by ivor_the_injun » Tue Aug 30, 2005 12:43 am
From The Times...
Home is where the heat is as Liverpool haggle over Owen
By Matt Dickinson, Chief Football Correspondent
MICHAEL OWEN was reassured by the message from Rafael Benítez yesterday morning when, in face-to-face discussions, the Liverpool manager confirmed that he wanted to sign the England striker but the Merseyside club were still haggling with Real Madrid over the terms of the transfer last night with time running out to conclude a deal.
After a day when he flew back from Spain, met Liverpool and then hurtled up to Northumberland for talks with the Newcastle United hierarchy, Owen must have felt like he had finished where he started — still waiting for Liverpool, his preferred destination, to offer Real acceptable terms.
It has been that way for Owen for weeks now and, with the transfer window due to close at midnight tomorrow, the wait for significant developments becomes all the more agonising. Rick Parry, the Liverpool chief executive, held more discussions with Real yesterday afternoon but Spanish sources insisted that the two clubs were still some way apart.
With the possibility that his hopes of a return to Anfield could be dashed, Owen travelled to the North East, where he was met by a huge welcoming party from Newcastle including Freddy Shepherd, the chairman, Douglas Hall, his deputy, Graeme Souness, the manager, Dean Saunders, his assistant, and Alan Shearer at Mitford Hall, a rural retreat. For the Tyneside club, it was a coup even to sit down with the England striker and someone ensured that photographers were there to capture Owen leaving the talks.
Newcastle’s desperation to secure the forward is so great that they may even offer to sign him on a permanent deal on the understanding that he could leave for a similar fee in 12 months’ time if he is not happy. They have bid £16 million, which has not made Parry’s job any easier as he attempts to persuade Real to accept nearer £10 million.
Liverpool’s initial offer of a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer next year is understood to have been rejected out of hand by Real, who urgently need to bring in funds as they attempt to sign Sergio Ramos, the Seville defender, for about £15 million. Owen was not even put on the bench by Real for the 2-1 victory at Cádiz on Sunday as they made it plain that, as long as someone gives them a handsome profit on the £8 million they paid for the striker last summer, they do not care if he goes to Newcastle or Liverpool.
Owen returned from Cádiz and then travelled on to Liverpool yesterday morning. While Tony Stephens, the player’s agent, talked to Parry, Owen was reassured by Benítez that he was also keen on the move despite reports that his interest is lukewarm.
Benítez is keen to strengthen other areas of his team and, to that end, a deal of about £1.5 million for Nolberto Solano, the Peru and Aston Villa right winger, is expected to be concluded in the next 24 hours. A new centre half remains a priority with Philippe Mexes, the AS Roma and France defender, one of half a dozen targets. Parry reassured Owen and Stephens that he would continue to negotiate with Real but among the complications has been the difficulty for Liverpool in finding a buyer for Djibril Cissé, the France forward who would be surplus to requirements at Anfield despite costing £14 million from Auxerre only a year ago.
Eager to return to his former club, but aware that there are many obstacles, Owen drove to the North East for talks with Newcastle. He left that meeting at around 6pm to return to his home in Flintshire still unsure where he would be playing his next game of club football.
Sources at Newcastle said that they believed the discussions had gone well and, given their position near the foot of the Barclays Premiership with only one point and no goals in four matches, they are probably congratulating themselves that they have even reached the point of discussions with Owen, who said that he would consider going to St James’ but only on loan because of his eagerness to play regular football in World Cup year.
Owen’s future will almost certainly have to be resolved today with Liverpool either agreeing a fee with Real or pulling out of the talks. There is, of course, always the option of staying in Spain but, after spending the day back in England yesterday, Owen will have an even greater yearning to be home
SHOULD OWEN RETURN TO ANFIELD?
Oliver Kay
YES
As he sat at home watching his former Liverpool team-mates overcome AC Milan in the most memorable European Cup final of recent times, Michael Owen received a text message from his sister in Istanbul. It read: “You should be here.”
There was no sense of unfinished business when, after scoring 160 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool, he left last August and Owen has modestly suggested that Liverpool may not have won the trophy had he stayed, but there will always be a part of him that wonders what might have been, just as there was a part of him that pined for a return to Anfield the moment it became clear to him that he may have to move from Madrid after just one season.
Rafael Benítez may not have given the impression of a manager ready to bend over backwards to welcome back the prodigal son, but his willingness to sacrifice Djibril Cissé, as well as the departed Milan Baros, might just have had the fatted calves trembling in anticipation of what happens next.
NO
Never go back, they say, and Owen would be forgiven for having at least some reservations as he sought the assurances he wanted from Benítez yesterday that a reunion would benefit player and club alike.
Benítez is understood to have said everything that Owen wanted to hear but it is a little more than a week since the Liverpool manager could be heard spelling out the various reasons why such a deal would not happen.
“We already have five centre forwards plus Milan Baros (since sold to Aston Villa),” Benítez said, “and sometimes we will only play with one, so really we don’t need a centre forward. We want a right winger and a central defender.”
Benítez’s preference for a 4-4-1-1 formation, spearheaded by a forward with aerial presence such as Fernando Morientes or Peter Crouch, might not sit easily with Owen, who is at his best as the frontline striker in a 4-4-2 system. Home is certainly where the heart is, but could the head tell him that his career would be best served, at least in the short term, by moving to Newcastle?
It took Robinho, the Brazil forward, less than 25 minutes to live up to the hype that preceded his $30 million transfer to Real Madrid.
Stepping on to the pitch midway through the second half at Cadiz on Sunday with the score at 1-1, the 21-year-old’s first touch was a cheeky flick over the head of an opposition defender.
Shortly afterwards, he set up Real’s winning goal by controlling a 30-yard pass from David Beckham with his chest, swivelling and leaving the ball for Ronaldo to slip a pass to Raúl to poke into the net.
cokney 
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He was doing nothing but avoiding relegation at Blackburn and probably would have been given the sack there sooner or later. In my opinion, Bobby would have done a better job last season
by Sean » Thu May 24, 2007 4:01 pm
