Should Michael Owen lower his standards?

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?

Are Spain ’09 better than Brazil ’94?

EUROPEAN champions Spain are not ranked number one in the world currently for nothing. The winners of Euro08 has set a world record for consecutive victories when they won their 15th game straight in a 2-0 win over South Africa on Saturday.

More importantly, Spain have now gone 35 games without losing, a feat that puts them alongside only Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winning side.

While the Dunga-captained side had been criticised for being too boring and defensive, the one-touch, free-flowing football of Spain ’09 has been winning fans and plaudits alike over.

However, while Spain are one win or draw away from breaking Brazil’s record, the Spanish conquistadors have yet to win the World Cup, a quest they will attempt to achieve in South Africa next year.

But can Spain ’09 be considered better than Brazil ’94 if the former breaks Brazil’s record?

Will you still watch F1 without the big teams?

FORMULA One has been thrown into chaos after the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) carried out its threat to set up a rival championship in 2010, reported BBC today (read story here).

Fota had been against the voluntary budget cap proposed by world motorsport boss Max Mosley, which would have resulted in a two-tiered competition, and had been in negotiations with FIA and F1 rights owner Bernie Eccelstone recently over the issue.

Negotiations have now broken down and eight teams – Brawn GP, Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso – have indicated that they will set up a rival championship next year instead of participating in the 2010 F1 season.

With some of the more illustruous names now out of F1, would you still watch the championships, of which one race is held in Singapore?

Should referees get punished too?

THE MEN in black have recently been the topic of much discussion, as Egypt launched an appeal after the referee awarded a controversial late penalty which Kaka converted to ensure a win for the Samba Boys.

The referee was alleged to have been influenced by the fifth official, who was watching television replays. This is not allowed under the rules.

And last night, Didier Drogba was handed a six-game ban while Chelsea teammate Jose Bosingwa received a four-game ban for their behaviour during the 4-4 draw with Barcelona in last season’s second-leg Champions League semi-final. The London club was also fined £85,000 for failing to control its players too.

While referees who foul up are generally “punished” by relegating them to lower league games, or suspended from duties for a period of time, is such punishment fair, considering what clubs and players get when they foul up?

Should referees get more than just a mere slap on the hand when they make wrong decisions which drastically changes the texture of the match?

Where should Ribery go if he leaves Bayern?

MANCHESTER United has joined the race to land Frenchman Franck Ribery, said Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (read Soccernet story here).

The English champions have joined Chelsea and Barcelona with bids for Ribery, who is touted to be the next Zinedine Zidane, while Real Madrid are said to be interested in the player as well.

Although Rummenigge has insisted that Ribery will see out his contract at the German club, a big-money bid might persuade them to release ‘the jewel of French football’.

If Ribery does leave Bayern, which club is he most suitable for?

Are Spanish players worth top money?

FERNANDO Torres questioned the disparity between the transfer value of Spanish players and ‘top drawer’ players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, according to a Soccernet article last night. (read story here).

He commented that Spanish clubs are willing to pay top money for foreign players like Ronaldo, but not for domestic players such as David Silva, David Villa and Xavi Hernandez, despite Spain being “the best national team in the world”.

Do you think the likes of Torres, Silva and Villa deserve to be in the same bracket as Kaka, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when it comes to transfer value?

Should Torres consider moving to United?

SIR ALEX Ferguson is planning an audacious bid on Liverpool’s Fernando Torres, reports the Sunday Express (see full story here).

Let’s just take a brief look at the advantages of both options:

STAYING AT LIVERPOOL

– The Reds have become a force to be reckoned with under Rafa Benitez, and have pushed United all the way to the title.

– Torres has struck a great understanding with Steven Gerrard

– The Spanish connection at Anfield

MOVING TO UNITED

– Burden of scoring is more spread out than Liverpool

– Better recent track record at winning titles

Even if it turns out to be mere speculation, it does raise an interesting topic – if given a chance, should the Spanish hitman consider moving south to the red half of Manchester?

Ronny’s Real move – one step forward or two steps back?

ALONG with a sizable group of Man United fans here, I am SERIOUSLY happy that the talented but petulant Cristiano Ronaldo will finally be heading out of the Old Trafford doors, but too much have been written about that already.

Let’s put the focus on the man from Madeira instead.

Is he going to a better football club, a club that would make him better as a football player and win him more titles – individual and team?

Fergie’s Rooney dilemma?

SIR Alex Ferguson would have a lot of things to consider had he watched Wayne Rooney grab a brace for England against Andorra last night.

The striker has now scored eight goals in his last seven games for England, while he only scored 12 in the entire Premier League season.

And England manager Fabio Capello’s secret to making Rooney tick? Just get in front of goal, he said.

That had been the problem for the Liverpudian’s United season so far. Fergie had been putting Rooney on the flanks regularly during their Championship-winning season due to his tenacity and willingness to drop back to defend.

Other than Park Ji-Sung, United lacked the kind of winger who is equally adept at crossing and shooting, as well as put in a good tackle.

With United pipping Liverpool to the title narrowly last season, and losing out to the Reds in terms of goal difference, Fergie must be wondering how he should tweak his team to get the best out of his players, especially Rooney, given how impressive he has been when he pulls on an England shirt?

If you were Fergie, what would you do to strengthen United, as well as get the best out of your players, Rooney in particular?

Who will be next in the Galacticos v2.0 line-up?

NEW Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has signalled his intention of rebuilding the ‘Galacticos’ era at the Bernabeu by signing Kaka on a world record transfer late last night (Singapore time).

The Brazilian superstar reportedly moved on a £56m transfer from Milan, eclipsing the £47m Real paid for Zinedine Zidane’s services in 2001, which is incidentally the last ‘Galacticos’ era under Perez.

Other than Kaka, Real are said to be after the likes of Franck Ribery, Nemanja Vidic, David Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Silva and Xabi Alonso.

The question is – who are Real most likely to add next to their stable of overpaid superstars?