Owens Injury......they Say

[thenodrog]

Sad for Owen, awful for England because the swedish numpty took two crocks BUT at least now we might just have gotten rid of that bloody nobhead Toonfan!

Unless old John Hall sells his shares to that yank (and condemns Fat Freddie to the boardroom gallows in the process) their budget requirements needed to replace Shearer and Owen will be looking mighty sick now!

[Flopsy]

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/worldcup06/200...n_disguise.html

On a slightly more football related note

[rover6]

Owen offers absolutely nothing but goals - he doesn't even get many of them any more - and modern football simply has no place for such a one-dimensional player

I was lambasted on this board for expressing similar sentiments.

People say he's world class, I say he is in the same bracket as Pauleta of Portugal, Klose of Germany, Pandiani (when he was at Deportivo).

I.e he is a fantastic finisher and has great movement in the box. But outside the box he offers nothing or very little. Henrik Larsson (as displayed in the Champs League final) is capable of subtle passes to create goals as well as being a regular scorer but Owen can't do that. He's moulded himself as a poacher or more condescendingly, a goal-hanger.

That doesn't mean he isn't a very effective player and his injury is a major loss for England. But it does mean that it is not a big a loss as losing say Rooney.

WHen Owen burst onto the scene he had the potential to be up there with Rooney. He could devastate in the box (Romania!) and he could devastate starting from outside the box (Argentina). That is the mark of a great striker. However, a combination of factors, including hamstring injuries, crap tactics employed by Houllier in which Owen's sole role was to race onto through passes, and a lack of motivation to improve means that he will never be a great player - although he is well on the way to breaking the all-time England goal record.

[Bing]

although he is well on the way to breaking the all-time England goal record.

I think that sums it up.

There's a funny bit in Nasser Hussain's autobiography where he expresses his dismay at a selection meeting where someone asks 'what does Graham Thorpe bring to the party besides runs?'.

In the modern era of non-goalscoring centre forwards, a striker who concentrates on sticking the ball in the back of the net is most welcome.

[dave birch]

WHen Owen burst onto the scene he had the potential to be up there with Rooney.

Cart before the horse springs to mind. Where was Rooney when Owen "burst onto the scene"?

Rooney has a lot to do before he really proves himself. Yes, he's good, consistently good,at this stage, maybe not.

[AxesFirstTouch]

The toonarmy have got themselves a bigger sicknote then Bellamy now, and a lesser player then bellamy as well.

Edited June 21, 2006 by wakefieldrawks

[tcj_jones]

Confirmed that it is a cruciate ligament injury. Poor bloke, on his way back at Newcastle and then gets injured and now it's happened again, but thsi time the injury is far more serious.

[rover6]

Cart before the horse springs to mind. Where was Rooney when Owen "burst onto the scene"?

Rooney has a lot to do before he really proves himself. Yes, he's good, consistently good,at this stage, maybe not.

You know what I meant.

Let's just say, when Rooney is Owen's age, he will not have settled down to be a prosaic, service-dependant poacher but will undoubtedly still be an exciting, inspirational but temperamental forward.

It is a big blow, however, that Owen is out of the World Cup because he has the mental strength and self-confidence to keep going for crosses and passes even when he is out of form.

A lesser player, when out of form and under the cosh from criticism, would wilt.

[den]

Cruciate ligament injury and he will be out for 5 months.

[Exiled_Rover]

Sven Eriksson, football genius? His smart decision to take two crocks, a kid and a statue seems to really be paying off

[Presty On Tour]

Sven Eriksson, football genius? His smart decision to take two crocks, a kid and a statue seems to really be paying off

talking about paying or "pay"..... lastnight during the match didn't they say that sven earns more in a week than the swedish coach earns in a year?

[Flopsy]

Id have taken Fowler as the extra striker, dont know why just dont rate Defoe

[cn_barlow]

the thing that really annoys me about the whole situation is Sven refusal to play Walcott...whats the point in taking him if you're not going to play him? A complete waste of time!!

[all you need is duff]

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said: "I'm sorry for him. But we have many players who can take that second striker role."

Owen's not a second striker!

