The gamble

The deed is done, the ink is dry and Michael Owen is indeed joining Manchester United.

The CounterAttack thinks this is a brilliant move. Sir Alex Ferguson is renowned for his love of the horses and a spot of gambling but this could turn out to be one of his best bets.

Mickey, still only 29, after all cost nothing to get. Manchester are paying relative peanuts for his services. The consensus, from The Times, The Independent and The Guardian, is that Owen will be on £30,000 a week plus bonuses.

The more he plays and scores, the more he will earn. There is no downside for either. Mickey gets Premier League and European exposure and a chance to wear the Three Lions again. Manchester will either get a boatload of goals or will have paid less for an experiment than they pay their second-string midfielders.

Reactions from the United and Liverpool forums are all over the place. Manchester forums are torn between trusting Ferguson and not wanting a former Kop legend to wear the United shirt. Apologies for this terrible attempt on the Repulik of Mancunia site but it sums everything quite nicely.

Liverpool reactions are, to be honest, quite amusing. Most of the comments on the Liverpool unofficial official (sic) fan forum Red and White Kop are furious or mocking. One thread, started after Owen's agent put out a brochure to find a buyer for Mickey's services, has now gone on for 58 pages. It is a backhanded compliment to Owen how much Liverpool felt betrayed by his move to Real Madrid in 2005, that there is so much vitriol four years later.

One of the few reasonable RAWK comments also details why United supporters should be more excited about Owen. This lad's got it spot on:

That's the thing though he's not shite, he'd score a bagful with them. The style of play would suit him down to the ground, Andy Cole had a successful career with the Mancs. I'd honestly have prefered them get Benzema for £30mil, unproven and could be another Cisse for all we know. Owen is still only 29 and if he manages to put his injuries behind him he'll score goals for whoever he plays for, if they get him for nowt, even if he's a bench warmer the more money they have to spend on more players.

If Cantona can come to Manchester after wearing the Leeds shirt, the CounterAttack has no problem with Owen. If he turns out aces, all the better.

(But it is weird to see him in a United shirt!)

photo via Manchester United Official web site.

The move of the season?

And with a bang, the summer transfer season is off to one of its best starts.

First came the successive record signings of Kaka (£56m) and Ronaldo (£80m) last week. Two days ago on Tuesday, Real Madrid sprung the news that the Bernebau was also going to be the new home for Karim Benzema (£30m). The Franck Ribery soap opera continues, with the Bayern midfielder claiming that now he does want to leave Munich and that he wants to become the latest Galactico.

Last night, however, came the true shocker. Having lost out on Benzema, and with only the yet-untested Antonio Valencia to show so far, Alex Ferguson may have made the move of the season. Without warning and rather innocently, the news came over the wires: Michael Owen is about thisclose to signing with Manchester United. For free. On a pay-for-play salary. Did we mention he’s coming on a free?

The CounterAttack has only two words: Gob. Smacked.

Where to start? First off, even though this will be Owen’s 13th professional season, he is still only 29. Scorer of 157 professional goals in 322 matches, he can still score, as 26 Newcastle goals in 56 games started attest. He has experience at the highest levels, and knows how to play before the most demanding supporters. Besides, it is addition by subtraction, as Owen at Manchester means that he will not be scoring for anyone else in the Premier League.

Jayz. Owen is only 29. We have to repeat that because it is so stunning. The injuries thing? Yeah that is a concern but much less so than if he were 32 (and yes, a couple of years makes a difference in these cases). Oh man, and he can still score. The shock might turn out to be that no one else really made a play for Owen.

Whenever the genius of Alex Ferguson is debated, moves like this have to be included in the conversation. He made end-of-career pickups like Sheringham and Henrik Larson, goal-scorers both, that paid off handsomely. Ferguson’s astuteness at judging talent is an important factor in Manchester’s success.

The concern, of course, is that Owen is finished, that injuries have wrecked his career, that he is a mere shadow of what he was. Perhaps. Then again, Manchester already have their strike force set with Rooney and Berbatov, and Valencia on the wing. They have backups in Macheda and Welbeck. So Mickey Owen is coming as insurance, top-line insurance at a bargain-basement price. Make that, at zero cost.

Owen will be more than a super-sub, but not a full starter. He will fill in when the main force have an off-day. He will certainly get spot starts, as the young strikers are, well, young. When Berba goes missing, as he does, Owen will be ready and able. Better still, if he does prove he is up to it, he can play with Rooney (a fellow former Everton supporter) and behind Berba in a 4-3-3.

The best part for United is that there is so little downside. If Owen is fully fit and starts strong, then he will get more playing time. He will want to do this, if only to get back onto the England squad. He offers Ferguson options up front and along the wing.

What a roller-coaster week. The CounterAttack was not totally sold on Benzema but was willing to adopt a wait-and-see attitude for his expected arrival at Old Trafford. The news that he went to Real instead was shocking, as much for its completion as for how much we were affected. He was a young but tested player. He had Champions League experience, and would have been a missing piece for the next several seasons.

Signing Owen would be an effective antidote. He has the skills, if not quite the same pace. Since he has become a poacher, he complements both Rooney and Berbatov. His experience will balance quite nicely a team that is becoming younger. Veterans Scholes and Giggs will likely not get much time, and certainly not for much longer.

Does this move win the Champions League for Manchester? Not sure. The team needs a stronger midfield to do that. The CounterAttack is still campaigning for a Wesley Sneijder signing. Getting Owen does make a record-breaking title more likely though. Suddenly the power balance has shifted back to Manchester, just as Liverpool and Chelsea were trying to gain an advantage. The fact that he cost nothing means that Manchester still has all that Ronaldo money to spend on a Big Signing. Or two.

It will be weird to see Mickey in a Manchester shirt, no doubt. Some (blinkered) supporters will oppose this move on principle (Scouser, played at Anfield).

CounterAttack prefers to see this as proof that the gaffer is the best-ever manager in English football.

photo via Soccernet.com