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.
3 comments:
Firstly... how you are unemployed with headlines like that is beyond me, surely the Daily Mail could put your talents to some good.
My opinion on this move has changed dramatically in the last 24hrs. It went from the incredulous anger of ''why the hell are United signing someone who Sam Alladyce doesn't want?'' to my present tranquil state of ''what's the worst that could happen?''. It's not costing them much money, even in wages as i understand and he's not going to be relied upon as a starting XI player so there's only one reason that the transfer still irks me &I suspect it's the reason underlying most peoples frustration with the transfer. It's that feeling of ''is that it? You lose Ronaldo & Tevez and that's it?''. But they still have 80mil and I would hope Owen is just a small part of a much larger operation. Whether or not Owen's transfer is wise depends largely on what role he's expected to play. If 3 good $20mil players are brought in then I'm fine with Owen warming the bench but if he's the answer we're in trouble. So I'm waiting for the $80mil to be spent before I analyse the signing of Owen. I don't know who's calling him a genius &I certainly wouldn't think that's the consensus. The comparison's with Connolly are very harsh from a man who I'd bet hasn't watched Newcastle play in quite some time. Owen gives United something different &I still believe he's a good finisher &a fine fourth choice striker. The big question is who the hell can United buy to make them a world class team again cause I can't think of one player who isn't either playing for one of United's English rivals (Gerrard, Essien, Lampard, Alonso), playing for one of the big Spanish two or has already been bought this summer (Gorcuff, Diego) that could come in & make a huge difference. Well apart from Ribery who's off the Real and the Bosnian at Wolfsburg. I just don't know who's there to sign!
I'm pretty sure Owen No is not my worst, but it is definitely up there.
It's Rob Lee that is calling Sir Alex a genius, but others on F365 and the Guardian are saying it's a good piece of business. My point, which I think is kind of your point, is that it's a nothing piece of business, assuming that it's not the answer to losing Ronaldo and Tevez.
The comparison with Connolly is very harsh, and indeed I haven't seen either play for any substantial period of time, but you should know by now that I've never been one to let a lack of information stop me from making definitive conclusions. However, being dropped to the Newcastle bench suggests to me that the goalscoring prowess you still believe in is waning. And in the games I have seen Owen play, he's been a joke. Niall will be able to provide a more reasoned analysis of this transfer, so perhaps I'll leave it to him. So Niall, a guest spot on this blog is open. Feel free to fill it.
You're question at the end is extremely pertinent: who the hell can United sign? There's a guy for Bremen called Ozil who was apparently brilliant in the u21's. He's a German attacking midfielder, and the reason Bremen were okay with losing Diego. Perhaps Eidur Gudjohnson would be a decent acquisition. Dare I suggest, Stephen Ireland? Could he be got? Almost certainly not, but I think he'd be a heck of a signing. Then again so would David villa and Andres Iniesta....
I saw Ozil play twice and he was brilliant against England, made a superb through ball for the opening goal but he can't be expected at his age to come in and have a big impact. I mean that England U21 team I don't think would finish in the Premiership top 10 so that's a big step up. Eidur can stay where he is, i've never rated him as much as others and he'd be horrible with Rooney or Berb... might be okay with Owen though. I'd love them to sign Ireland but I honestly think its as bout as likely as them signing Gerrard. Bring Requilme in I say!!
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