Michael Owen Part Deux

Well there we are. Liverpool legend, England's Michael Owen has signed for Manchester United. Whilst part of me is heartbroken that a hero at Anfield has signed for a rival, I'd rather he was plying his trade at a big club rather than scratching around at Hull. Before I go on here are a few opinions from the MSM (Martin Samuel, Phil McNulty, Kevin McCarra and Tony Cascarino).

I have to say that I think Fergie has pulled a bit of a blinder and, secretly, Liverpool and Arsenal will be kicking themselves. A few days ago I said United need a striker and quickly and, I think, this may well be the cleverest deal of the summer.

Owen's problems are pretty clear. He is, apparently, injury-prone. However, like that other English sporting legend Jonny Wilkinson, Owen seems to have had a series of different injuries. The way some commentators are talking it is as if they are the only people on the planet that know Owen's history almost as if, somehow, Sir Alex will have not noticed the injuries.... come on now, Fergie knows about it and is taking a punt.

Now Owen's collection of injuries may well hint at something but it isn't as if he is coming back from cruicate ligament surgery. Furthermore, two things need to be taken into consideration here a) It is well-known that Newcastle have a terrible record when it comes to injuries and in particular hamstring injuries (this has been put down to the hardness of the pitches at their training ground on more than one occasion) b) other than AC Milan, United are probably the best in the world at keeping players fit and playing well into their thirties.

Furthermore, like AC Milan, not only are United good at keeping players playing well into their thirties, Fergie is pretty shrewd when it comes to buying comparatively old fellas to do a job for a few seasons. The ones that spring to mind are Henrik Larsson and Teddy Sheringham but Barthez was 29 when he arrived, van der Sar 35 and Laurent Blanc 36.

Is it a gamble for Fergie? Of course, but an exceedingly shrewd one. If it is true that he is on a pay as you play deal the risk has been mitigated to a fairly large extent or, more correctly, the financial risk has been mitigated.

Will he play? Well, contrary to rumours United still have two world-class strikers in Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney. They've also got Wellbeck and Macheda coming through. Owen won't play every week but he is an exceptionally useful sub or occasional player. Even at Newcastle, he was averaging slightly over a goal every two games. What will he do with United's midfield behind him?

Other risks... well, the media are obsessed with Owen. If he doesn't play, it could become a disruptive story. Secondly, if there are injuries to either of the big name strikers, can he produce over the course of a couple of months? Thirdly, there are issues with winning over fans (although I presume United fans will love the fact Liverpool fans are spitting) and, finally, most importantly, it's proven that he doesn't fire with Rooney.

However, these are all fairly minimal risks. He is cheap, he knows most of the players already, has bags of big-game experience, he has scored goals wherever he has played and scored consistently, he'll be motivated by the performances bonuses and the fact that United is just about the best possible shop window for the World Cup, he has played at Anfield and the Bernabeu so knows all about atmosphere, he's great to have on the bench with ten minutes to go, it'll annoy Liverpool fans, he's (apparently) friendly with Fergie and, crucially, he is English. Big clubs need more Englishman because of the European regulations and (possibly) 6+5. The lad is the fourth highest scorer for England and a former European Player of the Year. He's a steal.

A great move. And, it means, he can now take a risk on a young player a la Ronaldo for 5-15m rather than spend £55m on Villa or Ribery. Markus Berg, perhaps, or someone similar? Alternatively, as he's secured a new winger and striker for the total of £16m, he might realise that other areas of the team need strengthening - a defensive midfielder, another winger or maybe another creative midfielder as Carrick is looking shaky.

Damn and blast.

RCM