by azriahmad » Fri Sep 17, 2004 4:01 am
Stu, lighten up...from your posts, I know you are one very passionate fan. Don't forget, many of us here are also passionate, in fact, I dare say that all of the members who post with relogious regularity are also ture and passionate fans.
Let's just try to rationalise why Owen left. During Houllier's time, they said that they are offering Owen a new contract extension. Somewhere along the discussions, there has been a delay in the signing due to "certain technicalities" as has been said by both sides. Then, Liverpool decised to terminate Houllier's and Parry said that the senior players will be consulted on the replacement candidates. The media has reported that Owen had been greatly impressed by Rafael Benithez's very well organised Valencia and that he would welcome his appointment.
Fast forward to after the actual appointment and after benithez has changed the assistant manager and the coaches, and after the US tour. Benithez made the extension of Owen's contract an important issue to resolve as Liverpool do not want another top player leaving on a Bosman. At the same time, Benithez told Murphy that he has no future at Liverpool, and he was quickly sold to Charlton. Benithez, in the menn time, wanted more team unity and wanted to get rid of the so-called factionism within the squad. Also, no player is an automatic first chioce and he would rotate the strikers as he sees/thinks fit. Owen is faced with the prospect that he may be rotated.
During the contract negotiations, Owen's people apparently asked for 100,000 pounds a week. Bentihez does agree abd Parry backed him on this. From that moment onwards, they will try to sell Owen if they fail to get him to extend his contract so as not to lose him on a Bosman when his contract has less than six months to run. owen's agent quickly contacted Real Madrid. It was made public that Camacho wanted a defensive midfielder and was trying to court Viera. His club President, being a person who thinks that he is much smarter than his coach, quickly sealed a deal for Owen.
Owen in turn, merely settled for 56,000 pounds a week, less than what he would get under an extended contract at Liverpool, and more importantly, less than what Woodgate gets at Real Madrid. We get some 8 million pounds plus Nunez in a deal worth 12 million pouinds.
Looking at the above scenario, did we sell him because we did not want him? Or did we sell him because we had to as he was making some over the top demands and stalling on the contract extension because we did not want him to go on a Bosman?
My take was very clear - he left because he feared that he won't be an automatic first chioce and also because Benithez wanted to eliminate "player power" at the club. Liverpool had no choice but to sell. We tried our very best to keep him, he chose not to stay and to leave to become third or fourth choice and end up on a smaller contract than a player who is not as estahblished as him.
I do miss him and thought that he, of all people, would get much better chances of scoring more than Cisse or Baros with the likes of Alonso and Garcia in the team, rather than rely too much on his predatory instincts to get into goal scoring chances. Now at Liverpool, Benithez wants the midfielders to prise opposing defences and create the opportunities for the strikers. In the past, Gerrard will hoof the ball and Owen is left to his own devices to either outsprint the defenders or outdribble them on the run.
The thing is, get over Owen. He left because he did not fancy the new Liverpool under Rafael Benithez although he may have been the main beneficiary of the changes.
<<< D!(k head? 
