diego

He didn't need any reason. He never gave a shit about the fans or about the club. Some fans were perceptive enough to see that from the very beginning. For them there is a relief in seeing him in his true colours at Man Utd. Other fans allowed themselves to be seduced by the publicity following his goal against Argentina. That is understandable. But Moores, Parry and Houllier took it to a new level, milking his inflated reputation and swallowing his commercial self-promotion uncritically, to the point of organising the team around him to his great personal benefit and the club's strategic impoverishment. Parry and Moore redeemed themselves somewhat by bringing in Rafa. And when Owen and his marketing team took one look at him and they knew their little game was up.

As a reference point this is what he said yesterday: "You think Manchester United, you think winners and trophies." Owen admitted that he always felt that one day he might play for United, having represented them as a kid. He said: "I came here a couple of times as a youngster. I competed in a tournament for them and met the manager. "Over the last few years I've spoken to other players and had the idea that Sir Alex still thought I had something to offer. "I was always clinging to the hope that he would ask me to come and play for them one day."

No he wasn't. He was 1 in 3 or 1 in 2.8 Were any of those pens?

Michael Owen is going to try his best to deny us a 19th so that he can get in the England team. The fact that he is an overrated, wizened and emotionally stunted has-been who has never been in a championship winning team in his life is not the point. Its his intention that counts.

I remember when the NoW was about to come out with a story about Owen and a certain female nurse. His lawyers got unto that in no time. Not only did the NoW withdraw the story but most of the extant fan sites at that time censored all mention of it. The next week, the NoW announced that Michale Owen was to be their new columnist. I believe he agreed to be the Murdoch's Press poster boy as part of a deal for them keeping quiet about the nurse story. For several years after it was always his picture which they used to introduce a general football story. His management team used to use The Times (also part of Murdoch Press) to plant stories to advocate his inclusion in the England team and promote his image. The difference between the treatment the Murdoch press, Houllier and certain fans sites gave "Saint Michael's" indiscretions and Fowler's alleged indiscretions was startling and the very essence of hypocrisy.

Made me smile to see Rush trot out the usual cliches about the Welsh midget today. I remember when Rush wrote a column in which he hinted broadly enough for most to understand that Owen's prolonged "loss of form" at LFC might be due to trouble with the bookies.

Yesterday I made a post in which I said in so many words that Owen had always harboured the ambition to play at Man Utd even as a kid and then later. His interview today supports my statement. He said that he had been to Man Utd a few times when he was a kid had played for them in a tournament "up North" and had maintained relationships with the some of the players and had continuing discussions with them through his career that encouraged him to believe that he still had a chance that Ferguson would invite him to join the club. This puts in context my other comment that in the past he has gone out of his way to express his great admiration for Ferguson without ever once praising any of the Liverpool managers he played for.

Poor little mite! Like he bears no responsibility for LFC not being in a championship race in all the years he played for us - except possibly one under Evans? Houlier's main strategic weakness was when he decided to go along with Owen's demands to be first choice and then forming the team around his ability to run fast or stand in the six yard box like a hatstand, as well as to cater to Owen's inability to track-back, dribble, pass or move laterally or score more than 50% of the penalties he took. That was the main reason we were boring losers during those "Owen years". It was a sick situation. It was as though it didnt' matter if the other players did not score and the team did not win as long as the midget was served the ball on a plate. Even with all this support, managerial coddling and special treatment he never reached 20 league goals in a season and earned 19 only once and that was thanks to being first choice penalty-taker until his constant missing 50% of them for two years finally allowed Gerard in.

Except the 70% of times that he doesn't take clear-cut chances (and we saw many of those last season - one of the reason Newcastle went down). And let's not forget the near 50% penalty misses in his last two years at LFC.

What do you know about it? You know neither of them and at the operative time you were no more than "a former season ticket holder" - allegedly.

