First Goal for Michael Owen as Manchester United routs Wigan 5-0

Finally in his third game in Manchester United's colours, Michael Owen has scored his first goal for the club. And it will be the first of at least 15 goals this season. After missing several gilt edged chances against Burnley and Birmingham, Nani spotted a trademark run from Owen along the line of defence, and Owen promptly obliged with a precise finish past Chris Kirkland. The gloves are now off! Watch Owen score a sackload from now on.

Owen scores first goal against Wigan - Image from Sunday Express

As far as goalscorers go, Michael Owen is up there with the best. His scoring rate of one goal in every two games is not something to laugh at and he remains a dangerous player in and around the six-yard box. The one flaw that one can point to Owen is his poor goal-to-chances conversion rate. In his previous seasons with Newcastle United, his goals to chances conversion rate was 21%, world class strikers typically have a conversion rate of 40%.

Since Ferguson clearly sees Owen as an impact substitute, he will definitely need more chances to attempt to score from. This United team unlike Newcastle, have the quality and creativity to provide Owen with the chances he needs. An even better formation for United, in my opinion, is 4-3-1-2, with Berbatov as the midfield link man. Owen and Rooney up front is a guarantee for goals and lots of it.

Against Wigan, United looked menacing upfront but were made to work very hard for their goals because of some determined defending by Wigan. However this win could not hide the Red Devils previous dependence on Cristiano Ronaldo. Without his direct penetrating runs and pace, United looked blunt down the attacking centre, causing Wigan problems through industrious wing play. Admittedly, Berbatov had a super game, with his intelligent link play and excellent distribution. If he can add goalscoring to creativity and vision, then maybe Ronaldo won't be missed as much. 15-20 goals each from Rooney, Berbatov and Owen should compensate Ronaldo's 68 goals (in two seasons).

Until then, the loss of the "winking one" will cost Manchester United this season's Premiership title.

Manchester United Asia Tour 2009: Owen Scores Again in Malaysia Rematch

New signing, Michael Owen scores again on his second preseason match for the Red Devils! Could this really be a Fergie masterstroke?!

Having said that, in hindsight, Owen has always been a great scoring machine. Has been for Liverpool, did so at Real Madrid and also continued that trend in the first season at Newcastle. My post on "Top 10 values Owen Brings to Man Utd" still seem to be holding up, which I am happy about obviously.

Seriously though, as long as Owen stays healthy, he does bring a lot of experience and predatory movement to this Manchester United team. It looks like Mikey is fitting in well with the United lads and that will not be good news to the rest of the EPL.

This is a snippet of the report posted in Times Online,

"Michael Owen was on target for the second consecutive match as Manchester United defeated a Malaysia XI 2-0 in Kuala Lumpur.

Given the opportunity to atone for a less-than-convincing 3-2 win against the same opposition at the Bukit Jalil Stadium on Saturday, United this time exerted total control over their opponents.

Federico Macheda, now installed as United's fourth-choice striker following the summer exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, was first to make his mark after 11 minutes. The Italian calmly stroked the ball into the corner after Ryan Giggs had supplied a low cross.

And on United's next attack, Owen carried on where he left off at the weekend when he scored the late winner, profiting from some shambolic defending from the hosts, who failed to clear a Zoran Tosic cross, allowing the England striker to take aim and fire home the second goal...."

Though this is just preseason but a good preseason will put Owen in great nick for the coming season for sure. Well, enough of that already, enjoy this superb match commentary.

Malaysia 0-2 Manchester United Match Commentary

Man United failed to add to their early goal tally even with their many substitutions.

Full time - Malaysia XI 0-2 Man United

The Tigers are throwing the sink at Kuszczak and have gone narrowly wide on two occasions.

80 min - Anderson takes a shot, but goes wide.

76 min - Substitution for Malaysia: Sabre for Thiru

74 min - Substitution for Malaysia: Muslim for Zamani

Despite the many substitutions, Ferguson's men are still stuck in second-gear. Well, this is a pre-season friendly after all.

69 min - Substitution for United: Anderson for Carrick

69 min - Substitution for United: Gibson for Fletcher

69 min - Substitution for United: Scholes for Giggs

67 min - Substitution for United: Rooney for Macheda

64 min - Substitution for Malaysia: Amar for Umar

63 min - Substitution for Malaysia: Badrul for Yahyah

62 min - Substitution for United: Ferdinand for Evans

62 min - Substitution for United: O'Shea for Neville

62 min - Substitution for United: Berbatov for Owen

62 min - Substitution for United: Nani for Tosic

Malaysia are trying their best to score against the Red Devils but they just cannot seem to find the back of the net.

58 min - Substitution for United: Evra for Fabio

56 min - Substitution for Malaysia: Gurusamy for Safiq

46 min - Substitution for United: Kuszczak for Foster

45 min - Substitution for Malaysia: Norshahrul for Zaquan

Half-time

34 min - Substitution for Malaysia: Asrarudin for Azmi

32 min - Owen is looking sharper and sharper by the minute. His tries a cheeky side-footed shot which hits the post!

