Jealousy And Bitterness
The thing that amazes me most about the Michael Owen saga - even more than the fact Newcastle would actually agree to a sale clause almost half the size of the fee they paid for him two years earlier - is how much the rest of the country wants the England striker to dump on the Magpies.
It's incredible and has revealed the sort of bitterness and jealousy normally reserved for teams who actually win things, not one which constantly under-achievers and has a nasty knack of pressing the self destruct button.
You know, clubs that dominate domestic football like Manchester United, Liverpool and, more recently Chelsea. I don't include Arsenal in that, if only because they play the sort of football everyone should admire.
As regular readers will know, I'm not a Newcastle supporter, I have an affinity with them because I live in the city and it's my job to follow their fortunes, but I'm not a fan. I'm a Leyton Orient fan and I'm very proud of it.
But I still can't hide the fact I've been really irritated by some of the things that have been written about the Owen situation this week. Okay, so I know Freddie Shepherd isn't likely to win any popularity contests in football and Newcastle were probably a little silly to agree to the clause in his contract and then not to expect those close to him to leak its existence to the media, but the venom which has poured out has been shocking.
It's almost as if they can't wait for Owen to leave so they can laugh and mock the club for having the audacity to sign him in the first place. You'd expect that from Sunderland fans and in the interests of local rivals, they are perfectly entitled to laugh at the pain and misery of their neighbours!
But as for the rest of the country, I don't get it. Why shouldn't Newcastle show ambition? Why shouldn't they sign the best players available. Other clubs don't like it when one of the big boys unsettles and then buys their best players, preventing their ability to build a team which is capable of challenging for silverware, do they? So why enjoy Newcastle's problem so much?
I suppose it all boils down to jealousy. After all, how dare Michael Owen join Newcastle and not Liverpool two years ago! How dare he! The cheek of it! He didn't sign for one of the big four when they wanted him? Unbelievable, how very dare he.
English football IS the big four, the Champions League, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. The rest are just there to get beaten and pull off the odd shock which influences the title race.
And Newcastle - cough splutter - that isn't anywhere near London, it'll take me ages to get up to see Michael play there. Newcastle? , they're in the North, somewhere near Scotland I believe. I hear the people eat their babies up there......
As I've already said this week, this story will run and run unless Michael - and I don't often agree with the Newcastle chairman - insists he is going to stay.
He could do that now, but he won't because he will be advised not to. He'll be advised to wait and see if any of the big four do make a bid and then he can make a decision. The rest of the country, meanwhile, will lick their lips in anticipation of his departure!
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Luke Edwards - is Chief Sports Writer of The Journal and uses his blog to give a unique and entertaining insight into events at Newcastle United and Sunderland.
To be honest, I think your very much to blame for what is happening with regard to Michael Owen.
When you did the blog " Transfer Saga Of The Summer Has Already Begun"
and stated "But then, before you go away on your summer holiday, can you please let us know what your plans are? Just a hint that you will be at St James's Park next season, or whether you've had enough already.
Do you feel a moral obligation to Newcastle and their supporters for the money you have earned while injured? Or is your career too short to waste outside a top four club challenging for silverware at home and abroad? If you want to tell me that in an exclusive interview, great, but a press conference will do!" and all just because you were fishing for an exclusive.
It has now caused Freddie to react and in all probability will lose the finest striker in the premiership.
I don't know why people up here can not appreciate the good things and always have to coerce bad things to happen.
Note From Luke
I doubt very much if Freddie reads this blog, although it would be good if he did. As for me influencing the thoughts of Newcastle chairman, as if that's ever going to happen!
All it takes if for Owen to come out and say he wants to stay next season .Instead there is silence which can mean only one thing-he wishes to leave.
Spot on, Shaun Taylor.
If he is going to stay why does he not ring the Chronicle and say so?
cudnt agree more luke..its like were almost as hated as chelski sometimes...but i tink owen not coming out and declaring his loyalty is a sign
Funny that the letter would come from a Leyton Orient fan.
I wonder if you know what Fat Fred thinks of smaller clubs, maybe if you did you'd understand why people like to see him get egg on his face.
Its not jealousy Luke - your misssing the point. The club (unfortunately for me as an safc fan) were universally popular under Keegan. The arrogance of the Chairman and some of the fans (primarily the new Sky brigade of '52,000 always been there Jordy's) has squandered an unbelievable amount of Goodwill outside of the North East. Newcastle have consistently under the chubby ones reign forsaken proper team building to concentrate on hollywood signings - to tell the world how big they are (8th biggest in the world dont you know) - do not not be surprised when Uncle Schadenfreunde comes back to laugh at their problems.
It was the American President and his cronies who dismissed the rest of the world as jealous of them - when we all thought they were arrogant out of control t***ers. Be careful you dont make the same error Luke.
Michael is a "nice guy", Glen was a "nice guy"
What a load of B....cks.
ANYONE would be a "Nice Guy" on the money they "earn" or were paid by NUFC.
Owen is off as soon as he can be, ironically it will be the Nice guy/Mr Clean of English football who will reveal the true face of modern day footie - greed is good, take what you can get when you can get it.