[Exiled_Rover]

Id have taken Fowler as the extra striker, dont know why just dont rate Defoe

I'd have taken Owen and Rooney, just as the #4 and #5 strikers. If they come good, fantastic, but your success isn't tied to their fitness.

Ashton, Bent and Beattie for me - not the most threatening of forward lines, I agree, but at least they'll be available for selection every game and they're all capable of scoring goals - not to mention the tactical options they provide i.e, Bent can play upfront on his own, all three provide you with a target man (to a varying degree), Ashton can play 'in the hole' etc etc.

Ah well, at least we've qualified for the knockout stages, eh?

[grizfoot]

Got to feel sorry for the guy haven't you

Anyway that leaves us with Rooney (probably not capable of 90 minutes yet), Walcott (who he doesn't seem to want to play) & Crouch.

I knew he should have took 5 strikers.

4-5-1 here we come!

[Eddie]

talking about paying or "pay"..... lastnight during the match didn't they say that sven earns more in a week than the swedish coach earns in a year?

They said that this morning on SSN, well someone said it, but I think he earns 1 million a year (according to SSN), so unless Sven has had a raise that isn't true.

Feel really sorry for Owen, blow for England. Only positive about it is what it does to newcastle.

[speeeeeeedie]

They said that this morning on SSN, well someone said it, but I think he earns 1 million a year (according to SSN), so unless Sven has had a raise that isn't true.

Sven earns £4 million. Lagerbeck earns £100,000. £76,000+ per week so not true, but not far off.

[herbergeehh]

the thing that really annoys me about the whole situation is Sven refusal to play Walcott...whats the point in taking him if you're not going to play him? A complete waste of time!!

No, Walcott hasn't been used because Sven believes he can be a powerful weapon because no one knows him. I agree, basically no one has seen him play, at least not for England in a big match, so no one can predict his moves either.

[Flopsy]

I think Walcott will be used in the last 20 minutes when we're losing as an impact pace player. Im sure he would have played on Tuesday if Sven hadn had to make the substitutions for injuries.

I feel sorry for Owen. a striker that scores copious amounts of goals, a rare thing. Get well soon.

Still Newcastle now need to buy a replacement for Shearer and Owen, not going to be cheap and I dont believe they are that finacially sound after GS's little bit of sabotage. Also they have Glenn "Finishes 7th and then gets the team relegated" Roeder

[Presty On Tour]

the tv coverage lastnight was showing the knee twist, then showing him hobble onto his plane and then read out his statement of how he wishes the lads well etc...

got to feel sorry for the guy, then the coverage cuts for a break and guess what ad is on????

the asda ad with owen running round the supermarket, kicking produce about and picking up his indian on the cheap!!!

i think theo will be used, if we have a 2 goal lead in the next game, he will get the last 10 and could be quite handy on the break.

[ihtd]

I thinks its safe to say that Theo won't get used unless we are losing and need another striker on. Its obvious that Sven has realised he has made a mistake by bringing him to the WC, we'll end up playing 4-5-1/4-3-3 with the three upfront consisting of Lampard/Rooney/Gerrard. Leaving no place for Theo.

As for Owen i feel so bad for the man, he's only just recovered from his foot injury and now he's done his anterior cruciate ligament and maybe out until October/November/Xmas. He's had a lot of bad luck of late with injuries, hopefully these injuries aren't a sign of his body breaking down on him because it would be a great shame to the game to lose a player like Owen.

[philipl]

The Guardian on Michael Owen:

Newcastle fear the fall-out from a year without £17m striker

Owen has made only 11 appearances for the club and the fans must wonder if they will see him again

Michael Walker

Thursday June 22, 2006

The Guardian

Sitting in a Jesmond hotel a couple of months ago, Glenn Roeder, then the future Newcastle United manager, leaned across his tea and sandwiches and said: "This whole idea that the club is cursed is ######." As he took his Pro Licence course yesterday, Roeder may well have felt otherwise. His thoughts will surely have been blurred by the news from Germany that Michael Owen's immediate future does not involve kicking a ball.