27 min - Fletcher has been deployed as a right midfielder. He is hardworking and can put in a decent cross. But he is nowhere near as devastating as Ronaldo.

14 min - Substitution for Malaysia: V. Thirumurugam for Mozlizam

12 min - GOAL!!!! The Malaysia defence are chasing shadows at the moment. Owen storms in unnoticed to score his second goal in United colours. Now who said Owen is over-the-hill?

10 min - GOAL!!!! Macheda the wonderkid! A defence-splitting pass from Fabio down the left picks an unmarked Fletcher at the far post who lays it off for the Italian youngster to drill it in past Marlias.

Kick-off

The usual pre-match pleasantries with a coin toss going the way of the Malaysians who kick off proceedings.

A wonderful way to start the night. Players and officials mark a minute of silence out of respect for the victims of the Jakarta bombings last week.

For those who are not in the loop, two bombs went off in Jakarta last week, just days before United were due to arrive and stay at the Ritz Carlton hotel which was one of the affected buildings. The Red Devils called off their Jakarta visit and this match had to be put in place within 36 hours to replace the Indonesia match.

This brilliant match commentary came from ESPNStar.com - the premier Asia sports site.

Full report of "Michael Owen on target again for Manchester United in Malaysia" can be found in Times Online.

You can also read my post on "The Top 10 values Michael Owen will bring to Manchester United" here.

Top 10 Values Michael Owen Brings To Manchester United

Rob Lee in The Guardian has this to say about the shock signing of Owen by Manchester United.

Michael Owen's arrival at Manchester United represents the latest act of "genius" on Sir Alex Ferguson's part. That is Rob Lee's view of the most unexpected transfer this summer and Owen's former England team-mate is far from alone in that view.

Lee, who has watched many of Owen's recent struggles in a Newcastle United shirt, is as well placed as anyone to assess a move which has astonished much of the football world. "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."

So Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't resist the 32-page dossier of Michael Owen and "fell" for the gloss and dross in it. Or was he just snapping up the one that got away? Whatever it is, Michael Owen brings with him a lot of footballing and leadership values and these are probably what Sir Alex appreciates.


Top 10 Values Michael Owen Brings to Manchester United.

1. Experience - A veteran campaigner who has done it and seen it all.
2. Goals - A certainty for 15 goals per season.
3. Talismanic - Ryan Giggs and Scholesy are past it. Owen is also a big game player.
4. Injury Prone - Fergie have missed having someone to blame for unexpected losses.
5. Mentor - Someone to nurture and improve the prodigious talents of Wellbeck and Macheda.
6. Impact from the bench - Without Tevez, the bench looks a bit thin. Owen improves it.
7. Free transfer - United's crippling debt makes this a shrewd investment.
8. Tactical Change - Fergie looks to a possible 4-3-1-2 formation with Berbatov in the hole.
9. Fox in the Box - The ideal replacement for Ruud Van Nistelrooy who is missed till today.
10. Desire - It's the World Cup year, need we say more?

As he has done throughout his career, Michael Owen has again set a new trend - one where all a footballer need to find a club is a glossed up player brochure. Beware EPL managers, Adebayor is terrorizing the transfer market with his version!

Relegation Threatened WAGS

This is the 3rd edition of the WAGS series, following up from the ArseWAGs and Promoted WAGs. This time, the spotlight falls on teams threatened by relegation. We may not be able to see these WAGs for some time if Middlesborough, Newcastle and Sunderland do get relegated. So hope you will enjoy these!

Leilani Dowding have been seen with Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing and Jeremie Aliadiere. Rumoured also to have dated ex-Toon Kieron Dyer. A Page Three girl, glamour model, television celebrity and former beauty queen. She has travelled to Bosnia, Kosovo. Iraq and Cyprus on morale-boosting trips for British troops abroad.















Michaela Henderson-Thynne was part of the WAG circus in Baden Baden when Stewart Downing was with the England squad during World Cup 2006. Still a student but already living the luxurious lifestyle of a WAG. Ooh, the joys of being a footballer's girlfriend. Too bad she is no longer with Stewie.

Channelle Hayes who dates Boro defender, Matthew Bates created a swine flu scare recently when she came back from a WAGs holiday. She was a Big Brother reality show contestant which brought her into fame and prominence.

















Staying on the subject of defenders, Justin Hoyte and girlfriend, Madeleine Bowden. Madeleine starred in the reality show WAGs boutique.



















Sunderland Trinidad & Tobago winger Carlos Edwards has a pop star wife named Teressa. Now where have we seen that before? Hmmm....























Sunderland star striker Djibril Cisse and his wife Jude on a night out apparently. Some of you may know that Cisse is actually inherited the title of "Lord" in England courtesy of his 2005 purchase of a mansion in Merseyside. Officially he is Lord Djibril Cisse of Frodsham.

Roy Keane once famously said that it was difficult to sign players for Sunderland because the wives and girlfriends would not move to places like Sunderland. He does have a point as highlighted by Locallife.co.uk. Wearside has fewer beauty salons, jewellers, nightclubs, au pair services and tanning salons for every 10,000 residents than most other footballing towns in the UK.

