News today that will interest Newcastle fans on the status of Michael Owen’s contract.
Michael Owen – how many millions did they say they were giving me?
Newcastle Manager Keegan expects England striker Michael Owen to sign a new contract with the club shortly.
Kevin talked to BBC Radio this morning and said:
“Hopefully, that will be sorted out within the next two or three weeks,”
We believe that Newcastle have given Kevin some assurances they will be able to reach an agreement with the Newcastle captain on his new contract.
And the news yesterday that a source close to Owen said he would leave the club on a free transfer next summer, if he couldn’t reach a deal with the club was probably not true.
Indeed getting some of our players back and ready for the new season, is almost as important as bringing new players in.
If we can get Michael Owen, Joey Barton and Oba Martins fit and ready to go for the Manchester United game, then we’ll be in pretty good shape.
Kevin has repeatedly said he wants to keep all the good players he already has at the club, and build the team around Michael for the future, and he for one will be relieved when Michael finally signs his new contract at the club.
So will we.
Comments very welcome.
44 comments so far
Nick Dryden
Jul 27, 2008 at 4:42 PM
Comment #41Hadji I think it’s fair to say MA is a better business man than you and frankly anyone with any business sense would tell you to go and do the math.
You are contradicting yourself. If the 100M hadn’t been cleared , we’d still be in trouble and have even less to spend.
It’s painful I know. We are in a global credit crunch , sports direct has gone down the pan, it’s all ”paper” money in assets, no liquidity.
Shepherd shafted us big time and sold MA a ”pup”.
Personally I wouldn’t mind the Bin Ladens buying us. The world has moved on, but in Newcastle everything seems to remain so insular and some mistakes were built to last.
catawbamag
Jul 27, 2008 at 5:03 PM
Comment #42Dont forget Ashley unloaded 40% of Sports direct prior to the credit crunch. He sold these shares at their peak value, and cashed in for over 900 mil sterling. Not bad.
reillers
Jul 27, 2008 at 11:29 PM
Comment #43No player is bigger then his club. Owen is not bigger then this club. I don’t care how good he is. This is why GAA is 100 times better then football. All this talk of money and if he doesn’t get enough, that he feels he deserves then he’ll leave. He most really fancy himself. He was a class player in his time but he hasn’t been as good as he was for a long time. He played ok for about 10 matches last season. Like I’d much rather get rid of this wee greedy player then someone like Martins. If he wants to leave, if he thinks he’s too good for us then we should let him leave. We shouldn’t bend over backwards to try and please the spoilt brat. Not to mention that he’s supposed to be our captain like that’s more then a wee bit of a joke. Captains are supposed to lead by example, they’re supposed to be willing to die for their club or country and be the first one who stands up. While Owen is still in contract talks trying to get all the money he can squeeze out of Newcastle, if he doesn’t he’ll leave and if he does, what will it prove, that he’s a typical, money is everything modern day brat who only cares about the money and not the team or the game. That’s not someone I want in my team, and it’s definitely not someone I want captaining the side.
Reb
Jul 28, 2008 at 7:08 AM
Comment #44Again, Reillers, you are responding as if all of this paper-talk is based on truth. There’s not a single quote from Owen, Keegan or anyone actually associated with the club that is anything but optimistic of Owen re-signing. There’s no evidence that the haggling is based on wages, or that there even IS any serious haggling to speak of. All of it is based on “a source close to…” and “one understands,” etc. — journo speak for “sh*** we made up to sell papers”. You, and many others, are slagging off the club captain (I know, you’ve made it quite clear that you don’t rate Owen in the least, but he IS captain) based on merest scraps of hearsay evidence.
For pete’s sake, has no one considered that Owen’s contract talks were simply delayed by his illness and holidays? There may not be any serious problem whatsoever, but if Owen was ill for 10 days or more with the mumps that likely put some delay to all the summer plans (not just his training schedule). Why assume the worst at all times — especially about a player who was key to Newcastle’s survival last season?
“Captains are supposed to lead by example, they’re supposed to be willing to die for their club or country and be the first one who stands up.” — Shockingly, Owen does this (when fit — as I’ve said before, fair enough to complain about his fitness). He plays his guts out every match I’ve seen, even when down 5-0 to ManUre. He’s publicly said that “I’ve never said no to my country in my life” and because of serious injuries hasn’t had much chance to prove a similar loyalty to NUFC yet (I’m hopeful). Keegan and several teammates (Harper, Taylor, & Butt I can think of off the top of my head) have stated that Owen is considered an exemplar of professionalism and effort in training and at matches, and he also clearly has the respect of his fellow players. Owen takes responsibility when he screws up (see the Blackburn match) and off the pitch, he’s a club’s dream: quiet, never in the papers for his personal life/exploits, goes home to his family (and his horses).
If you’re criticising Owen, not as a player or for his fitness, but as a man — that’s just plain ignorant, as he’s about as ideal as any footballer can be. Is he “greedy”? Maybe, but no more than anyone else — trying to get the best deal for his efforts. It IS a job for him, and he’s only so many years to make money at football. Many years ago, Owen’s father said publicly that Michael wasn’t interested in the money, he’d have played for free: Owen himself said this attitude changed when he had his eldest daughter and realised he was providing for a lot more than just himself, but rather for his children’s future. Can’t say I blame the lad for trying to get a favorable deal for his family: I do the same at my job (I make more than I “need” to live on but I still want a raise, or at least to maintain my wage).
And as I pointed out before, there’s not even any evidence that it’s PAY that’s the issue. Perhaps Owen is simply waiting to see what the transfer activity comes to? Could that be why Keegan said it’d be sorted in two/three weeks? I’ll say it again, we just can’t know at this point.