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Michael Owen ke Old Trafford pada 2009 selepas 4 tahun bersama Newcastle United.

Dalam tempoh itu, dia hanya beraksi 71 penampilan liga.

Baru2 ini dia menimbulkan kemarahan Newcastle apabila menyatakan dia lebih rela duduk di bangku simpanan Old Trafford daripada beraksi di Tyneside.

Dia menjawab 1 komen melalui Twitter selepas menandatangani kontrak baru 1 tahun bersama Manchester United, dengan menyatakan “Lebih rela kurang beraksi di pasukan atasan daripada bermain setiap perlawanan di kelab miskin. Pernah berada di sana dan tidak gembira dengannya.”

Newcastle dan Toon Army masing2 beranggapan bahawa kenyataan itu ditujukan kepada Newcastle memandangkan sebelum ini Owen hanya bermain di Liverpool dan Real Madrid.

Bekas pemilik-bersama Newcastle, Freddy Shepherd yang telah membeli Owen dari Real Madrid untuk £16juta menjawab, “Kami mungkin miskin, tetapi kami menjadikan dia kaya.”

Pengarah urusan Newcastle, Derek Llambias kecewa dengan kenyataan Owen. “Di bawah pengurusan Kevin Kegan, dia ditawarkan sambungan kontrak 1 tahun pada gaji £140,000 seminggu yang telah ditolaknya. Ketika itu gajinya ialah £133,000. Kehadirannya di sini memakan kos lebih £40 juta, lebih kurang £1.3 juta per gol.”

*Banyak cakap pula Owen ni, baru menang 1 piala liga dah bising. Bukannya main pun, harap Chicarito je jaringkan gol. Chicarito pun tak berlagak macam dia.

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Newcastle manager Alan Shearer leapt to Michael Owen’s defence after seeing the striker pass up a glorious opportunity to snatch a survival lifeline.

Asked if that would further fuel the arguments of Owen’s critics, Shearer said: ”I would say everyone’s entitled to their opinion but we have got to continue to create chances for him.

”He had one tonight that he would expect himself to put away – so would Oba, so would big Mark – but, if we continue to create, one of them will go in.

”We know, if we keep on, he will get one. Obviously, we would have loved it tonight. It didn’t come, so we will look to the next game.”
It might have been so different had Owen been at his lethal best in front goal when he was played in by Viduka with 63 minutes gone.
But, as a crowd of 47,481 at St James’ Park waited for the net to bulge, James won their duel on a night when victory would have meant so much to the Magpies.

But Shearer, who had set his players the task of winning their three remaining home games to stay up, remained defiant after two vital points went begging.

He said: ”I don’t know if that’s going to be a good point or a bad point. What I can guarantee is that there will be more twists and turns.
”Four games in football is a hell of a long time. Yes, I am disappointed we haven’t won the game, and the players are. But we created enough to have won it. If one of the chances had gone in, it would have been a different story.

”But I don’t know what’s going to (be enough to) stay up. I don’t know the points total – no-one does, particularly with the way results are going this season. But we have got to stick in there, we have got to keep on fighting and we will.”

Pompey boss Paul Hart, who felt his side should have had a penalty for Fabricio Coloccini’s second-half challenge on Peter Crouch, was happy enough with a point, but refused to concede their total of 38 is enough to stay up.

Striker Peter Crouch went down under a challenge by defender Fabricio Coloccini, and Hart was certain it was a foul.
He said: “Having looked at it, I thought it was a penalty when I saw it. And it is a penalty now. Definitely. Peter Crouch doesn’t dive.”
He added: ”Do I think we are safe? If we had won tonight, I may have been persuaded to say it, but I am not going to say it just at the moment.

”We have got a bit of work to do. I am very satisfied with a clean sheet and a point but there’s a tinge of disappointment that we didn’t get all three.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle tonight confirmed they have reached an out-of-court settlement with Real Mallorca and Velez Sarsfield, who jointly owned Jonas Gutierrez’s registration, for his transfer to St James’ last summer.