Sunderland came in 13th place in the UK's bottom 20 WAG magnet clubs (Wagnet), beating rivals Middlesborough by 0.21 points. Newcastle, however was named the best transfer destination.















Mark Viduka just regained fitness and starred in the Tyne Tees basement battle. Here he is with his wife Ivana Viduka. It would be a shame to lose him to the Championship.














Sophie Bovington-Kerr once shared a toilet with Newcastle's Alan Smith. Old Smithy is a real cad judging from some of the stories about him.
















Georgia McNeil, an interior designer met with Newcastle troubled star, Joey Barton and decided to move in with him. This picture is taken from the Daily Mirror.

Newcastle striker, Michael Owen's wife, Louise Owen looking very good indeed. She is also crazy about horses. If Michael loves gambling on them, Louise loves caring and riding them.

If you find these sort of news interesting, there are several sites which are excellent for gossip and WAGspotting, Kickette and The WAGs section in The Spoiler are real popular. A personal favourite is My Relationship with Football.

The Relegation Battle Heats Up for Newcastle and Middlesbrough

The relegation battle heats up with Newcastle and Middlesbrough doing battle on Monday night. The fact that Hull City lost their match against Stoke City means that neither team should settle for a draw. West Brom's win against Wigan added more pressure on both teams and now the bottom three teams are level on 31 points apiece. So this derby is a must-win game for either side and the least we can hope is for both sides to treat the match with the intensity and the effort that it warrants.

I tend to agree with Steve McMahon (now an ESPNStar soccer analyst) that he has been extremely disappointed that teams at the bottom are not showing fight and commitment to beat the drop. If we had a choice, Sunderland, Hull, Newcastle and Boro should be relegated right now! WBA should stay up simply because their playing philosophy merit another shot at the Premiership even if their defence require a complete overhaul.

Whenever I have watched Newcastle, they have been nothing but disappointing. Their form at home has been abysmal, ranking 19th in the league. They have won only 4 games at home, so much for fortress St. James Park....overall Newcastle have been winless in 10 games, dating back to February. So what does Alan Shearer do to bring some joy back to Newcastle fans?

He could start by playing his fearsome threesome. The time has come to play Owen, Viduka and Martins in a three pronged attack 4-3-3 formation. On paper, this is mouthwatering, all three are match winners in their own right and hopefully together, they can create and take chances which should come their way.

The fearsome threesome - can they save Newcastle?

Shearer need to pack the midfield with fighters and grafters. The "Dogs of War" mentality must set in - it's the fight for survival! Players who will give you 110% commitment and fight for the cause.

Nicky Butt has been one of the few committed Newcastle player. A very good midfield defensive cover for the back four. Still, he is no box-to-box player. Kevin Nolan and Jonas Gutierrez are the sort of selfless players that Newcastle need to provide the support and extra bodies at both ends of the pitch. Shearer cannot do much worse than playing Nolan and Jonas either side of Butt.

Defensively, they have been a shambles....Coloccini is not coping with the pace and power of the Premier League. Pair Steven Taylor (who can score goals as well) with the impressive Sebastien Bassong at centre defence. I do think that Damien Duff at leftback is a great idea, though. Shearer and his coaching staff need to work hard to ensure that Newcastle backline understands what defending means i.e. marking and interceptions.

On the other hand, Middlesbrough biggest problem is scoring goals. They have scored the least goals in the Premier League this season. Yet, they sold one of their biggest threats in Mido.

Also, they are woeful away from home, gaining only 8 points on the road, ranking 19th in the league. Boro's strongest area is in midfield where Tuncay, Downing and O'Neill have consistently given their all for the cause. Between them, they have contributed 28% of the total Boro goals (25) to date. More significantly, this midfield trio are responsible for 47% of the total assists (15).

Boro's midfield trio - Are they able to carry Boro over the line?

Clearly, Boro's best creative work is through the tirumvirate of Tuncay-Downing-O'Neill. Gareth Southgate must tell his players to get the ball quickly to this trio. Only when this trio control the flow of matches, will Boro have a chance of winning matches and subsequently staying in the Premiership.

The one thing that Southgate need not worry too much is defence. It is a solid flat back four with imposing physical presence and tight defending. Brad Jones have slowly matured into a very skilled goalkeeper.

If both teams play to their strengths as mentioned, they can win their next remaining matches ensuring survival for both teams. Hull City has to play Bolton away and Man Utd at home in their last two games, so no points gained is quite possible. Sunderland have Portsmouth away and Chelsea at home as their last two fixtures, again zero points could be on the cards.

This makes Newcastle's and Boro's last two matches really important six-pointers. The make or break matches, so to speak.

Another interesting fact....since 2002, there hasn't been an instance when the same three relegated clubs came straight back up to the Premier League the following season. The closest to that happening had been in the 2006-2007 season, where Sunderland and Birmingham came straight back up after relegation in 2005-2006. That just goes to show how tough it is to firstly, recover from the shock of relegation and secondly, to gain promotion back into the big time.

Notwithstanding the stats and the complicated match permutations, I have no doubt that West Brom, Boro and Newcastle can make it back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

In case you are wondering....yeah, I do believe all three will be relegated come May 24th....