from those who said he is crap and he should never have been bought i agree he is owed and apology those, like me, who said he has been playing poorly for England(euro2004), liverpool (end of last season), Real (beginning of season). i dont think he is owed an apology atall, he was playing poor, well below potential, but now i can praise him for proving he is world class, has been, and always will be!
Looking from the other perspective: it's way too early to already call his transfer an undisputed success. He made a number of important goals (decisive ones) for the club in these last few games, but those won't mean a thing if he returns to his not so great form in the coming games. ("well yeah, I played like doodie most of the season.....but do you guys remember those goals I made at the start of the season last year......no? Damn you!") And really, who is to say Morientes (not exactly a sardine) wouldn't have scored more for the team if he had more time to play than the couple of minutes he's gotten compared to what Owen's had. (they both scored in the Copa game, not just Owen) Meh. To Hell with the other perspective: the good ol' middle finger to all those people who came here at the start of the season ridiculing this transfer. And a sticking out tongue as well because it turns me on.
it is very true, moro must be given more chance in the team! did you hear him being whistled by a section of th real crowd evrytime he touched the ball on sunday- very disappointing indeed. apparantly they were giving him stick once before, so when he scored in the copa del rey he made jestures to that section of the crowd, now they whistle him!
Owen did not have that many more chances than Morientes. It was not long ago that Owen was being called "5th choice striker", it's the goals in those rare chances which have turned it around for him. We'll see how he does over the course of the season, but if he's scoring consistently now when still settling into Madrid and the Spanish league and language, then that's a very encouraging sign for the future. F you to all those who came crowing that he was a failure and not worth the money before he'd even had a month at the club.
You're right that those who criticized Owen's ability at the beginning have so far been proven wrong, but you are dead wrong in belittling Morientes. Those who felt Morientes should have been ahead of Owen in the pecking order have not been wrong at all. Who likes it when a loyal player is told to come back to the club and promised chances and then is forced to sit down when a new signing comes along? A new signing who hasn't been in the best form for a few years himself. Think about how many minutes has Morientes played compared to Owen this season. It's good that Owen is scoring important goals, but he did jump ahead of Morientes in the queue, and really who's to say Morientes wouldn't have scored as well given the same chances? I'll admit i thought Owen was a has-been when he moved here, and i'll admit i was wrong. But have some sympathy for Morientes and to some extent Raul who's lost his favourite position if you're gonna talk up Owen.
Owen has done well so far. There's much more season left to play. If he helps lead the team to any titles, then he'll be able to invite the nay-sayers to apply lips to gonads... but not before then. There's and angle to the issue of Moro's playing time which none of us here will have any knowledge of, and that's his workrate during practice. As I've said before, perhaps Owen is trying harder to show that he deserves to play, and MGR is making his decision based solely on that. We just can't know what the truth is. That said, I too would like to see Moro get more time, but not because of an injury to anybody else.
this is too bad for morientes, he is a proven player; but i think owen has been given the chance of his life and has responded. i pray we can see them partnering up front more often so they develop a good understanding of each other. i always liked owen - well, not too much when he mauled argentina...
Here is the part that has me scratching my head. At about the 60 minute mark, GR subs out Owen (that is usually all the time Owen needs to score his winning goal ) and then brings in Celades. Celades has only had one good game for us. Why not bring Moro in? Why not sub Ronaldo out, if Ronaldo isn't getting it done. And yes I know, there was one time GR replaced Owen with Solari & that was an excellent move. On Sunday night, our Skysports commentator Gerry Armstrong said that bringing in Celades was to bring stability to the midfield - but I sure didn't see any subsequent stability.
It's early days yet, lets see how this season turns out for Michael before deriding those who wrote him off. A lot can happen in 7 months.
Well if Moro is going to Liverpool it would be best for him, he'd certainly play a lot more and the club is dominantely spanish now. Owen has been very generous to the media and has had a tough time settling in and still hasnt, I believe he has been in a hotel with his daughter and gf, but hes began to flourish here and should help you all greatly. I feel bad for Moro, id like to see him play, im sure he'd do great at Liverpool though.
Yea I would hope so, I was just saying during his real trouble time he said he was in a hotel room. That can't be fun I'm looking forward to Becks return it should be nice having them linking up with each other.
I won't hesitate to say that when we signed Owen I was pissed...I thought it was a waste of money on a familiar name that hadn't shown me much over the past year (I know his stats are undeniable, but over the past year he's been crap)...however, I'm also the first to be willing to say, gladly, that he has proven me wrong, even in the small number of games he's got under his belt. Now I just hope he can continue scoring goals for us and win some titles this season.
Its funny how people seem to think Owen is older then he really is. It seems like he's been around forever when hes only 25.