Michael Owen does it again

Sports - Football - Premier League - Michael Owen

I cannot stop thinking, he should not have left in the first place...

In 2004 Michael Owen left the club that established him as a world player to try his chances at Real Madrid. And failed - as I predicted the day he left. Not because I was holding sour grapes against him or anything like that, but because I stayed realistic and was not blinded by the flow of Galacticos cash.

He would have become a god at Liverpool - he was on his way, put it that way - just as worshiped and loved as Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are now! Stevie G. had his flirts and episodes of distress - should I stay or should I go now - too. But he came to his sences in time and stayed where he belonged and look at him now, a god! What would Liverpool be without him - and vice versa? Just like the Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, et al.

Real Madrid have always been overcrowded with star players and I just knew Owen would not have much of a chance to become the same god there. No chance indeed, he had in the end.

Owen then tried his luck at Newcastle and was hit by one injury-curse after another. I saw it as his punishment for leaving Liverpool in the first place, not that I am biased or anything...

He then abandoned the sinking Tyne ship - after the club kept the faith in him and his paycheck flowing for four years, all for nothing in the end.

That is why I have always worshiped Alan Shearer. The top player, striker and scorer he always was, he never left for the cash. He stayed with his home team and is still fighting with and for them now. He deserves ten-times the respect and honor compared to the modern-day players and greats that just go there where the highest bid comes from.

So, to which club does the born Everton fan decide to go next? None other than Manchester United. Who can blaim him? Having won three titles in a row, nearly defended the European crown, too, I could go on and on listing the reasons, glories and past players' success-stories as good and more-than-plausible reasons why a player should join Man Utd to rekindle his written-off career.

I agree with Phil McNulty, it could not have been a better move for both Michael Owen and the proven genius Sir Alex Ferguson himself. Manchester United needed to strengthen their attack after losing their main player Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. Owen needs to put his career back on track, to get back into the England team, and only Hull and Stoke had made bids for him so far. Not good enough for the Scouser. The prior get what they need for hardly a penny - compared to the deals they are normally part of - and the latter gets what he needs, regardless of his past.

Paul Merson stayed more cautious with his assessment of the situation looking back at the player's injury-prone past. I think this move could be a master stroke for both sides. But on the other hand, I cannot stop shaking my head thinking of what could have been. If only he would have stayed in the first place, none of this long farce would have happened. But instead, he keeps on kicking everyone who had faith in him in the face, defiantly. He dare not do that to Fergie!

1996-2004 Liverpool: 297 games 158 goals (53.2% scoring rate)

2004-2005 Real Madrid: 40 games, 14 goals (35%)

2005-2009 Newcastle: 79 games, 30 goals (37.97%)

1996-2009 Overall: 416 games, 202 goals (48.56%)

Source: Own records and BBC article