Comments on: Newcastle United: Where does Michael Owen go from here?

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:04:55 +0000

No doubt Owen is a nice man; and possibly a talented footballer. Personally I think his spell at ‘the toon’ has been a disaster for the club and him. He’s not the player he was 4/5 years ago; and the ‘big 4′ in England wouldn’t want him-says it all really.

By: Tripp

Tripp — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:26:46 +0000

With Martins away at ACN Owens has no competition. He’s the better choice anyways. If we can improve our midfield we could presumably try Martins and Owens up front, but the balls gotta stay on the ground for it to really be effective. KK has no choice but to play Owen in the short term and that will give them a chance to get things sorted.

By: Tom Sharp

Tom Sharp — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:55:41 +0000

They might not like each other, but I’m sure even Kevin Keegan knows that a striker who knows where the back of the net is is a fine asset.

Owen isn’t on top of his game right now, but there isn’t a replacement in the squad. Michael, Martins and Viduka are Keegan’s only options up front, and really, Owen must be undroppable with competition like that.

By: Ontario Emperor

Ontario Emperor — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:57:02 +0000

It’s conceivable that Owen will figure out a way to work with his new/old manager. Here in the United States, we had a comparable solution, when, in his book The Last Season, Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson unloaded on his “uncoachable” superstar, Kobe Bryant. Only problem was that the so-called “last season,” wasn’t, and Phil Jackson was lured back to the Lakers coaching ranks, and to Kobe. Jackson and Bryant seem to have reached an accommodation, and while Kobe still has issues, they seem to be more with the Lakers’ front office than with his coach. Plus, at this point, the Lakers are successful, so some of these issues can easily be swept under the carpet.

I’ll grant that the situations aren’t perfectly comparable. Kobe hasn’t had a string of injuries, and Newcastle United is not at the top of the heap in the EPL. Yet the example does go to show that even a player and a manager that have expressed a dislike for each other can still potentially find a way to work together.