He will go, he is a disgrace to everyone except his family.
Hopefully his injury problems are only just beginning.
Take the £9m and bid him good riddance.
Note From Luke
A bit harsh perhaps!?
Owen owes it to the fans to stay - having only played a handful of matches in almost 2 years, he's let a lot of people down, even if he has had injuries throughout that time. It will be interesting to see if he stays or goes - if he goes, it gives you an idea of where his loyalites lie and who he's looking out for....
.....but are any of the big four going to risk signing him considering his recent injury record? oh and congrads on orient staying in league 1 :-)
Nothing at all to do with Bitterness or Jealousy!
It's just an attitude which prevails within the disease laden and crime ridden cess pit of inequity which is London.
That mindset runs through more than football!
I once lived in West Hampstead.
I am a Liverpool fan, I was gutted when Owen left quite some time back for Real Madrid.
I however believe Owen will always do what is good for Owen. It is his right to keep his option open and he is probably listening to what his agent told him to do.
If NU want compensation they should get them from English FA not from the player.
Whether or not Owen leave this summer will depends on whether any of the top 4 teams want to risk £9 million on someone who is so injury prone.
I for one do not want Owen back. I rather Liverpool keep the £9 million to add up to the amount that is needed to buy someone else like Alves or Tevez.
Good luck to NU and Owen. I sincerely hope he decide to stay at NU but he will probably move if the top 4 team come for him. His agent will definitely ask him to do so because more $ for both of them just like when he moved to Real Madrid.
It all boils down to $$$$
Luke
Could it be that none of the teams at the top of the EPL would pay a high price for Owen? They, like me, may think that he has seen his best days.
Also, the feuding, fighting, conjecture, bitterness and frustration would disappear in an instant if the Toon Lads could win SOMETHING. The current team, however, is in desparate need of a clean-out and shakeup. Big Sam may provide that -- and we've heard that before.
Anyone who doesn't realise that the best years of Michael's career came and went in the aftermath of the 1998 World Cup are fooling themselves. Since then, the boy has become progressively slower and more injury prone. Chelsea, United and Arsenal wouldn't have him and Liverpool (sensibly) woulnd't choose to lose all that money on him. Get over it.
Note From Luke
You have made an interesting point, but what do I need to get over again?
It's interesting that the season ticket renewals haven't landed on the mat yet. These things are planned months in advance so FS must have known what was inevitable. My money stays in my pocket until I see what's happening and that includes Owen staying.
Note From Luke
Very sensible Norm, but let me know what you decide in the end.
"Owen owes us," etc etc etc. Of course he does; but his first loyalty (like most people) is to himself and his family and he will do what he considers is right for himself and them.
A player like Owen wants success and as there is no regional loyalty to be considered, (a la Shearer), he will not be prepared to languish (potentially) through yet another season of "team building." It is too big a risk in respect of another year of his career. He will go when the right opportunity comes along. The only possible spanner in the works is likely to be the size of his salary.
The naivety of NUFC in allowing a get out clause with a £9m fee is astonishing, but hardly surprising in view of the club's past p... poor business record. However, the headlines of "NUFC capture Owen," must have boosted Freddie's ego and arrogance to a peak not seen since Big Al signed. This would also have cemented in the mind of FS the "We are a big club" myth.
Besides, I doubt if we would have got Owen without that clause anyway as his agents obviously consider him a "Golden Goose" who will continue to make fortunes for them for the foreseeable future.
We have to reconcile ourselves to the modern game and accept that players have little or no club loyalty and will come or go virtually as they (or their agents) please, regardless of contract.
If he goes, so be it. He and quite a number of "big names" should go also and perhaps Sam can put the money to better use with players who want to play with commitment and honour.
Note From Luke
Very well put Trev. Owen's situation is just a sad indication of what motivates everyone involved with the game, not just the players
A different way of looking at the situation Luke - one I agree with. It seems the tabloids and other rags seems to have their knives out yet again for the Toon. Nothing new there. In a season of injuries which could/should have got us relegated, we should be celebrating the efforts of the younger B-team lads who stepped up to fill the boots of injured senior squad members. Any other team has a single injury and the whole media are bemoaning their bad luck (take Man U and Rio Ferdinand, Champions League). It seems we are the proverbial monkey, dancing for organ grinding southern based media. Lets hope Big Sam can turn us around and stop the circus that St James's park has become. Otherwise lets just put a big top tent cover over the stadium and have our players come out to circus music and out of a clown cart.
As for Owen, we could keep debating whether Owen owes the fans and should show some loyalty, or whether it he has to think of his "career" and he's really a "nice guy", so we should just understand this. However, I think Kevin Keegan said it all in his interview the other week in the Chronicle, on why he couldn't be involved in Premiership football anymore. He said that top-level football has become entirely driven by money and agents and the essence of the game is lost.
In the end Owen will do whats right for Owen / his agent's wallet. Either way I think we'd all love to see a full uninjured season in a black and white shirt out of him. The complete silence from his camp isn't a good sign, but we have a press conference to look forward to in the coming weeks, whether it be at St James's reaffirming his "loyalty" or somewhere else in another teams shirt.