Source: Daily_Mail
The ‘old codger’ signs in as Owen hopes for seventh heaven at Old Trafford
There are some things in football that never seem right no matter how long you look at them. Brian Clough at Leeds. George Graham at Tottenham. Jonathan Woodgate at Real Madrid. And Michael Owen at Manchester United.
A former Liverpool player, Owen was paraded yesterday after his arrival on a free transfer from Newcastle.
At 29 years old and with some difficult recent years now firmly imprinted on his c.v. Owen will wear the No 7 shirt recently vacated by Cristiano Ronaldo.
It also emerged yesterday that Owen was chosen by Sir Alex Ferguson once 21-year-old French international Karim Benzema was considered too expensive at £35million. Suffice to say that Owen begins his United career on tour in Asia later this week under a certain amount of pressure.
'We tried to get Benzema but as soon as that dropped through we went for Michael,' said Ferguson yesterday. 'The price tag on Benzema was beyond his value and if other clubs want to go to that then it's entirely their business. We had a value and didn't want to go above that.
'Lyon got 42m euros for him (from Real Madrid) and they will be happy with that. They have done well. All this says is that we are sensible.'
United supporters reading this today will perhaps take one of two views.
One is to trust their manager and maybe even thank him for not jumping feet first into the murky waters of a transfer market inflated largely by the activities of Real and - to a lesser extent - Manchester City.
Seven magnificent sevens
The other is to wonder why, with £80m in the bank from the sale of Ronaldo to Madrid, Ferguson did not spend a chunk of it on a player who may yet become every inch the dominant attacking force Ronaldo was during his time at Old Trafford.
Ferguson said: 'I can only placate fans in one way and that's by not being stupid. We have that wonderful sum of money from Real Madrid but we are not going to throw it away and spend it in situations when an extra zero is being placed on the end of transfer fees.
'There is no need to panic. We should not panic because of one player leaving. We have some good young players in all positions, so what I have done is bring in youth in Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan and an old codger in Michael.
'That will balance things up. Experience is vital and I know Michael will score a lot of goals for us. That is what he has been great at for years and years. He will give us experience in the penalty box.
'We are happy with our three signings. That has concluded our business this summer. We are in the middle of a difficult summer in football, it's difficult to get value. But I think we have got good value and it is the right way to go for us.'
United presented Owen to the media yesterday, flanked on either side by Valencia - signed for £12m from Wigan - and the young Frenchman Obertan.
Valencia, in particular, may turn out to be a significant signing in the forthcoming season. He is an impressive operator on the right side of midfield and will certainly contribute more to United's defensive efforts than Ronaldo ever did.
Nevertheless, all the talk yesterday was about Owen and, indeed, Ronaldo. The fact that Owen has taken the No 7 shirt says much for his self-belief. His new manager, meanwhile, remains content that this summer was the right time to let the World Player of the Year go.
He added: 'I had a good relationship with him. I never thought we were going to keep him for a long time. To have him for six years, we're very proud of that. He's taken this opportunity to have another challenge and I respect him because he was a fantastic player for us. He was a good lad, no problems. We wish him well.
'The £80m figure was what we always wanted. It was nonnegotiable. Take it or leave it. It was his moment to leave and we allowed him to do that.'
Owen certainly looked healthy in his United training kit yesterday. It is, however, his body's ability to cope with the rigours of a season in which he will have to carry his share of United's attacking burden that will go a long way to determining whether his move to Old Trafford is successful.
The striker, who has been capped 89 times by England, maintains he is not injury-prone, in spite of considerable evidence to the contrary.
Time will tell.