Michael Owen passed up the chance to fire Newcastle to a potentially life-saving victory as Alan Shearer was left staring down the barrel of a gun after a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.

The 29-year-old striker was denied by veteran goalkeeper David James’ legs after he was played in by Mark Viduka 63 minutes into a pulsating encounter, which both sides had chances to win.

James had earlier saved from Damien Duff, and Viduka and Obafemi Martins both went close on a night when the Magpies needed all three points to rekindle their hopes of Barclays Premier League survival.

However, it might have been even worse for Shearer’s men with Peter Crouch firing straight at Steve Harper with 11 minutes remaining and Richard Hughes heading against the foot of the post three minutes later.

Shearer had set his side the task of winning their remaining three home games to drag themselves out of relegation trouble but, having fallen at the first hurdle, they now face the daunting prospect of having to get something at Liverpool on Sunday.

The 38-year-old made a series of statements ahead of kick-off when he named all three of his big-name strikers – Owen, Viduka and Martins – in his starting line-up and left Kevin Nolan and Ryan Taylor, two of the three men signed during yet another disastrous January transfer window, out of the 18.

He had appealed in advance for passionate support from the stands and he got just that, with the help of a rousing rendition of Blaydon Races from opera star Graeme Danby moments before kick-off.

But what he needed most was a response from his players and he got that too.

Newcastle took the game to Pompey from the off and, what they lacked in guile and craft in the middle of the park, they made up for in effort and commitment.

That they went in at half-time with nothing to show for their efforts was down to a combination of poor finishing, good defending and one excellent save from Shearer’s former England team-mate James.

However, the applause they received as they left the pitch could only serve to increase their determination not to be denied once they returned.

With Pompey fielding Crouch as a lone striker and, at times, getting all 11 men behind the ball, the Magpies had to remain patient.

Alan Smith, still waiting for his first goal in a black and white shirt, had optimistic appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Mike Riley when his driven 30th-minute shot was blocked by Hermann Hreidarsson’s arm, and the former Manchester United midfielder fired just over five minutes later.

In the meantime, Viduka only just failed to turn a low drive from substitute Danny Guthrie, on for injured full-back Jose Enrique, past James.

But Newcastle’s best two chances of the half came inside the final seven minutes, James making a fine save to push Duff’s goal-bound effort around the post, while Martins saw a close-range shot deflected over the bar with seconds remaining.

Pompey created little as they attempted to hit their hosts on the counter-attack, although Harper had to tip a 33rd-minute curler from Sean Davis over the bar.

Viduka was presented with a glorious chance to open the scoring within seconds of the restart after Owen cleverly back-heeled Martins’ pass into his path.

However, the Australian could only stab his effort straight at James as the blue shirts closed on him.

Fabricio Coloccini endured a heart-stopping moment when Crouch went to ground inside the box under his 50th-minute challenge but, again, Riley was in no mood to award a spot-kick.

James was alert enough to prevent Martins from reaching a long ball four minutes later, if only just, but, as the game became increasingly stretched, play switched rapidly from end to end.

The Pompey keeper almost handed Newcastle a glorious chance on a plate when he dropped Duff’s cross with Viduka and Owen close at hand, although he redeemed himself with 63 minutes gone.

Viduka managed to squeeze the ball through the Portsmouth defence, despite having been wrestled to the ground, to leave Owen with just the keeper to beat, but James blocked with his legs to leave Shearer with his head in his hands.

The manager introduced Andy Carroll and Jonas Gutierrez for Viduka and Nicky Butt in a desperate attempt to find a winner but it was Nadir Belhadj who forced a fine fingertip save from Harper after a lightning 73rd-minute break.

Carroll looped a 77th-minute header high over but it was Pompey who staged the grandstand finish that might have resulted in victory had Crouch been able to beat Harper or had Hughes’ header landed six inches to the right.

Michael Owen remains confident he can score the goals which will rescue Newcastle’s season.

The 29-year-old has found himself the subject of a national debate in recent weeks with the Magpies struggling in the Premier League.

