Owen signs for Stoke

This. He top-scored in the relegation season, and yet he's singled out for a lack of effort. Don't see the other players who stayed OR left after that season receiving the same amount of vitriol.

 

And when he was the captain on the pitch; what exactly did he do to shake up and encourage the players? Nothing, he just slunk off to the other end of the pitch and hid when things were getting tough. He should have been there picking up the players and liftng them.

As captain he just didn't bother to even try; and that, for me, is simply unforgivable.

 

He's not that kind of guy and he never has been. Blame the management for giving him the armband.

And again, if you want to see poor captaincy look at Coloccini and how the team utterly collapsed every time they went behind last season. Why is it alright for him to be **** at being captain?

 

I have no problem with Owen. I know others do and its a case of each to their own. Personally I think its just misdirected anger. People go on about the money, injuries trying to play for England and his lack of real desire to be here.

Sorry but we knew all this and it was of our own doing (the board that is). He made it quite clear that he wanted to wait for Liverpool before signing and we were his reserve option. We were not deterred. We offered the silly money and can only blame ourselves on this front. A player will push the boundaries as far as they can. Shearer did, as did many others. Its down to your board to be responsible and they weren't. We overpaid on fee, wages, the whole shabang. As for injuries, who are people trying to kid! He was massively injury prone when we bought him and if I was in his shoes and had a feint hope of playing in a major championship, I'd give it my best shot regardless of the risk. You get one career and minimal chances to play in these tournaments. Its all very well for those who don't give a **** about England to criticise him, but the bottom line is a lot of footballers do care. What do people think Shearer would have done? I guarantee he'd have risked it all to play regardless of the impact on Newcastle. And he's one of our own! We also get the bollocks about his lack of leadership and not chasing lost causes. He has nevr been this kind of striker or leader, you know this when you buy him. It only became a problem when we were ****e! Nobody saw it as a potential problem when they turned up to welcome him at the ridiculous fanfare.

Its a great move for him is Stoke. I think its a bad move for Stoke despite my feelings on his time here. He's past his best, injury prone and his head lies elsewhere (racing).