MICHAEL Owen will no longer be a Newcastle player when his contract with the Tyneside club ends at the end of the month. The sad thing is – only Hull City has expressed an interest in the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker.
The sadder thing is, the striker’s management company have had to produced a 34-page brochure to entice clubs to sign him up.
To think that Owen was once one of the most-feared strikers in England, scoring 30 goals in 79 games for Newcastle and 40 goals in 89 appearances for the Three Lions.
But his much-vaunted speed has gone with age, and he has been tagged “fragile” after spending much of his club careers on the treatment tables.
Some Premiership players have sought the lesser leagues in England, the Middle East or Australia (see Robbie Fowler) when they are reaching the twilight of their careers.
While Owen might just be all of 29, he has been seen as many as past his prime. So should the diminutive striker consider going down the same path as Fowler and co., or wait in hope for a “good Premiership club” to come along with an offer that would match his £110,000-a-week wages at Newcastle?
WELCOME TO THE POSTMAN'S NEIGHBOURHOOD 
Long, long time ago, I used to have a friend from the UK. She was so obsessed with Michael Owen besides Gareth Gates and The Rock…
She said she ‘loved Michael Owen to pieces’. We lost contact as she had enough of me making fun of her on e mails. I’m trying to contact her again now but to no avail.
Michael Owen should maybe just follow the footsteps of his friend Jamie Redknapp and retire early. One of the reasons why my UK friend had an adrenalin rush when she saw Michael Owen was because of Owen’s speed. People aged 20 and above will remember how Michael Owen would run with the ball like a speed demon and score left, right, centre.
Unfortunately for Owen, he cannot be like Ryan Giggs. You see, Giggs can mould his game from running at full speed in the flanks to being centre of the park with deft flicks and touches. Michael Owen, cannot run anymore as he loses his youth and fail trying to be a fox-in-a-box striker.
Michael Owen can wait long, long for a good Premiership club to buy him. He needs to get it drilled inside his head he is no longer that striker with speed like the Flash. I don’t think he wants to follow Robbie Fowler by joining the lower leagues. Michael Owen’s career is officially over. It’s time to hang your boots, go fishing in the weekend, fly kites and use the money you generated over these years wisely till the day you rest in peace.
I wish my UK friend would come back to my life. I want to ask her about her favourite player who had fallen from grace.
Qyaerus-Syahrein, 27, student, Chelsea fan
Comment by Q-S — June 23, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
The one thing the whole world knows except Owen himself is that he is finished. He is finished as a footballer. Injury worries aside, have you really seen his performances for Newcastle last season?
Chances that he usually put away with aplomb, he fires them straight at the goalkeeper, into the stands or worse, completely miskick it. Everytime he gets the ball, he halts play, and sends the ball backwards. Otherwise, he gets it, thinks he still has the pace he had 10 years ago, tries to sprint past defenders and end up losing the ball.
People talk all about Owen’s predatory instincts, goal poacher qualities and fox in the box persona but all these were back then, when Beckham was still England’s skipper, when Hoddle was still England’s manager.
Of course, he is England’s leading scorer still active, his achievements include the quintuple of cup trophies in 2001 with Liverpool and the Ballon d’or the same year. He also scored the 2nd greatest ever World Cup goal in history and is a former Galactico.
What earned him all the individual accolades was primarily his pace. Without it, he is as good as worthless. Age and injuries have taken its toll on Owen, still only 29, but no where near his hey day.
His apparent lack of contribution in Newcastle’s unsuccessful fight against relegation has earned him the ire of Tyneside and he needs to be given a good kick up the backside.
If he ever wants to prove the critics wrong, he has to humbly accept a club like modest Hull City, be the big fish in a small pond again and change his style of play. His pace will never trouble defences so he has to alter it and use his sense of positioning to his advantage.
He should never ever consider moving to Australia or Arab and wind down his career. Everyone wants to see Owen back on his feet, back amongst the goals, back in the England team. Not the present Owen, but the Owen of yesteryear.
I believe he still has that glimpse of talent he showed to the world, and a this season could prove pivotal for the rest of his life.
Whether he gets remembered as a player past his prime as early as 29, or remembered as one of England’s all-time greats depends on this.
Forget about seeking 100,000 per week, he will never find it anywhere. Seize the opportunity to remain in the Premiership, and prove his detractors wrong again.
If Beckham could do it, so could Owen
Comment by Lim Jun An — June 23, 2009 @ 1:48 pm
A Michael Owen without speed is like a David Beckham without his renowned crossing & set-piece ability. A classic Owen will be one who will leave the defenders for dead with a sudden burst of speed, but how long ago did we last witness that scene? You must have a superb memory if you can remember that!
But make no mistake about it, that little fella has been a great servant for his nation. There was a time where his partnership with Heskey was a terrifying prospect for defenders. Talk about England and immediately the names of Beckham and Owen spring to mind.