Article continues

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Since his £17m signing from Real Madrid in August Owen has done little of that. Owen has made 11 Newcastle appearances, and only four at St James' Park. The last time Owen was seen by a Tyneside audience was on December 10.

Roeder, of course, has had to deal with this already. Owen played 29 minutes during Roeder's caretaker tenure from February to May, at Birmingham City. But he had Alan Shearer to call on then, at least until the veteran's knee gave way at Sunderland, and Roeder also had Shola Ameobi. When Shearer's career was ended prematurely there was then a call-up for Michael Chopra.

Chopra played six times at the end of the season but last week joined Cardiff City on a three-year contract. So in terms of recognised centre-forwards Newcastle have only one available, Ameobi. However, that is not a straightforward situation as Ameobi has a long-standing hip problem. It may require surgery.

Newcastle will see their Premiership fixture list this morning but that will not reveal their first big game of the season. It comes on July 15 in the Intertoto Cup -- 24 days from now. Regardless of Ameobi's physical wellbeing, the club need to have a fit and reliable striker for that occasion.

That means Newcastle will have to enter the transfer market sooner rather than later. With the Football Association's insurance company taking care of Owen's wages until he is fit to return, the literal silver lining to the injury is that Newcastle are free of some £460,000 per month. Over five months that is £2.3m, over 10 months £4.6m.

But even £4.6m might not buy Newcastle the level of quality they require both to compensate for Owen's absence - and Shearer's retirement - and to take the team on. Andy Johnson cost Everton £8.4m when he left Crystal Palace recently.

Roeder has admiration for Jermaine Defoe and the two worked together at West Ham but it is understood that West Ham insisted upon a 25% sell-on clause when Defoe left for Tottenham for £7m. For Spurs merely to recoup their outlay any club wanting Defoe would have to come up with a sum around £9m.

There is little indication that Newcastle have that sort of cash this summer, and any possible influx of investment from hedge funds would not come before July 15. The £17m paid to Real last August hurt finances and, though Newcastle would have moved for Fernando Torres had they not got Owen, Torres' World Cup displays for Spain will have made him a target for Champions League clubs. And Newcastle's £17m is spent.

By comparison the Intertoto Cup is viewed as a Mickey Mouse competition but for Newcastle it is a route into the Uefa Cup and a European profile is regarded as essential to how the club's hierarchy sees itself.

Even for relatively low-key Uefa Cup ties Newcastle are guaranteed 40,000 fans through the gate and there would be television rights sales on top of each game. A good run in Europe can bank a club of Newcastle's standing £10m.

But progress of the sort Middlesbrough made last season is dependent on scoring goals and Boro had Aiyegbeni Yakubu, Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and, when necessary, Massimo Maccarone. But Boro paid over £20m altogether for those strikers.

Roeder simply does not have the funds made available to his predecessor Graeme Souness. A concern for Roeder must be that today's Premiership fixtures' publication brings a hard August and September. It is unlikely a management course can cover how to cope with such a combination of pressures.

Two years of hurt

2005-6

Minutes for Newcastle United 883

Minutes for England 722

Total minutes 1,605

(equivalent of 17.83 matches)

2004-5

Minutes for Real Madrid 2,372

Minutes for England 883

Total minutes 3,255 (equivalent 36.17 matches)

Owen's injury nightmare began just weeks after his £17m move from Real Madrid to Newcastle when he was hit by groin and hamstring injuries. This added to the frustration of spending most of the previous season on Real Madrid's bench. Then, in December, he broke his fifth metatarsal in his right foot at Tottenham and his World Cup ended in heartbreak on Tuesday night when he damaged his cruciate ligament.

[Wolverine]

No, Walcott hasn't been used because Sven believes he can be a powerful weapon because no one knows him. I agree, basically no one has seen him play, at least not for England in a big match, so no one can predict his moves either.

No ones seen me play. Sven didn't pick me

It's blatent favouritism is what it is.

[thenodrog]

Knew the mags would be in the sh1t. Old Freddie is after compensation already.

btw I seem to rem Owens knee buckling sickeningly a year or two back on MOTD. Maybe he had a weakness there already.