Michael Owen, though ...

... Where else could he have gone? Real Madrid made it clear he was 5th or 6th choice, which in a World Cup year was disastrous.

He tried to go back to Liverpool, who didn't want him (which seems to have been a fairly sensible decision). Newcastle are perceived as just about big enough for it not to be a shameful climb-down to go there, and of course he was guaranteed first-team football - as it happened, no-one else wanted him.

After he joined Newcastle he was still saying that he'd love to go back to Liverpool one day, when he got injured his response was "I hope I can be fit for the World Cup" (no mention of wanting to get back in the Newcastle team and lift them up) and Eriksson's publicly said he only went there for the money.

Souness persuading Owen to Newcastle is no more an achievement that Worthy capturing Huckerby - considerably less actually, I reckon, because there were higher-placed clubs (especially Prermiership side Portsmouth) interested.

To be fair to Souness he's signed some decent players, although Emre is the only real 'find' as it were. But he can't man-manage them or keep them fit, so what's the point?

Posted By: Ottosson Foxtrot, Jan 28, 15:33:24