He has not scored since January 10, and while an ankle injury means his barren run extends to only eight games, his return to top form cannot come soon enough for Alan Shearer’s side.

Owen will get his next chance to find the back of the net in Monday’s must-win clash with Portsmouth, and will do so with Shearer’s full backing.

The current Newcastle boss played alongside the £17m man for both club and country, and still rates him as his top marksman.

Owen said: ”It’s nice when people say nice things about you, but regardless, I will wake up in the morning and know where I stand in terms of my performances, my standing in the game, the goals I will score given the opportunities and everything else.

”I have been around a long time now and everyone knows if I get chances, then I will score goals.

”Stats are there and people will say eight games and all that. But one of the games, I came off after two minutes, I did my ankle, the next one, I came on for 10 minutes coming back.

”You can straight away narrow it down to five or six games before you even start. You go on a good scoring run and everyone will twist them into your favour as well.

”I am a bit long in the tooth for all that rubbish, but it’s certainly a game that I could do with finding the goalscoring touch.

”I have always said if I am given the chances, then I am totally confident I will put them away.”

The Magpies accept they have to win their remaining three home games if they are to avoid the drop, and Owen believes victory over Pompey would lay the foundation for an escape.

He told NUFC TV: ”A few of the teams around us have got tough games and we have got a home game against a team that are in the bottom half as well, so it is a massive game.

”We have to win it and if we do win and we are only a point behind, then I would really fancy our chances.”

Newcastle United and Alan Shearer were plunged closer to relegation after Darren Bent fired Tottenham to a 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane.

Bent struck after 24 minutes to leave Shearer without a win in his first three games as temporary manager, and he now has five matches to keep his club in the Premier League.

Fortunately for them, they have home clashes against Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Fulham – but judging by this performance they will not be straightforward.

Darren Bent scores for Tottenham Hotspur

They struggled to impose themselves on Spurs until Obafemi Martins came on and had a goal disallowed and a huge penalty shout turned down.

It means Newcastle are now four points from safety and it looks like their survival bid will go to the wire.

The fact the Magpies had won their last six matches against Spurs mattered little in the context of staying in the top flight – Shearer was drafted in because they have only won a single game since Christmas.

It was also unfortunate for them they faced a Tottenham team who have been solid at home since the arrival of Harry Redknapp last October.

They have only conceded nine goals there all season and are still in the hunt for Europa League qualification.

Michael Owen endured a frustrating afternoon and provided little to persuade Fabio Capello, who was in the stands, he is worthy of an England recall. Read the rest of this entry »

Alan Shearer is confident Newcastle United will avoid relegation but admits Saturday’s defeat by Chelsea underlined the magnitude of the task at St James’ Park.

Alan Shearer, the Newcastle manager, rages on the touchline at St James Park. (GettyImages)

The former England striker has just seven games to save the team from dropping into the Championship after being appointed manager until the end of the season.

However, Saturday’s 2-0 loss means the Magpies are deep in trouble and currently sit third from bottom of the Barclays Premier League, three points from safety.

Shearer though retains faith in his team and told the BBC: “It’s a tough job, I don’t think it is a poisoned chalice.

“I’ve got confidence in the players I’ve taken over for a short period of time. Yes, they are low on confidence. It’s a huge job but I’m still confident we can avoid the drop.

“I learned that when you give mistakes away in this league you get punished.

“I learned confidence at times is perhaps not as high as it should be so I’ve got a few more days before the next game where we can work on that.

“We are going to have to improve – we need wins and we need them quickly.”

Alan Shearer makes his way to the Newcastle bench (Empics)

The 38-year-old was able to bring Michael Owen into his starting line-up and believes his former England colleague still has an international future despite being overlooked by Fabio Capello.

“I really do,” Shearer said. “I still think he is the best goalscorer around.”

However, such was the force of the opposition yesterday, Owen had few clear chances although he was convinced his 73rd-minute shot had crossed the line before Ashley Cole hooked clear.

Shearer has also refused to make any points target for survival.

