Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[jazzydeuce]

Shrewd move SAF. Remembered Teddy. I Don't remember he won anything at Spurs. Won Treble at OT. And not forgetting Henrik Larsson..striker magnifico..But as long as Owen & SAF don't jalan-jalan hand in hand at Singapore Turf club..., or anywhere near horses together for that matter..i believe he can provide 10-15 goals..

[machoman]

Owen completes stunning Manchester United move

Saturday, July 04, 2009, 11:39:12 HRS

England striker Michael Owen (L) is pictured after a medical at Bridgewater Hospital, in Manchester, northwest England. Owen has joined English champions Manchester United on a two-year contract, the club announced here on Friday, in a remarkable turnaround for the injury-prone striker

Michael Owen has joined English champions Manchester United on a two-year contract, the club announced here on Friday, in a remarkable turnaround for the injury-prone striker.

England forward Owen, 29, a free agent after his Newcastle contract expired last week, underwent a medical at a Manchester hospital on Friday before returning to United's Carrington training ground to complete the shock deal.

The move came after the only clubs interested in signing the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker appeared to be Stoke and Hull - both teams for whom staying in the Premier League is an achievement in itself.

Owen underwent an examination Thursday on the knee injury which sidelined him for much of his time at Newcastle.

Britain's newspapers Saturday could not decide if Owen's surprise move represented another canny swoop by Sir Alex Ferguson -- or a waste of money on an injury-prone player.

"He simply cannot sustain a run of games," the Daily Mail said. "He plays, he gets injured, as an ankle heals, a groin muscle rips. When he returns, a knee ligament goes."

But the Guardian hailed the signing of a "proven poacher" which Old Trafford had lacked since the days of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The paper also highlighted Ferguson's history of gambling on players such as Eric Cantona -- who ended up becoming an Old Trafford legend -- and Laurent Blanc.

The Daily Express thought Owen could be used "as a more than useful back-up striker to Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov and one whose presence buys Ferguson a bit of time while he develops young talents such as Federico Macheda".

Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright wrote in the Sun that Owen had seemed to "lose his desire" in recent years.

"He needed a kick up the backside and Alex Ferguson will provide that," Wright wrote. "He is going to United to salvage his career for club and country."

Ferguson, who has seen both Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez leave Old Trafford in the close season, insisted signing Owen did not represent a gamble on his part.

"Michael is a world-class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question," said Ferguson.

"Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish."

It has been reported that Ferguson has signed a pay as you play deal with Owen, whose weekly wage at Newcastle was believed to have been as high as 120,000 pounds (197,000 dollars).

Owen, who scored just 10 goals for the Magpies as they were relegated from the Premier League last season, said he'd been as stunned as anyone by United's interest in him.

Michael Owen has joined English champions Manchester United on a two-year contract, the club announced here on Friday, in a remarkable turnaround for the injury-prone striker.

"I had just begun to talk to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me," Owen revealed.

"I agreed without a moment's thought. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands."

He added: "I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here.

"I missed pre-season last year and am pleased that I will be starting at Carrington from day one.

"I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances."

Premier League champions Manchester United have signed out-of-favour England striker Michael Owen, seen here in April, on a surprise free transfer deal.

Owen joined Newcastle from Real Madrid in 2005 but his time at St James' Park was blighted by a litany of injuries, including foot, concussion, knee, thigh, groin, ankle and calf problems.

Former Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear, who had to quit the club last season because of heart problems, rarely enjoyed having a fully-fit Owen during his time with the north-east club.

But Kinnear, who made his name as a player in the 1960s with Tottenham, was in no doubt of Owen's quality.

"I like to think I played with one of the best strikers in the world in Jimmy Greaves and Michael has similar attributes," Kinnear told Sky Sports.

"He's a great pro, he's very dedicated, he's a really nice lad and I'm sure Alex will get the best out of him."

- AFP

[asiancigar]

The more i read the news about MO.... the more i am convinced that SAF may have been more shrewd than most people give him credit for (including me)..... hehe

MO's video after signing for us clearly indicates his hunger to be fit again and to repay (with goals) the faith and confidence placed on him by SAF...... needless to say, he is the sort of player that SAF likes, quiet...... dont party like the Becks..... and very private (apparently even the paparazzi has never seen his wife).

But the fact remains (and i hope that L'pool fans are reading this)... we ManU die-hards are a very open minded and passionate breed of people..... at the end of the day, we believe in SAF (England's most successful coach ever) and we will very quickly accept anyone who will proudly wear our Red Jersey and play their heart out for the Devils...... And even if they seem to take much longer to adjust and contribute, we Devils still give them chance after chance after chance and will await patiently.......

Welcome to ManU Michael Owen.........