He didn't turn them down at 15. He applied to them first. Ferguson was not prepared to meet his father's demands. He didn't turn Man Utd down when he left Real Madrid. They were his first choice, Arsenal his second. They both said they were not interested. (Consult the press at the time). LFC was interested because Parry believed it would be popular with the supporters. Parry was at the height of his powers and Rafa only here one year and without the control he has now. Under pressure from Parry, Rafa agreed to consider Owen as long as there was no net cost to LFC (as long as the transfer fee was no higher than RM had paid LFC one year before). When Rafa met with him he made clear that Owen would not be offered the "guaranteed" starting place he had had before under Houllier and that Rafa's first-team would not be organised around Owen strenghths and weaknesses - which was the major cause of LFC failing record and boring kick-and-rush style for the previous few years (apart from an FA Cup and the League Cup). Rafa also advised him that if he refused to buckle under pressure from Real Madrid they would release him for a lower fee. Owen's marketing team used the meeting with LFC to leverage a higher fee and wages from Newcastle. Carragher is not an independent or authoritative source of information. He is a hanger-on to the Owen camp. He benefited from crumbs from Owen's commercial deals. He uncritically repeats Owen's PR. His book was written by Bascombe who's information about the club's inner workings are highly suspect. For the record here is what Owen said on 10th may 2004, three months before signing for Real Madrid on the grounds that it "was the best team in the world". “We will sort something out amicably next summer,” said Owen. “I won’t just up and leave on a Bosman. I have the rest of this season and all next still left on my existing contract but talks have already started on a new one. Inevitably, they are complex though and don’t get done in just a week. But I certainly see myself at Liverpool next year. Why not? I’m not in football for the money. And that is largely what it means when players sit out their contracts and go for free.”

On another thread today, there is a report that Hicks is now the recipient of an emergency loan from the league in order to pay the salaries and operational cost of his baseball team. This is in addition to his defaulting on existing loans. According to the league the loan has been provided on the understanding that he is selling the team and that the sale will be done soon and no later than the end of the season. The measures that G&H have taken to secure the manager at LFC, appoint a director of finance and a managing director and find a CEO, suggests to me they are getting the club ready either for sale, in whole or part, or for a flotation. A flotation might work in that it could raise an additional couple of hundred million either to reduce existing debt or secure a construction loan for the stadium.

That's big news and otherwise unreported. Not only has he defaulted on loans he is now the recipient of a new emergency operational loan from the League to keep the oepration going while he finds a buyer and on the assumption that he will find a buyer soon and certainly within the year.

He got 8 PL goals in 27 games last season. Does anyone know if any of these were from pens?

I would be delighted if they replaced Ronaldo or Tevez with Owen. And for once in my life I find myself hoping that Owen's marketing team really stiff his new employers for as much wages as they can.

For years Owen expressed his profound admiration for Ferguson while he never praised any Liverpool manager. Man Utd did not want him when he came back from RM and I find it difficult to believe they want him now - despite the distressed selling price. Perhaps the so-called "tentative talks" are about horses.

I don't know what exactly you're referring to. But Carragher is not the ultimate authority on things LFC. He's admitted to not knowing what goes on in the boardroom or in the offices of Parry, Houllier or Rafa. What he does say about them is opinion or gossip. In addition he was always an uncritical hanger-on to Owen and still is. He has benefited from commercial deals arranged by the Owen management team. My guess is he find it easier to swallow the Owen PR line than question it openly.

I don't think so. I post what I know to be facts. If I don't know or am expressing an opinion, I make that clear.

Still tender about your youthful attachment to Owen? Such pathos!

Owen always wanted to play for the Mancs and considered it one of the curses of his life that he finished up in the LFC youth system. When he was leaving Real Madrid he tried to sell himself to the Mancs, Arsenal and LFC in that order. The first two did not want him (neither did LFC despite Parry's pressure on Rafa to take him) so he went to Newcastle grateful that Parry had helped him leverage a great fee for Real Madrid and great wages for himself.

Translated and summarised it says that the price of 20 million euros is just an opening offer to get negotiations underway and it follows on meetings three weeks ago between Masch's agent and Barca. It says that Rafa gave "permission" for the bid. The fact they put the word "permission" in quotes suggests that even they know they are stretching the use of the word. In its entirety the piece is no more serious than something from the Mail.

If Alonso did transfer to Real Madrid would the percentage of their shirt-sales with his name be more than 1% of the total?

I agree with you - except for the "bags of tricks". People were giddy with delight (I remember Brendan was one of them) that Houllier had been so clever to arrange the deal before the rest of the world realised what a genius he had signed following his appearances in the World Cup. I said then and I say now he did nothing in the World Cup to justify the hysteria or the price we paid for him. He ran up and down the wing energetically i.e. he was his usually shite self. To think Houllier let Anelka go to buy Diouf!

Quote taken from a letter Hitler addressed to Ghandi explaining his pogroms in Poland.

It was always said of Reira in Spain that he lacked stamina in any given game and in a season as a whole. I may be wrong, but I seem to recall Rafa remarking on it about the time he signed him. So it was always part of the plan that he would be substituted during most games and replaced peridocially during the season. I think the idea was to help him build up stamina. He did go through some low-energy patches and was rotated and seemed to benefit from rest. His stamina and effectiveness also seemed to improve a little towards the end of the season. I'd be interested in Silva's stamina. In any case there would be some scope for rotating the two of them on the left wing.