Fergie does it again. Another stroke of "genius". I won't be shocked if the term "mind games" starts being bandied about in relation to the signing of former Liverpool hitman Michael Owen. It's all a bit silly really.
Had Phil Brown signed Owen it's not unreasonable to speculate that everyone would be laughing at the perennially tanned Northerner, and also at Michael Owen, who couldn't even get a game for Newcastle when they were in direst need. In fact his buddy Alan Shearer felt he had no choice but to relegate Michael to the bench, despite vowing that Owen's hypothetical goals would be crucial in keeping Newcastle in the Premier League.
So naturally when you can't get into the starting XI of a relegated team the only place to move to is Old Trafford. Or not.
From a United point of view, I don't think this is either a gamble or a win-win situation. Owen has cost nothing, which means there's no gamble involved (unless of course Ferguson decides that Owen is the ideal replacement for both Ronaldo and Tevez, in which case this is most definitely a gamble, and a very stupid one at that). It's also not a win-win situation, because Owen is now a bad player. You might as well sign Gary Doherty on a free transfer and call it a win-win situation. Unlike Owen however, Doherty can place in attack or in defense, so perhaps I'm doing the Irishman a disservice.
To give you a genuine picture of how I see this, I would say that snapping up David Connolly or Kevin Phillips would be the equivalent. Would people say that either of these two represent "genius" captures? The sad thing is, they probably would. After all, with United's midfield behind him, Connolly is bound to get much more chances than he did at Sunderland...
I'll freely admit that I've never been Owen's biggest fan, both because he seems like the most boring man alive and because I don't place much value in that type of player - goal scorer, and nothing else. The modern game refuses to bow to such a luxury. If anything, Man Utd represent the hard evidence of this, winning as they have three league titles in a row without anyone you might consider a genuine striker. Barcelona are another example, with their most striker-like player often operating on the flanks. The days when even a fully-fit, speedy Michael Owen prospers appear to be over, not to mention an injury ravaged, not-so-speedy Michael Owen.
Of course this isn't to suggest that Owen will be a disaster in Manchester. If he plays, he will score some goals. But if Connolly plays for Manchester United, he will score some goals to. The goals, in my opinion, are irrelevant. They are a smoke screen, hiding 90 minutes of football narrative. Barcelona didn't win the treble last year because they scored something like 687 goals. They won it because they had the ball more than pretty much every team they played against, and when they didn't have it they worked extremely hard to get it back. That's football for you in a nutshell - keep the ball, and when you don't have it, get it back. The result will be goals scored for your team, and goals not conceded.
A player like Owen upsets this philosophy. Ferguson is presumably not planning on making him his regular front-man, so you could argue that Owen will be that X-factor whom you can bring off the bench if in need of a goal, making my argument contra Owen redundant. Well, in games against lesser teams Owen (or any one of his kind) might prove valuable, but at the top tier more is needed than merely sending on someone to score goals. Witness the Champions League final when United had 4 forwards on the pitch and yet looked even less likely to find the back of the net (which is really the front of the net, right?).
This may be a dumb statement, but for me United are in serious trouble given the current makeup of their squad. Their midfield is still weak, they've lost their most attacking threat and replaced him with an unproven, Berbatov is not going to do it when it matters, Scholes and Giggs aren't getting any younger, Nani is, well, Nani. They're still Man United of course, and with Ferguson at the helm I wouldn't rule them out of anything. But make no mistake about it, they are weaker than they were last year. Much weaker. Only a couple of choice signings will convince me that they can push on and claim that coveted 19th title.
If I were a United fan I would be extremely worried for my team at the moment.
Had Phil Brown signed Owen it's not unreasonable to speculate that everyone would be laughing at the perennially tanned Northerner, and also at Michael Owen, who couldn't even get a game for Newcastle when they were in direst need. In fact his buddy Alan Shearer felt he had no choice but to relegate Michael to the bench, despite vowing that Owen's hypothetical goals would be crucial in keeping Newcastle in the Premier League.
So naturally when you can't get into the starting XI of a relegated team the only place to move to is Old Trafford. Or not.
From a United point of view, I don't think this is either a gamble or a win-win situation. Owen has cost nothing, which means there's no gamble involved (unless of course Ferguson decides that Owen is the ideal replacement for both Ronaldo and Tevez, in which case this is most definitely a gamble, and a very stupid one at that). It's also not a win-win situation, because Owen is now a bad player. You might as well sign Gary Doherty on a free transfer and call it a win-win situation. Unlike Owen however, Doherty can place in attack or in defense, so perhaps I'm doing the Irishman a disservice.
To give you a genuine picture of how I see this, I would say that snapping up David Connolly or Kevin Phillips would be the equivalent. Would people say that either of these two represent "genius" captures? The sad thing is, they probably would. After all, with United's midfield behind him, Connolly is bound to get much more chances than he did at Sunderland...
I'll freely admit that I've never been Owen's biggest fan, both because he seems like the most boring man alive and because I don't place much value in that type of player - goal scorer, and nothing else. The modern game refuses to bow to such a luxury. If anything, Man Utd represent the hard evidence of this, winning as they have three league titles in a row without anyone you might consider a genuine striker. Barcelona are another example, with their most striker-like player often operating on the flanks. The days when even a fully-fit, speedy Michael Owen prospers appear to be over, not to mention an injury ravaged, not-so-speedy Michael Owen.
Of course this isn't to suggest that Owen will be a disaster in Manchester. If he plays, he will score some goals. But if Connolly plays for Manchester United, he will score some goals to. The goals, in my opinion, are irrelevant. They are a smoke screen, hiding 90 minutes of football narrative. Barcelona didn't win the treble last year because they scored something like 687 goals. They won it because they had the ball more than pretty much every team they played against, and when they didn't have it they worked extremely hard to get it back. That's football for you in a nutshell - keep the ball, and when you don't have it, get it back. The result will be goals scored for your team, and goals not conceded.
A player like Owen upsets this philosophy. Ferguson is presumably not planning on making him his regular front-man, so you could argue that Owen will be that X-factor whom you can bring off the bench if in need of a goal, making my argument contra Owen redundant. Well, in games against lesser teams Owen (or any one of his kind) might prove valuable, but at the top tier more is needed than merely sending on someone to score goals. Witness the Champions League final when United had 4 forwards on the pitch and yet looked even less likely to find the back of the net (which is really the front of the net, right?).
This may be a dumb statement, but for me United are in serious trouble given the current makeup of their squad. Their midfield is still weak, they've lost their most attacking threat and replaced him with an unproven, Berbatov is not going to do it when it matters, Scholes and Giggs aren't getting any younger, Nani is, well, Nani. They're still Man United of course, and with Ferguson at the helm I wouldn't rule them out of anything. But make no mistake about it, they are weaker than they were last year. Much weaker. Only a couple of choice signings will convince me that they can push on and claim that coveted 19th title.
If I were a United fan I would be extremely worried for my team at the moment.