Cheerz
AC

[slyer]

michael owen to man utd most shocking transfer move ever made by SAF. hope owen can get back to his scoring form. thou its free transfer but hope he won't be in sick bay so often as saha.

is his wage still very high or its a pay as u play deal? if that is the case we have nothing to lose

i tink owen is just a short term measure to our striking options while SAF will scout for long term talented strikers. El kun sergio aguero i wan to see u play in man utd no 7 jersey

[passer.by]

is it becos the champions league needs a certain no. of english players thats why SAF bought owen?

[hoppnet]

hope man utd buy the brazilian Costa. Saw him on video, very good player ...
like C. Ronaldo style at times , can take on defenders and score wonder goals !!!!
Pls buy him, Man Utd !!!

[machoman]

Man Utd's new jerseys for 2009/10 season

Home Jersey: Red colour; Away Jersey: White colour; 2nd Away Jersey: Blue colour.

Red colour jersey now has black colour in the form of V shape on top.

[machoman]

Goalkeeper's jerseys for the new season

Goalie Home Jersey: White; Goalie Away Jersey: Blue

[asiancigar]

Originally Posted by machoman

Goalkeeper's jerseys for the new season

Goalie Home Jersey: White; Goalie Away Jersey: Blue

Brudder...... still AIG meh.....

Cheerz
AC

[et911]

I like Michael Owen when he played for Pools. Hopefully he can regain those form and score some good goals this season.

BTW, the new jersey, looks cool, more like rugby jersey..

[yinyang]

Originally Posted by asiancigar

Brudder...... still AIG meh.....

AC, last season for Armed Islamic Group

Next is Aon?!

[Cookie Monster]

Originally Posted by slyer

michael owen to man utd most shocking transfer move ever made by SAF. hope owen can get back to his scoring form. thou its free transfer but hope he won't be in sick bay so often as saha.

is his wage still very high or its a pay as u play deal? if that is the case we have nothing to lose

i tink owen is just a short term measure to our striking options while SAF will scout for long term talented strikers. El kun sergio aguero i wan to see u play in man utd no 7 jersey

Hi bro, according to online reports, it will be a performance based and pay as you play contract, his basic pay will be ~ 20 k pounds per week, rest will depend on goals and appearances, have to say that it's a shrewd deal, considering that it's a free transfer, win win situation for all involved!

Hopefully, Saint Michael will prove his critics wrong and help Man Utd to win some silverware!

[dc7176]

Samuel Eto'o is ready to drop his contract demands to make a move to ... Manchester United.

The News of the World says the Barcelona striker has been haggling over a move to Manchester City for nearly six weeks and has asked for £200,000 a week to quit the Nou Camp.

He also wants a £12million slice of the £25m transfer fee, which has prevented the deal from going through as the European champions stand firm.

But the Cameroon international would waive such a lump sum if Sir Alex Ferguson came in for him. Fergie could still be in for a striker - despite the capture of Michael Owen - and only a club of United's stature will prise Eto'o away from Spain.

He would accept a cut-price £150,000-a-week deal that would still make him the top earner at Old Trafford instead of the possibility of mid-table football at Eastlands.

One source close to the player said: "Samuel has not been convinced by a move to a mid-table side in the Premier League and neither will he sign a new deal at Barca."

[dc7176]

Tevez: I'll score against Man Utd and shout in Fergie's face!

Departing Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has slammed manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Tevez, who rejected the chance to stay at United even though the club met his £25.5m asking price, told the Mirror: "Ferguson still believes I will be at United next season. He thinks I will return.

"But I know what I want and I know that Ferguson did not respect me as a player. Before Berbatov arrived in Manchester, Ferguson told me, 'You will still be the starting striker, so be cool'. But he lied to me! That is why I know I will not return to United.

"What I want to do next season is score against United. I promise I will not celebrate in front of the United fans but I will shout in Ferguson's face.

"You can be sure of that - and it will be one of the most beautiful things I have done in football."

Tevez is set to be unveiled at Manchester City after turning down the chance to stay at Old Trafford.

[dc7176]

Tevez: Utd fans will forgive me for Man City switch

Former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez is confident the Old Trafford faithful will understand if he completes a transfer to cross-town rivals, Manchester City.

The Argentina international turned down a permanent deal at United last month and has since been linked with a lucrative move to Eastlands.

The 25 year old told The People: "If I play for Manchester City I don't think the United fans will feel I am a traitor.

"They have to remember that at least as far as I know I have been thrown out of the club and I have to study the best offers available."

"It has come about because I could not stand my sporting situation at Manchester United any longer," he continued.

"My first year was good in all senses. I played in the games and felt respected by the coach but in my second year some strange things happened that I still do not understand.

"After the game at Old Trafford where Liverpool beat us [4-1, in March], Ferguson ignored me almost as if I was to blame for the defeat when really Liverpool dominated us all over the pitch.

"After that the fans called for me to be in the team but he never took the advice on board because he always knows best.

"I gave everything for Manchester United and people know that. For that reason I don't deserve the way things have ended up."