part of the series begins now with Newcastle’s Michael Owen

Michael Owen has a list of accomplishments to match nearly anyone in football.  He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 1998.  He was joint top-scorer in the Premier league twice.  He won European Football of the Year ward in 2001 at the wee age of 22.  He was a member of Liverpool sides that won the FA Cup, 2 League Cups, and the UEFA Cup.  The Anfield legend scored 158 goals in 7 full seasons for the Reds.

Unlike many of his English counterparts, he also has made a name for himself representing his country.  Owen is the 4th leading all-time scorer for the England National Team, with 36 goals in 80 caps.  The most famous being his hat-trick in the famous 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich during the 2002 WC Qualifiers.  He is also the only England player to have scored in four major tournaments.

However, the last three seasons have seen Owen tumble into the abyss.  The Reds sold him to Real Madrid in 2004 for 8m GBP, but he failed to impress, managing a mere 16 goals in 45 appearances.  He returned to England in 2005 when Newcastle bought him for 16m GBP, but he has been plagued by injury since.  Michael managed just 11 appearances in 2005-6 (though he scored 7 goals), before a broken metatarsal in his foot prematurely ended the season.  He then suffered a torn ACL in the 2006 World Cup, and has only just come back to make one appearance for Newcastle this season.

We covered Michael’s already tenuous situation in the Northeast in a previous post.  However, Newcastle chariman Fat Freddy Sheppard (aka FFS or The Fat Controller) added fuel to the fire with recent comments to the English media.  Sheppard asked for a display of loyalty to the club from Owen, stating the following.

“I’m telling Michael he has two choices: he either comes out and tells our fans, who have taken him to their hearts, that he is happy here - or I tell him that not one of the big four clubs, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool are interested in him. Because that’s the case…The loyalty this club has shown him over the last two years, when he had injury problems in his first season and had missed virtually all of this season, deserves something in return.”

From these comments, one can divine a number of things.  One, FFS has absolutely no idea what he is doing.  If Owen is considering a move, threatening him, giving him an ultimatum, and then insulting him is not necessarily a delicate or prudent way of diffusing the situation.  Two, Sheppard is very, very, very worried about him leaving.  The Black and White invested heavily in Owen, ponying up a 16m GBP transfer bid as well as Owen’s hefty salary with little to show for it the last two seasons.  Owen leaving this summer might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and finally gets him deposed.

An interview on the Game Podcast with Times Online proved informative as well, with Owen discussing his England teammates and former Liverpool colleagues at length, but only discussing Newcastle when specifically prodded.  He cited recently resigned Glenn Roeder as a “great” manager, but made no reference to possible replacements or what shirt he would be wearing next season.

Despite Sheppard’s steadfastness, Owen reportedly does have an escape clause in his contract, which makes him available to any club wishing to pay 9m GBP.  With elite strikers running near the 30mGBP range and beyond, Owen has to be an intriguing prospect at such a cut rate.  He is only 27 years old, and has the potential, if healthy, to be one of the best strikers in the world, let alone England, in the prime of his career.  However, one must weigh that potential against both the risk that he will get injured and the distinct possibility that the knee injury will plunder him of his pace and make him a shell of the player he once was.

After his experience in the White Shirt, Owen will most likely not be willing to make another venture overseas.  That leaves the possibility of him moving to one of the Big Four English clubs.  Chelsea are looking for a striker after the Shevchenko disaster.  However, one sees them having the financial clout to break the bank for a bigger target, like Valencia’s David Villa.

Manchester United, despite winning the Premiership, lacked a potent traditional striker and are in the market.  But, they may have the targets set higher as well, with rich Uncle Glazer looking at the likes of Samuel Eto’o.  With the likes of Giggs, Scholes, and Neville not getting any younger, Sir Alex will probably want to inject the team with younger blood, rather than an aging and injury prone striker.  If they fail to land one of the bigger named strikers, they may be tempted to swoop in to nab Owen.

A goal poacher like Owen would seem a perfect fit for Arsene Wenger’s team that was notably anemic in the penalty area.  However, financial constraints will most likely prevent them from taking a chance on Owen.  Look for them to go younger, cheaper, more obscure, and more international.

Though Rafa Benitez  doesn’t appear particularly interested, the logical destination for Owen would appear to be Liverpool.  He would undoubtedly be interested in returning to the club where he last had success.  The fans would undoubtedly welcome him back.  Liverpool have depth at striker, but lack the top-flight international class scorer required to win the elusive Premiership and to be considered as the self-proclaimed greatest, best, and most traditional club in the entire known universe.  They have the money and tradition but Liverpool isn’t exactly an attractive target for elite caliber players, unless they happen to have been born there.  They may have trouble bringing in the likes of a Samuel Eto’o, causing them to pull the trigger on Owen to appease the fans and Steven Gerrard (who is currently negotiating a long-term deal).

Unless Newcastle plan on bringing in a certain smooth Swede and Owen admirer as manager, it appears that Owen’s time at the Toon will be brief.  The only clubs who would both tempt him and have the cash would be the Big Four.  The only one of them who would appear a likely destination would be Liverpool.