Michael Owen – Fergie gamble or masterstroke?

As the summer break continues I don’t think any transfer will surprise me as much as Michael Owen’s move to Manchester United. When Sir Alex Ferguson made the decision to offer Owen a contract at Old Trafford he seemed to go against the opinion of most other managers in the game.

Interest

Hull and Stoke had expressed an interest and some people believed that Everton or Aston Villa were an outside bet, but as far as I’m aware, nobody had predicted Manchester United’s interest.

Sam Allardyce at Blackburn said that he wouldn’t be interested in Owen because of his injury record and most experts and managers nodded along with that sentiment.

Nobody denies that Michael Owen was one of the world’s best strikers but is his purchase now a total gamble or an inspired decision?

Admirer

There is a belief that Sir Alex Ferguson has long been an admirer of Owen and has often wanted to take him to the club but the time has never been right. Now he would have no real challengers for Owen’s signature and he is probably far enough removed from his hero-worship at hated rivals Liverpool to make the move possible.

In the past Fergie has surprised us all with signings such as the permanent deal for Laurent Blanc and the loan deal for Henrik Larsson. Both of those moves were players who were regarded as being way past their best. They also provide the range of possibilities that cover the outcome of the Owen move. Blanc was past his best and never really ‘did it’ at United whereas Larsson was a revelation and became a hero at the club in a very short time.

Desperation

The timing of the signing lends itself to the opinion that the signing smacks somewhat of desperation from Sir Alex. Having lost Ronaldo and Tevez it also seems that Fergie is missing out on his rumoured targets David Villa, Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery. Although I can see the sense of that opinion I don’t believe that Fergie ‘does desperation’. I just believe he fancies the idea of taking a chance on a striker who at full fitness is still probably England’s best finisher.

Last season, United’s success was largely based on solid defending. They won an awful lot of games by the odd goal and despite the incredible attacking options of the likes of Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez and Rooney, they didn’t score as many goals as they probably should have done. Whilst Owen, on recent form, is not in the same league as Rooney and Berbatov, maybe Fergie sees the possibility of a player who can just put the ball in the net in a clinical manner.

Wisdom

Let us not forget that many people questioned the wisdom of the signings of Eric Cantona and Teddy Sheringham at Old Trafford and they both wrote their own pages in United’s history.

Michael Owen’s contract had run it’s course at Newcastle so the actual purchase has cost United nothing. His wages will be high but when you look at the sort of salaries being offered to other players around Europe, they are certainly not astronomical.

For Michael Owen there is absolutely no down side to this move. He believes he is still good enough to play at the very top and there is no doubt that if he stays fit and gets a regular game, he will score goals. If that happens and he can establish a decent rapport and partnership with Wayne Rooney, he could still achieve his ambition of playing in another World Cup.

Great

In truth, it is more difficult to see what United are getting out of it. He could be great, but the purchase is unlikely to excite the fans and build belief that United can stay in touch with the other power-houses in European football. To lose Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez and replace them with Valencia and Owen doesn’t, on the surface, look like great footballing business.

Having said that, much of the outcome will depend on whether Owen can stay fit. If he does this signing may well prove to be another Fergie masterstroke.