Following another injury-ravaged campaign in which he failed miserably to help Newcastle in the Premier League, I could not believe the gall of Michael Owen’s ‘come and get me’ plea to prospective suitors.
The 29-year-old, who cost the Geordies £17million from Real Madrid four years ago, has enjoyed a magnificent wage from the club but failed to repay them on the field. In four seasons he played just 71 games and scored 26 goals.
While Newcastle struggled last term Owen’s injury problems restricted him to 12 league games in which he managed just four goals! The Magpies were subsequently relegated and Owen wasted no time in trying to secure a contract with another club as his deal at St James’ Park is set to end this week!
The problem facing Owen, who says ‘the Premier League is where I feel I belong’, is that the only interested parties are Hull and Stoke City. No disrespect to these two clubs but I feel Owen had his sights set a little higher when pondering where to continue his career next season.
No ‘bigger’ clubs have expressed a solid interest as yet and it appears not many clubs can or will agree to pay him what Newcastle have stumped up since 2005!
If Owen used his head and stopped thinking about where HE wants to play and how good HE thinks he is, he could use this situation to propel himself back into hero status and boost his career in the long run.
Instead of enforcing the majority of football fans’ thoughts that modern-day footballers are all self-centred, money-grabbing, disloyal buffoons, Owen could dispel the myth with a goodwill gesture to his current employers.
Having earned a handsome living from the game – and Newcastle in particular – surely it would not hurt him to offer his services to the club for another 12 months on a wage that suits the club?
That way he could try and regain his match sharpness and eye for goal in the Championship, while possibly helping Newcastle reclaim Premier League football at the first attempt!
Owen could be given the freedom of the Toon if it all worked out, while the worst-case scenario is that he could at least say he gave it his best shot!
True it would not go down well with Fabio Capello, but then again the England coach does not seem in a rush to hand him a recall to the Three Lions squad. And his chances of returning to the national team fold would be barely enhanced by a move to Hull or Stoke!
The chances of this scenario happening are between slim and none. But what a refreshing change it would make if a footballer actually tried to give something back!
Written by Craig Smithson, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting.
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