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?

Can Man City do a Chelsea next season?

WITH Gareth Barry joining Robinho in the Eastlands and possibly Carlos Tevez on the way, Manchester City are starting to look the way of Chelsea at the start of the Roman Revolution just a few seasons back.

We all knew how that turned out didn’t we? Chelsea won the Premiership title for two seasons in a row under Jose Mourinho, with stars such as Arjen Robben, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko (still considered a star at the time of signing at least).

The Citizens are attempting to flood their dressing room with the same embarrassment of riches in footballing talent this transfer season, although Mark Hughes is definitely no Mourinho, based on last season’s results.

Furthermore, the Blues were nearly there (i.e. already in the Big Four) when Claudio Ranieri in charge, Abramovich’s money and Mourinho’s managerial nous arguably proved to be the final boost needed for the London club to clinch their first Premiership title in 50 years.

City, however, do not have the same foundation to start with, finishing 10th in the league this season, even with additions such as Robinho and the return of Shaun Wright-Phillips.

But can City do one better than Chelsea and jump from mid-table mediocrity to the Big Four next season, with all the money available for big-money players and maybe even a new high-profile manager?

Can Ancelotti cut it at Chelsea?

Can Ancelotti make it at Chelsea, where fellow non-English speaking manager Luiz Felipe Scolari failed? (Picture: http://www.dirtytackle.net)

CARLO Ancelotti became the fifth manager to fill the Chelsea hotseat after the Russian Revolution when he signed up with the London club last night (Singapore time).

While the Italian comes with a huge reputation, one cannot help but wonder his credentials as a coach, having won one Serie A title and two Champions League titles in his eight seasons with Milan.

Furthermore, Ancelotti has a weak grasp of the English language, and had never managed a club in England before.

Does that sound a tad similar to a certain Luiz Felipe Scolari? We all know what happened to the Brazilian, don’t we?

Given the circumstances, and Roman Abramaovich’s famous impatience and intolerance to failure, do you think Ancelotti can cut it Chelsea?

Which of the EPL managers should leave their clubs?

THE DUST has settled and the results are clear. The 08/09 Premiership season has concluded last night, after 10 months of entertaining football (most of the time anyway), controversies on and off the pitch, and endless speculation.

As managers are judged by their team’s position on the league table come end-season, it is judgement day for them after the final whistle of the final game of the season is blown.

Sunderland’s Ricky Sbragia has the dubious honour of being the first post-season managerial casualty, resigning his post despite guiding the Black Cats to Premiership survival this season.

But judging by their team’s performances this season, which of the Premiership managers should follow the footsteps of Sbragia, whether by sacking or resignation?

Who is going down with West Brom?

THE title race may have sewn up last week when Manchester United retained the Premiership crown with a goal-less draw against Arsenal, but the excitement is far from over.

Sunderland, Hull, Middlesbrough and Newcastle are fighting tooth and nail to avoid being thrown into Championship football with West Brom, with two of the relegation places still “up for grabs”.

Not that any of them will have it easy on Sunday. Sunderland are facing Chelsea, while Newcastle face Aston Villa at Villa Park. Hull are hosting Manchester United at home while Middlesbrough arguably have the easiest fixture of all when they travel to Upton Park to face West Ham.

Which two teams do you think will be relegated after this weekend’s matches?

Fergie warned: play full team against Hull or prepare to be sued

SIR ALEX Ferguson has been warned by the relegation-threatened clubs that Manchester United could be sued if Hull City won against the recently-crowned champions as a result of a much-weakened United team on the pitch this weekend, reported The Sun (read article here)

Sunderland, Hull, Newcastle and Middlesbrough are still fighting to avoid the drop, with West Bromwich Albion already relegated. Victory over United on the final day of the season will help the Premiership newcomers preserve their top flight status for another season.

The thing is, with the title already in the bag and a Champions League final against Barcelona less than week after the Hull game, Fergie wants his players as fresh and injury-free as possible, and he has already hinted that he would rotate his team for the final game of the season.

But Premier League rule E20 states that “In every league match, each participating club should field a full-strength team.” Fielding a weakened team would not only contravene the rules, but show disrespect to a competition that actually qualified them for the European spectacle, said some critics.

The debate here is: Should Fergie preserve the integrity of the Premiership by fielding a team that is capable of winning against Hull, or should he rest all his top guns for the Barcelona clash?

Is it time for Arsene Wenger to take on a new “project”?

IT IS the time of the season where rumours of arrivals and departures abound, and the latest speculation is about Arsene Wenger’s possible departure to Real Madrid.

Now the Frenchman had been routinely linked to various top jobs in the past, including the Real job a few years ago, and usually he would clear up any doubts in a jiffy by declaring his loyalty for Arsenal.

Not this time though.

When asked to comment on Real presidental hopeful Florentino Pérez’s plans to revive the “galacticos” era at the Bernabeu, Wenger said: “With Florentino Pérez in charge, the project he has put forward would be ­interesting for any coach but I would prefer not to comment on this.”

When asked if he intends to honour his contract, which runs till 2011, he said: “In general I usually stay until the end of my contract.”

In general?

Wenger has faced fierce criticism in recent weeks for sticking to his youth policy at Arsenal, which has resulted in a third consecutive trophy-less season, having some of the brightest young talent in English football now.

“You sit here, you are in the last four in Europe, and every day you feel you have killed someone. It is unbelievable. If you do not take a distance with it, you think: ‘What kind of world do we live in?'”

The question now is – do you think Arsene Wenger should move on to a new project, or should he stick around at the Emirates Stadium to see his youth policy bear fruit?

Question of the Week (Is Rafa being unsporting?)

Hi all,

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Is Rafa Benitez being unsporting for refusing to congratulate Sir Alex Ferguson for winning his 11th Premiership title?

If you were Rafa…

SO, MANCHESTER United has successfully defended their Premiership crown on Saturday, with Liverpool mounting the fiercest title challenge in almost 2 decades.

And barring any implosion or financial meltdown, the Reds should be back with an improved team next season, one that is capable of winning its first-ever Premiership title.

The New Paper’s Gary Lim stepped into the shoes of Rafa Benitez today and offered what he feels would be Liverpool’s ‘dream’ XI for next season, one that is capable of ruling them all in England.

If you were Rafa for a day, how would you REALISTICALLY enhance the Liverpool squad for season 09/10?

Rafa deflecting blame for Pool’s diminishing title hopes?

LIVERPOOL manager Rafa Benitez points to the loss of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres through injuries for the Reds’ faltering title bid this season, reported The New Paper today.

With 28 goals between them, the duo had scored more than a third of Liverpool’s Premiership goals this season, and Benitez claims that Liverpool would have gone further if they had been injury-free.

Is the Spaniard trying to deflect blame on Liverpool’s diminishing title hopes this season?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG SAYS:

Grow up, Rafa. Stop finding excuses for your own inaptitude in the transfer market?

What if Torres was fit the whole season? What if Gerrard had spent more time on the field than on the treatment table?

What about these?

What if Cristiano Ronaldo had not been out for the first part of the season?
What if Rio Ferdinand had not been injured in March?
What if Guus Hiddink had been appointed Chelsea manager at the start of the season, and not Luiz Felipe Scolari?
What if Arsenal…oh never mind, scrap that.