But now? Mention the Three Lions and you would most likely get a reply of Beckham(Yes, he’s still there!), Gerrard, Rooney, Terry, Lampard and Ferdinand. What’s more, Baby-boy Owen is behind the likes of Carlton Cole, Heskey, Rooney, Walcott, Ashton, Agbonlahor, Bent, Davies, Crouch and Defoe in the striker’s pecking order for England as we approach World Cup 2010.
I think he can forget about playing in South Africa next year and concentrate on getting his club career back on track. His £110,000-a-week salary is way way way way way way way overstated for his diminishing ability. If he is still looking for wages at or around that range, he will definitely be without a job because no club in their right frame of mind would pay that sort of money for him.
I think salary of about £25,000-a-week is just about right because you just never know how many games this guy will provide you and even then, how many games that he played in will he have any sort of impact?
He might feel that a player of his status in the game deserves more but the sad reality is that his legs are gone and there are a lot of younger, faster, stronger and deadlier strikers in the market right now ahead of him.
The thing about a certain number of former great players is that they don’t seem to be willing to admit they are past it even though they are past their expiry dates. Think Shevchenko, Deco, Ballack, Denilson and Cannavaro.
If even a little club like Wigan can snub Owen, then he would be wise to listen to my advice and accept Hull’s offer. He might not earn much there, but then again, does he need to? He already has enough zeros in his bank-book to last him till old and will he really care about a few more thousand pounds? No, he won’t! He just doesn’t want to “lose face” and accept that he is no longer the top-class Owen that he has been associated with.
Who knows? He might burst into life at Hull and go on a great run of form and the World Cup next year might be within his reach. But now he must take it one step at a time and perform well at club level before even dreaming of the tournament next summer.
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — June 23, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
Owen can only blame himself for the plight that he have landed himself in.If only he had remained at Liverpool and not go to Madrid,he might have form a very potent partnership with Torres which could help Liverpool reap success as it could also benefit his reputation but all because of”GREED”,he abandon his Liverpool career,i guess he must be regretting now.Owen is easily injured but when he’s up,he still can score and the problem now is,do he want to lower his pay deal in order to return to EPL?If he does,he may still see a glimmer of hope of fighting back his England place but he must first make sure he don’t always get hurt easily.Secondly,if he wants to stay at Newcastle and managed to persuade them to offer him a new contract,then he might be able to earn the amount that he wish but he must still wait for Newcastle to win promotion back and that will take time and by then,the world cup squad will have already be selected.So,the best way is to lower his pride and expectations and go to Hull,it might be Owen last and final chance to tempt Capello to pick him.
Norman Ng,14,Liverpool fan
Comment by norman — June 23, 2009 @ 7:05 pm
Michael Owen definitely has the chance of making a comeback and get his career back on track if he goes to a smaller club. Even though he already lost the speed he had in the past, he is still a talented striker who has good finishing.
However, what Owen needs to realise is that he is no longer capable of running riot on opponents defence like what he did in the past. Clubs like Hull are his only hopes now. At his age, the next club he will be joining is probably his last club. He needs to be realistic and lower his wages and expectations so that he can have a good end to his career.
In the past, Owen was one of the few players I REALLY liked and i hope he can find his form quickly before times run out for him.
Comment by Toh Zhi Hua — June 23, 2009 @ 8:50 pm
Is Owen over the hill?
Let’s look at the statistics and facts.
1) 1 major problem Michael had and would probably face is his physical fitness. He had been pretty injury prone, and that has nothing to do with age.
Henceforth, this would lways be a major concern for anyone who might want to sign him.
2) He’s approaching the magical age of 30, where once a player cross that threshold is usually considered to be over the hill, to be on the declining the slope.
Owen needs to know exactly what he wants, there are still options available, but not necessarily the ones he wants though!
If he stays with the Magpies, he might help them with a quick return, and then spent his remaining career there to enahnce his reputation.
Or, if he were to leave, who would be contesting for his signature?
Even if he stays with a new club back in the premier league, there’s no guarantee he would be playing the next 3 to 4 seasons all in the EPL.
It’s actually a very tough choice, and not forgetting the fact he might also want to maximise his earning power in these few remaining seasons before retiring.
So, balancing the financial, retiring, and future outlook issues. It would still be a reasonably good option to stay, and use this as a benchmark for any other options that should surface and being offered.
Let’s be sensible and logical, if we were in his shoes, what would we do?
Comment by Peter Loh, Senior Analyst, MU fan — June 24, 2009 @ 9:21 am
Micheal Owen has to prove all his doubters wrong and if Hull City is all he has on the table, take it! He can still play and score in the premier league, not like he was before but nevertheless, a quality player. Injuries and fitness setbacks would peg anyone back and Owen has to start from scratch, put in the hard work, show his true form and again, rise to his former glory. I believe in him and all he needs is an opportunity. 29 yrs old is a footballer’s prime age, it is now or never.
Comment by Patrick Chaw — June 24, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
test, hi
Comment by ernest luis — February 15, 2010 @ 3:12 pm