“No, I don’t (know) because when you look at the league there are going to be so many twists and turns between now and the end of the season I’m not sure what is going to be enough,” he said.

“But we have to get our first win and see where that takes us.”

The Magpies’ record goalscorer is adamant he will only be there until the end of the season, saying: “I’ve considered a few things up to now and you can never tell what is going to happen in the future.

“This is for the eight games and the eight games only and I’ll be back on Match of the Day next year.”

Shearer’s Match of the Day colleague Alan Hansen believes he can succeed, saying: “Yes, I honestly think he will keep them up.

“I think Alan can handle most things, I think he has gone into this situation knowing they are in dire straits.

“But I think he thinks Newcastle are better than where they are.

“They’ve got some winnable games coming up – it’s his job to galvanise the team and to galvanise the supporters and put them on the pitch and start winning some football matches.

“Alan Shearer is quite an inspirational figure, when you talk to him you tend to listen.”

Shearer’s former England team-mate David James admits to being taken aback by the short time the ex-Southampton and Blackburn forward plans to be at St James’ Park.

The Portsmouth keeper, who also has plans to break into management in the future, said: “The surprise if anything is the fact it is only for eight games.

“Without wishing him too much luck – especially with our game – but I would like to wish him luck as a former team-mate.

“But I have ambitions of being a manager one day and if I take over if the opportunity arises, then it is for the long haul not just for a short period of time.

“So it will be interesting to see how it pans out. But for eight games – it is not a great deal of time.”

Newcastle United captain Michael Owen has backed Alan Shearer to keep the struggling Tyneside club in the Premier League.

Geordie hero Shearer is poised for his first game as Magpies boss against Chelsea on Saturday since his shock unveiling as a short-term replacement for Joe Kinnear this week.

Owen, who striker partnered Shearer for England and Newcastle, insists the team will play hard for the 38-year-old after he took over the hotseat at St James’ Park for the final eight games of the season.

In the matchday programme Owen said: “I’m really delighted to see Alan here as manager.

“I watched his career when I was a kid, I admired him as a player, and then I got the chance to play alongside him with Newcastle. Now it’s come full circle and here I’m playing for him as my manager. Who would have thought it?

“Alan Shearer’s appointment as Newcastle manager is just what we needed to give us that extra injection of confident and enthusiasm.

“Everyone has certainly had an extra spring in their step. It’s exciting and it’s given the whole place a buzz. There are not many people who could come in and affect the club like this, but Alan is certainly one who can.

“Everybody’s in a great frame of mind, and now if we go out on the pitch and get a positive result the whole thing can snowball.

“But we’ve got to get that first win, and all the players know we have to produce top form to get it, especially against a side like Chelsea.”

Michael Owen could not prevent Newcastle from slipping deep into relegation trouble as Arsenal closed the gap on the Barclays Premier League’s top three with a 3-1 victory.

The England striker, who started the game on the bench, arrived just in time to see the Gunners earn some breathing space at St James’ Park, and there was little he or anyone else in a black and white shirt could do about it.

It might have been different had Obafemi Martins converted a 23rd-minute penalty – which Owen would have taken had he started – but Manuel Almunia kept out his spot-kick to provide the platform for a clinical second-half display.

Nicklas Bendtner opened the scoring with a 57th-minute header, but Martins levelled within seconds to give his side hope.

However, goals from Abou Diaby and Samir Nasri within a devastating three-minute period wrapped up a win which saw the Gunners close the gap to Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, and at the same time, dump Newcastle into the mire.

The home side ran out knowing they had slipped into the bottom three as a result of victories for Stoke and Portsmouth earlier in the day, and that did not make an already difficult task any easier.

In the circumstances, they knew there was little margin for error as they attempted to upset the odds to drag themselves out of trouble.

What was required was a spirited 90-minute display, and caretaker manager Chris Hughton will have been delighted with the way his players approached the game before the break.

That they ended the half with a clean sheet was down to two superb blocks by Steven Taylor and a fine save by goalkeeper Steve Harper, who was excellent throughout; that they did so without having taken the lead will trouble Martins for some time.

