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Owen to Manchester United a done deal

Michael Owen (ISIphotos.com)

                                                                                   Photo by ISIphotos.com

 Manchester United has lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez this summer and has just added Antonio Valencia as a replacement. The next potential replacement is a player few could have ever imagined wearing a Manchester United uniform.

That player is Michael Owen.

You may have heard the rumors by now, and with Owen undergoing a physical on Friday, the momentum behind an Owen move to Manchester United is gaining speed and looks to be happening (check that, the deal is now done and Mr. Glass is headed to Old Trafford).

What do you think of Owen joining Manchester United? Are you a Liverpool fan who can't believe what you're hearing? Are you a United fan who hates the idea? What do you put the over/under on number of games Owen actually plays in next season?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Good move. Berbatov and Rooney Start. Owen off the bench. Machedo and Welbeck rotate.

    3 Proven strikers and two potential 1st teamers. What more can United ask?

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  2. SAF likes having talented players who won’t demand to play every match, Michael Owen is that.

    Owen will be psyched to be part of Man United and he could play at his highest level ever. He’ll have better players around him to help him raise the game and combine with him like never before on the pitch, and there will be more belief around him than he’ll be able to fathom now. The elements are there to bring out his best.

    It’s a little coup for SAF and a good move for MO

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  3. Most people here don’t seem to understand that he is on a FREE transfer and low wages and is one of the best finishers in the world. He had no service at Newcastle and still scored, with United service he could grab 20 goals this season

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  4. It’s all incentives for the most part so it is a no lose for Man U. Sir Alex is a genius and I am most certainly not a Man U fan.

    Owen always seemed like a nice guy so let’s wish him the except when he plays vs. your club.

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  5. Chase: Can you quote where I said Owen was “better” than Tevez? If you can I would be impressed since that is in no way what i f**cking said.

    What I did say is that given Owen cost us NOTHING and that Tevez would have cost us 30M quid, and given that Owen’s salary will be peanuts and Tevez’s will be over 100K a week and given that Tevez was always whinging about not playing and Owen was just saved the indignity of playing for HULL by United I think he might just be happy to take his 15-20 starts and his Championship medal and be happy.

    What I find hard is to have a discussion with someone who’s grasp of reason and logic is so tenuous and tortured.

    “Tevez scored timely goals that gave them the title.”

    Hmm. Really. Single handedly gave them the title? All of those other goals by other players, the clean sheets by VDS … nothing to do with it? And who is to say that Owens would not/could not have done the same thing in Tevez’s place? It is a topic for discussion and speculation but surely nothing definitive could be said one way or the other.

    “Owen did nothing as he watched his club plunge to the C-C Championship.” Again, what a twised illogical web we weave. So his team leading 8 goals were nothing? NUFC relegation is soley on Owen’s shoulders, not their horrid defending, the inability of O. Martins or anyone else to produce, the management’s mishandling of player acquisitions? And Tevez on that team would have scored more? Saved them from the drop? Perhaps. But hardly an open and shut case more like wild conjecture.

    So let’s stick to the facts as best we can shall we. Owen is for all intents and purposes FREE. Tevez was going to cost United a TON of cash for transfer and salary. Last year (caveat being in different situations which make it impossible to definitively say who’s 8 vs 5 league goals were or were not “better” or “more important”) they scored a similar number of goals in an approximately equal number of EPL appearances. A simple cost benefit analysis will show that the probable/projected contribution of Tevez to a 2009-2010 United season vs the probable/projected contribution of Owen, even if we say that Tevez would have contributed x2 or x3 times what Owen would the fact that Owen costs x5 to x10 times less makes Owens a better deal than resigning Tevez would have been. Not to mention that Owens is not Tevez’s replacement merely a “free with purchase” toaster so to speak.

    We will see what other striker they sign with the 25-30M the would have had to spend to sign Tevez does next season + what Owens does next season. I can almost guarantee it will far outstrip anything Tevez could have contributed.

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  6. As a United fan I have no problem with this move. It costs us nothing to sign him and the contract is incentive based. He is likely 3rd/4th striker behind Rooney, Berba (and Macheda). One cannot coach experience and with plenty of top talent around him I think he can flourish. He isn’t being asked to replace Carlos or Ronaldo, just score a couple of timely goals throughout the season (aka…score on Stoke and Sunderland, something I think he can handle). If he just handles that, great…we paid nada…if he regains his old form and motivation (something he surely lacked playing for a team with a better beer brand than football), then it may be the steal of the offseason.

    Regardless, no $$ at risk and if he blows chunks we just cut bait.

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  7. Jacopo,

    I really can’t have a rational discussion with someone that is willing to delude themselves into believing that somehow Owen was better last season than Tevez was. Tevez scored timely goals for United that gave them the title (and I hated him for it), Owen did nothing as he watched his club plunge into the Coca Cola Championship.

    I think it is hilarious how fast the British press have talked themselves into this being a “genius” move, despite the fact that they were eviscerating Owen last week for pushing the pamphlet, bemoaning his unfulfilled potential, and ridiculing his potential move to Hull.

    All that said, the picture on soccernet with him holding up the manure scarf made sick to me stomach.

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  8. kpugs: the thing is they aren’t flushing any money down the toilet since he is on a pay as you play contract. no play, no goals, no big pay. If he sucks or gets injured he doesn’t play and Man Utd don’t have to pay him very much money (maybe 20K/wk) but if he scores goals and stays healthy he will earn what he would then rightly deserve.

