TheoRacle wrote:For what its worth...
I agree with Stu - MO is a class act and scores goals full stop.
I'm in Brisbane Queensland a regular reader of the forums and a Red since our European Cup win against Borussia Monchengladbach in 1977.
Viewing the EPL from afar and so maybe missing out on some of the gossip and rumour leading up to MO’s departure – I distinctly got the impression that Michael jumped ship at the last minute rather than be forced out by a the change of management. I have no evidence of that of course but at the time and from the press reports we got down under – that’s what I thought.
Maybe there is a personality clash between RB and MO at the bottom of this… after all the press seem to think that RB prefers Crouch FFS! Now I admire RB as much as anyone but someone please tell me that the Crouch link is just a ruse to keep the press away from our real intended signings! Mori on top of his game offers everything that Crouch does plus a whole heap more so why on earth would you want to gamble 8 million quid on an ‘effective’ striker but someone who is just not in the same league (literally at the moment) as Owen, Mori, Cisse, Henry, Van Horsehead, Rooney, Drogba and yeah even Baros. Let’s face it, to compete for the trophy its players of this calibre that we need – not I’m sorry to say a Peter Crouch.
To those who are slagging MO off at the moment perhaps you should put yourself in both Stevie G and Michael’s position at end of last season. New manager coming in, trophies coming in on the trickle rather than the flood we all want and expect, discontent amongst players and friends you’ve played your entire career with and uncertainty over the direction the club you love is going in. We all know that Stevie ummed and aaghed over his decision and people labelled him a turncoat and immature and all sorts of other names not worth repeating. In the end (finally!) he tossed a coin (?) and decided to stay. So last year, MO’s toin coss landed the other way and he walked. Rash, immature, wrong advice, pushed - who here can really say with 100% certainty? I for one do not think it was ego. Whenever I’ve seen him speak on the box, he always displays respect, humility, intelligence and poise. Take the ‘midget’ incident for example with Carlos Alberto. MO’s response to Alberto showed that he is a true diplomat and great ambassador for the game. Compare him against the definition of ego in Mourinho and you’ll see my point.
So yes, I’d like to see Michael Owen back where he belongs… the options provided by Cisse, Owen, and Mori upfront with Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, (an in form) Kewell, Garcia and maybe Figo providing the service really is a mouth watering prospect!
michael owen wasnt pushed mate, quite the opposite, in fact rafa flew out to the england team hotel in portugal to basically beg gerrard and owen to give him a season to prove he could turn the club around as both players were preparing for the off after becoming dissillusioned with the clubs direction under houllier.
owen had already made up his mind to leave long before that and we the fans knew it because his stalling tactics on signing a new contract had been widely covered in the local press for over a year. at first owen told the fans through the local media that he would sign as soon as his agent came back off holiday but when it transpired this holiday was going to last six months we started to suspect we were getting given the runaround. everyone in football knows that when a player stalls on signing a deal on the table its basically a come and get me to other clubs. ferdinand is doing it now at united but his high wage demands and mercinary nature is scaring off potential buyers but this didnt stop united fans shouting "why dont you f@ck off to chelsea" at him this weekend during a freindly. they may be united fans but they know the score.
liverpool were at a critical point in their history last summer, we had spent the last 14 years spending toe to toe or rather pound for pound with other clubs trying to regain our place as the premier side in england. no other club had spent so much for so long without success and many once big clubs who had more recent success in the title race like blackburn and leeds couldnt compete. but liverpools board kept on trying but after houllier had wasted millions on average players it looked like we had to admit defeat and fall back into the pack of proud provincial clubs who were once the dominant force in the english game like everton and spurs.
we had one hope and that was we had two world class players who we could build a side around without costing the earth but when the club needed loyalty the most one of these players decided to leave. he knew the club was peering into the chasm but owen decided to even take a pay cut to leave the sinking ship.
then came a miracle in the shape of rafa benitez and the rest is history. but i think rafa as well as being a winner is a proud man and he wont forget those conversations in that hotel in portugal very quickly.
top 10 and every other 
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