Newcastle welcomes Owen
Ladies and gentlement, please rise for the arrival of Micheal Owen all the way from Real Madrid to St James Park. (Applause)..(more applause).. For those who are new to soccer, Micheal Owen is currrently one of the best striker from England and previously he was from Liverpool FC. This landmark event emulate the day when Alan Shearer joined Newcastle from Blackburn donkey years ago.
Finally, after much speculation, the day has arrived and its now a reality that Owen will play alongside Shearer once again since the Euro Cup days. Credits must be given to Freddy Shepherd and Shearer for convincing Owen to choose the Magpies over the Reds. Could Owen be the next Alan Shearer? I would say the possibility is quite high. Let us do some comparisons between the two of them.
Firstly, Shearer is a natural leader, is the captain of England, as well as wearing the Captain armband for Newcastle for the last decade and his influence and presence in the club is immeasurable. He is almost indispenable and many managers were said to be fired for not fielding him. Shearer is an all out forward and he is very strong in the air as well as having a deadly finishing touch. His strongest attribute is his never say die attitude as he battled through sweat and blood;he even play on with a bandage on his bleeding head.
Owen is still lacking behind in the leadership department compared to Shearer but if he stays in Newcastle next year when Shearer retires, there is no reason why he can’t take over the captainship of the team. Owen is also an all out centre forward with a flair for taking out tough defenders. Perhaps his greatest strength is his electifying pace as he can outrun most defenders and this may proof to be a valuable asset for Newcastle. Remember Bellamy? Alan’s previous striking partner also share a similar trait for being a speedy forward but he couldn’t hold his temper and was sold to another club for good.
Overall, as a loyal fan of Newcastle FC, I am excited and looking forward to seeing Owen playing for the Toon Army in the new season. But we got to be realistic and not set overly high expectations from Owen to perform miracles overnite. As the saying says, ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent’, I strongly believe that the days of Newcastle FC lying at the bottom of the league table are over!!!
