Newcastle hero Lee: Owen deal genius move by Man Utd boss Ferguson
Newcastle United hero Rob Lee has hailed Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson's capture of Michael Owen.
"It's a piece of genius management," he said. "Getting Michael for free on what I'm sure will essentially be a pay-as-you-play basis is very, very, good business. It's no gamble."
Even so Manchester United fans are largely underwhelmed at the prospect of Owen replacing Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Of course Michael can't do what Ronaldo does," Lee added. "Ronaldo is the best in the world and as close as anyone to being indispensable but in one-on-one situations, Michael is a better finisher. Sir Alex has lost the player who got the bulk of United's goals, many of them great goals, but he is replacing him with someone capable of scoring once every two games."
Peter Taylor, who coached Owen during his days as a member of Glenn Hoddle's England staff, does not demur.
"United create so many chances it wouldn't surprise me if Michael is the Premier League's top scorer next year. And I'm sure he'll be on the plane to South Africa [for the World Cup] next summer. Sir Alex has been very clever."
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Results & Fixtures
Matches
| Home | Away | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat Feb 11th | |||
| Racing Santander | Atlético Madrid | - | 17:00 |
| Osasuna | Barcelona | - | 19:00 |
| Real Betis | Athletic Club | - | 21:00 |
| Valencia | Sporting Gijón | - | 23:00 |
| Espanyol | Real Zaragoza | - | 23:00 |
| Villarreal | Granada | - | 23:00 |
| Málaga | Mallorca | - | 23:00 |
| Real Madrid | Levante | - | 23:00 |
| Rayo Vallecano | Getafe | - | 23:00 |
| Real Sociedad | Sevilla | - | 23:00 |
| Sun Feb 12th | |||
| Osasuna | Barcelona | - | 00:00 |
| Real Betis | Athletic Club | - | 00:00 |
| Real Sociedad | Sevilla | - | 00:00 |
| Racing Santander | Atlético Madrid | - | 00:00 |
| Espanyol | Real Zaragoza | - | 11:00 |
| Rayo Vallecano | Getafe | - | 15:00 |
| Málaga | Mallorca | - | 15:00 |
| Valencia | Sporting Gijón | - | 17:00 |
| Villarreal | Granada | - | 18:45 |
| Real Madrid | Levante | - | 20:30 |
| Mon Feb 13th | |||
| Real Sociedad | Sevilla | - | 20:00 |
Tables
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 21 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 52 | 55 |
| Barcelona | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 48 | 48 |
| Valencia | 21 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 37 |
| Levante | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 32 |
| Espanyol | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 32 |
| Athletic Club | 21 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
| Atletico Madrid | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 30 |
| Malaga | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | -6 | 28 |
| Osasuna | 21 | 6 | 10 | 5 | -10 | 28 |
| Getafe | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | -5 | 27 |
| Sevilla | 21 | 6 | 8 | 7 | -2 | 26 |
| Rayo Vallecano | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | -7 | 25 |
| Mallorca | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | -7 | 25 |
| Granada | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | -12 | 25 |
| Real Sociedad | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | -7 | 24 |
| Real Betis | 21 | 7 | 2 | 12 | -7 | 23 |
| Villarreal | 21 | 5 | 8 | 8 | -9 | 23 |
| Racing Santander | 21 | 4 | 10 | 7 | -8 | 22 |
| Sporting Gijon | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | -19 | 19 |
| Real Zaragoza | 21 | 2 | 6 | 13 | -22 | 12 |
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- Feb 01 Freddie Veseli: Honour to join Man Utd
- Jan 31 Pundit Hansen earns rebuke from Man Utd boss Ferguson
- Jan 27 Man Utd boss Ferguson: Late night Brazilians giving me headache
- Jan 25 Man Utd expect Newcastle to up bid for Morrison
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Comments (1)
Rob Lee is spot on. Ferguson is a good chooser of players and I feel that Owen having been given a new lease of life by a great manager, and being given the chance to play a second time for Manchester United, will confound his critics and earn the respect of Manchester United's fans.
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