The Rumour Mill, Season 2011-12

Stoke expected to beat Everton to Michael Owen

16/06/2012 |

Comments (20)

Michael Owen is expected to join Stoke later this month despite supposed interest from Everton.

And, despite playing just 10 times since January 2011, Press Association Sport understands there has been plenty of interest in Owen, with Stoke now looking like the preferred option for England's fourth highest scorer.

There is some competition from Everton, although whether Owen would be willing to join the Goodison Park outfit given his status as a former Liverpool player is open to debate.

Original Source: The Independent

Comments

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Andrew McEgan
240 Posted 16/06/2012 at 05:10:46

Owen would start at Stoke but be a squad player at Everton. We'd only pay him a pay as you play deal I would imagine. 5 years ago this would have been a story but he's not the player he was.

Gavin Ramejkis
242 Posted 16/06/2012 at 06:46:34

Don't even know why this is news worthy, he's past it and simply not worth any money, how many games does he play per season and what would he bring other than a drain on the wage bill?

Mike Keating
253 Posted 16/06/2012 at 09:12:34

Why are we sniffing around dead meat? He's finished

Kieran Fitzgerald
254 Posted 16/06/2012 at 09:16:58

I think Owen is just one of those older players that will still get millage out of ther reputation. Look at Saha. Crocked yet both Moyes and Redknapp took a punt on him. For some managers, especially at clubs like stoke or west brom, the likes of Owen are always worth a go. It's a huge gamble but for clubs like these, a decent run of games from a player of the status like Owen is something that is invaluable to them. I know this sounds a little patronising but if the gamble works, It get's the fans interest going, gives the club's reputation a extra bit of a shine and means that the team gets to play a slightly better style of football. Of course the down side is that the gamble fails, you just look very silly.

Look at us ten or eleven years ago. Gazza, Ginola, Mark Hughes, take your pick. That is where the club was at and we were desperate enough to take the gamble. It made us look pathetic. At the moment, we are a million miles away form signing a player like this as we don't need to take the risk and we couldn't afford to carry Michael Owen, either financially or in terms of puttng the morale of squad or the fans at risk.

Paul Ellam
261 Posted 16/06/2012 at 10:10:05

Well said Kieran, I like the idea of signing Owen but I guess I am wishing it was the Owen of 5 years ago not the one now. For this reason, I hope he doesn't sign for us.

The trouble with players like him are that they aren't prepared to take wage cuts ? he would probably prefer to join us but knows we can't offer him the wages he's used to.
I don't think he is that bothered about playing time; after all, he sat on the bench for Man Utd for long enough! It's all about the money for him.
If he was a True Blue, he would say "pay me in peanuts, it will be a pleasure to play for you" ? but that isn't going to happen!

Stephen Davies
263 Posted 16/06/2012 at 10:49:15

He would only be a squad player here and probably an expensive one at that.
In my opinion I doubt that he would put the effort in, if he did put the effort in he has neither the pace or motivation to make an impact.

Tony McNulty
264 Posted 16/06/2012 at 10:53:41

Our alleged interest is quite possibly shite, but I suppose it is conceivable that there could be some mileage in the story.

I have to say he is one ex-RS player that I would find great difficulty in applauding were he to score. Frankly, I wish he would rack off and take his pox-ridden horses with him.

Barry Rathbone
267 Posted 16/06/2012 at 11:05:40

He's a horse trainer now.

Derek Thomas
270 Posted 16/06/2012 at 11:15:32

Stoke expected to beat Everton to Michael Owen...GOOD

David Hallwood
271 Posted 16/06/2012 at 11:16:20

It's rumoured that Stoke's Physio room is far plusher than ours. Probably clinched the deal

Matt Traynor
273 Posted 16/06/2012 at 11:30:47

This is one time I would be happy to lose out to Stoke.
Putting his RS-credentials to one side, and the usual former Evertonian bollocks, I think Owen as a player was an exceptional striker, until about the age of 23.

If you think back over time, there's always strikers who burst onto the scene, and appear to only get worse with age, and lose their way etc. Owen, Fowler, Jeffers.

The other thing Owen cultivated was his "nice guy" image, but right from that Argentina game when as an 18 year old he hooked his trailing foot into the bollocks of the Argentina keeper, to fool the ref into giving a pen, I lost a bit of respect for him (I know lots of players do it, but for those who don't believe it's coached into them - there was an 18 year old doing it, and he was English).

But my over-riding disdain from him comes from the fact that he has made an extraordinary living from the game by pretending he still is what he was almost a decade and a half ago.

Am I the only one who thought Liverpool were happy to offload him to Real Madrid for £8m? I'm sure their medical staff knew he was finished in terms of his pace. Only Newcastle would be daft enough to pay £17m for him a couple of years later. Others have often pointed out SAF makes mistakes in transfers, well he made 2 with this guy. Signing him in the first place, and then giving him a 12 month extension. He must've got on great with the physios.

I think there's a lot of players of his ilk, he's definitely not the only one.

James Newcombe
276 Posted 16/06/2012 at 12:38:04

He's been finished for years! I really hope this is a made up story and we're not even in the mix

Alasdair Mackay
277 Posted 16/06/2012 at 12:45:04

I'm sure that there is genuine interest, because Moyes has made no secret of his admiration for the player and we do need a striker, but like most other people on here I would be happy to lose this one to Stoke.

Kalou or Rodallega would be nice, though. For nothing!

Thomas Windsor
290 Posted 16/06/2012 at 13:55:27

Michael who?

Keith Glazzard
312 Posted 16/06/2012 at 14:55:16

As Kieran says above, signing Owen really would smack of Walter Smith style desperation. It would be a backward step for us.

I wasn't too impressed when we signed Saha, and he was about 30 - Owen is more like 33. And in the end I was just so relieved when Arry took him to Spurs (why did he do it?) as I would have put Hibbo on as striker instead of him. As it was, we got some Croatiian bloke. Fine by me.

If Stoke have slot machines at their training ground that should keep Michael away from us.

Doug Hast
323 Posted 16/06/2012 at 16:07:18

Stoke can gladly have Owen plus all the horses he owns. Owen will be lucky to play 10 games a season, if he was one of the horses he owns, he would be shot.

James Stewart
384 Posted 16/06/2012 at 19:00:45

Good he is shite.

Would be a terrible move. Injury prone and washed up. No thanks

Kevin Day
672 Posted 17/06/2012 at 22:49:38

Not good enough to lace Jela's boots!

Eugene Ruane
673 Posted 17/06/2012 at 22:53:32

'Supposed interest'.

Sigh.

Jay Harris
676 Posted 17/06/2012 at 23:02:13

SAF probably only kept him for his horse knowledge.
It certainly couldn't have been because he thought he was Prem quality.

Another "press" bullet dodged.

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