If he signs, Owen will come off the bench when United are failing to convert chances – like Kris Boyd at Rangers, only less so
The ballyhoo ignited by Michael Owen’s proposed move to Manchester United is – surely – out of proportion to the relatively minor importance of the player in the club’s plans. It is impossible to imagine he is seen as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo or Carlos Tevez, or compensation for missing out on Karim Benzema. It is much more probable that this freebie who will reportedly be offered a pay-as-you-play deal will serve as a cut-price successor to, say, Alan Smith or latter-day Louis Saha or, in the best-case scenario, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In other words, United should still be expected to make far more significant signings this summer.
Even the glitzy brochure concocted by his agents acknowledged that Owen is no longer as fast as before, and towards the end of his sentence at Newcastle United he even appeared to have lost his other main selling point – the ability to convert one-on-ones. It seemed then that the only thing he could finish was the hatchet job on his reputation. A generous interpretation of the misses he committed against, for example, Portsmouth and which ultimately led his friend Alan Shearer to drop him for the decisive run-in, would attribute them to a lack of confidence. That, admittedly, ignores the fact that in his very first press conference as manager Shearer had done his utmost to embiggen the little man by declaring him a surefire starter but perhaps a couple of weeks was not enough time to fortify a spirit weakened by years of injury and frustration. Being embraced by Manchester United could prove much more stimulating.
Regaining his confidence and his prowess as a predator would, you imagine, not be sufficient to secure him a starting place. He does not have the speed to serve as a spearhead nor the dynamism to be an offensive fulcrum, nor even to pester tired defences in the way Tevez can. And – his sporadic flourishes ‘in the hole’ for Newcastle under Keegan notwithstanding – he is not creative or forceful enough to provide the presence or goals from midfield that United will miss with the departure of Ronaldo and the continued waning of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. He does offer the experience and nous that Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck currently lack but probably not enough to even replicate the role briefly played at Old Trafford by Henrik Larsson. The Owen-style of player is a near anachronism, that with which only the biggest clubs can afford to persist. Owen’s role at United will, if he signs, be to spring off the bench on occasions when United are creating chances but failing to convert them. He will be to United what Kris Boyd is to Rangers, only less so.
Which leaves the question as to who will the more significant recruits be? A midfielder/forward who can inject offensive menace and anarchy seems essential. No, not Joey Barton, rather someone such as Sergio Aguero, Franck Rib̩ry Рthough his heart seems set on Madrid Рor even Arjen Robben, fitness and past snubs permitting. Antonio Valencia is a fine player, especially in a 4-4-2, but it is hard to envisage him, or Michael Carrick, Park Ji-sung, Anderson or Darren Fletcher, scoring as many goals as Ronaldo did. As things stand, even if Wayne Rooney shifts more towards the centre alongside Dimitar Berbatov, United suffer a shortage of goals. And, of course, the paucity of nimble conjurers that Barcelona exposed remains.