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  9. It never ceases to amaze me how many clubs are willing to flush money down the toilet in order to get a guy who maxes out at a few games a year and spends 75% of his time injured. Michael Owen is the biggest “if” on the planet.

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  10. What is SAF thinking? Better yet, what is Owen thinking? He’s not going to get regular playing time. Very odd, but I guess we’ll see.

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  11. Liverpool fan and am glad to see him getting into the prem but not with man u..should be fun to watch him and carraghar battle

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  12. This is a low-risk, high-reward move typical of Sir Alex.

    He’s not going to be an everyday starter, he’s going to be Ole Gunnar. If he scored 10 goals with service from Newcastle’s excuse for a midfield, he ought to reach triple digits with Man U.

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  13. United has done good business this offseason – Real overpaid for Ronaldo and they got Owen on the bargain bin.

    But whether that translates to titles is another question entirely.

    One thing is sure – United overpaid for Berbatov last summer and is paying for it now

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  14. I see SAF using him sort of like Ole Gunner. Bring him in off the bench in a supersub role. Unless there are injuries the only games he will start are FA Cup and Carling Cup games.

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  15. Chase: because every report on the topic of the owen signing say his wages will be between 20-50K a week plus heavy incentives for goals and appearances.

    I have no problem if we end up paying him more if he scores more. But he is a free transfer and the basic salary will be relatively low. Win Win.

    Last season:

    Owen

    EPL: 21 Starts, 7 Subs, 8 Goals

    ALL: 24 Starts, 8 subs, 10 Goals

    Tevez

    EPL: 18 Starts, 11 subs, 5 Goals

    ALL: 34 Starts, 17 Subs, 15 Goals

    And remember Newcastle played 42 games overall and Man Utd played 66.

    Pretty even as far as I can tell and Owen didn’t cost 30M trasnfer fee like Tevez will nor will his wages be 100K plus a week as Tevez are sure to be. And given that Owen’s career was reduced to glossy brochures and the prospect of Hull City he won’t complain too much (let’s hope) about being a role player at United.

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  16. Somebody has to start all of those Carling Cup games and games vs Burnley between Champions League games. Why not Owen? He is FREE and his wages will be low. Not a bad #4 striker in my opinion.

    I would like to see a strong #3 striking option, now that Benzema is gone to Real maybe Klass Huntelaar?

    I am also convinced we are in desperate need of an upgrade at RB (why not splash some cash for Maicon) and we need a truly outstanding CM leader. Somebody with the creativity and strength of a Keano. I would be over the hill if we could raid Danielle de Rossi from Roma.

    Give me those 3 and I like Man Utd’s chances next year … and these could be easily obtained for under 80M pounds.

    A SQUAD

    Van der Sar

    Maicon Vidic Ferdinand Evra

    Valencia de Rossi Carrick Nani

    Rooney Berbatov

    B SQUAD

    FOSTER

    Rafael Evans Brown O’Shea

    Park Anderson Hargreaves Fletcher

    Owens Klass Huntelaar

    I obviously left out the old guard of Giggs, Scholes and Nevile because at their age who knows when they will be able to play. They can slot an anywhere when available.

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  17. If it’s a performance-based, incentive-laden contract, then this is a very smart buy for Ferguson. ManU won the Champions’ League in ’99 thanks to an oft-injured supersub.

    And despite ManU’s status as one of the world’s biggest clubs, this signing is more in line with current economic realities. I’m no ManU fan, but I hope this deal works out for both parties and that Owen can resurrect his career.

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  18. This is awesome. Owen has been irrelevant since leaving Liverpool in 2004, and he is sure to ruin Manchester United. Owen is still a star in his own mind, and I sincerely doubt 15 minutes off the bench each game is going to cut it with his ego.

    Tevez for Owen, Ronaldo for Valencia = Manchester United in 3rd place.

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  19. Owen can be a productive player. He’s right up there with the top Premier players in goals per 90 minutes. But he’s so injury prone that I wouldn’t pay a transfer fee or guaranteed salary to him.

    Maybe this will be a comeback year for him. Maybe not. Either way it’s no huge risk like everyone is saying unless they give him a five year contract or something. And who would be stupid enough for that? Where is he going to go, Hull or Stoke?

    We’ll see. Not really interested.

    Man U. has the opportunity/money to go for long term prospects. Not real sure of that winger from Wigan but they should have some cash left over and Madrid won’t get every top player.

    Ribery is overrated (and overpriced) but some other guys might be ok.

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  20. Michael Owen has always been a good player, but unfortunately he has always had bad luck. I watched him score a hat-trick for England vs. Colombia in a friendly at Giants Stadium a few years back and he was a force to be reckoned with. If his health has improved, this might be just the thing to break his string of bad luck. For ManU, they are getting something for basically nothing and they have nothing to lose.

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  21. In a weird way, as long as he understands he’s not a starter there, this could be the best thing for him. As a supersub who knows his role he could be very effective at what must be a reasonable price. This could be a case of ManU being economically shrewd.

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  22. IT IS A FREE TRANSFER, IF THEY PAY HIM BASED ON APPEARANCES THEN I THINK IT IS A GOOD MOVE. ITS NOT GOING TO COST UNITED MUCH AND HE CAN BE A GOAL SCORER IF PUT IN THE RIGHT POSITION. GOOD MOVE BUT UNITED STILL NEED TO PICK UP ANOTHER PLAYER OR 2 TO KEEP UP WITH CHELSEA AND POOL

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  23. I have nothing against United, but this move reeks of desperation. I just don’t see him contributing much. Maybe I’m wrong, and he’ll bounce back.

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