The Magpies were handed a gilt-edged chance when referee Mark Halsey pointed to the spot after Almunia had bundled Ryan Taylor to the ground after failing to collect a high ball.

Martins stepped up and calmly stroked his penalty low to the Spaniard’s left, but the goalkeeper guessed right and made a comfortable save.

The miss might have proved even more costly within three minutes when Andrey Arshavin wormed his way into the box and shot firmly towards goal, and could not believe his luck when Steven Taylor arrived out of nowhere to block.

But it took an equally fine last-minute challenge by Gael Clichy at the other end eight minutes later to deny Peter Lovenkrands.

Arshavin almost capped a superb 35th-minute run from his own half with a goal when he sent a blistering long-range shot just over, but Lovenkrands only just failed to find a finishing touch to convert Kevin Nolan’s driven cross four minutes later.

Martins, who had earlier gone close with a header, sent a fizzing snapshot just wide six minutes before the break, but it was the Gunners who finished the half with a flurry.

Harper had to dive at Van Persie’s feet to keep him out with a minute to go and Steven Taylor once again performed heroics in injury time after Bendtner had made the most of Fabricio Coloccini’s slip to pick out the Dutchman in front of goal.

Arsenal returned in determined mood and retained possession with ease as they tried to open Newcastle up, and it took a good block from substitute Habib Beye, a first-half replacement for the injured Sebastien Bassong, to see off Bendtner with 50 minutes gone.

Newcastle responded by forcing a series of corners, and from one of them, Steven Taylor had a header cleared off the line by William Gallas.

But the fireworks started in earnest two minutes later when Bendtner climbed highest to head home Arshavin’s free-kick.

However, the home side were level within seconds when Martins refused to give up on a ball into the box and when it sat up nicely for him, he fired a left-foot shot past Almunia to level.

Arsenal treated the setback as a minor irritation, and the result was put beyond doubt with a quick-fire double.

With Steven Taylor off the pitch receiving treatment, Diaby waltzed through an under-strength defence to blast his side back into the lead with 64 minutes gone, and when Nasri thumped a third past Harper three minutes later, the game was over.

In the meantime, Owen had replaced the injured Taylor, but all the action was taking place at the other end with Harper pulling off a fine double save from Denilson and Bendtner, and then keeping out Van Persie once again with his defence in tatters, and only a post denied Diaby a fourth in injury time.

NEWCASTLE: Michael Owen kemungkinan kembali beraksi selepas pulih daripada kecederaan buku lali minggu depan, untuk membantu pertarungan Newcastle mengelak tersingkir daripada Liga Perdana Inggeris. (EPL).

Owen, yang pasukannya akan berdepan Hull pada 14 Mac ini, tidak bermain sejak retak tulang di bahagian buku lali ketika berdepan Manchester City pada 28 Januari dan ia menambah bilangan kecederaan yang dialaminya dalam masa empat musim bersama Newcastle.

“Perlawanan di Hull City adalah ibarat perlawanan akhir buat kami, begitu juga dengan perlawanan lain di sekeliling kami – Stoke City, Portsmouth dan Middlesbrough juga penting,” kata Owen.

Penyerang berusia 29 tahun itu kehilangan tempat dalam skuad England kerana kecederaan dan dia juga hanya mampu memulakan aksi di 18 perlawanan pada musim ini yang menyaksikan Newcastle menghampiri tangga terbawah liga. Namun, dia masih dapat menjaringkan 10 gol.

Newcastle mempunyai 28 mata daripada 28 perlawanan dan hanya satu mata di atas tiga pasukan di zon penyingkiran.

“Tidak dinafikan kami berada di tengah-tengah persaingan mengelak penyingkiran tetapi saya dan rakan sepasukan percaya kami mempunyai kualiti mencukupi untuk melepasinya.

“Namun, ini adalah masanya untuk kami bangkit dan buktikan kemampuan – sama seperti tahun lalu, apabila kami mencatat tujuh perlawanan tanpa kalah,” katanya. – AP

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