Is Michael’s move a gamble too far?

Many people are touting Michael Owen to move on from Newcastle this January but is that really his best option?

Owen spent the best part of his career at his native Liverpool where he became the club’s top goalscorer in every season he played there but, aged just 24, he packed his bags for sunny Spain and the heady heights of Real Madrid.

It should have signaled his arrival on the world stage. He had demonstrated his potential from a young age and moved at a time when he ought to be reaching his peak.

Yet success never materialized for him at Madrid.

In fact, things have never really worked out for him since either. Owen had spent much of his last season at Liverpool on the injury list, but he only served to further advertise his talents, still managing an impressive 19 goals. His time at Anfield had blossomed under the stewardship of Gerard Houllier, but when the Liverpool manager’s tenure was terminated in 2004, Owen had felt it necessary to move on and was sold to Madrid for £8m.

We shall never know whether or not, had he stayed, he would have continued to grow with the guidance of the Reds’ new boss Rafa Benitez, but it became quickly evident, when his career began to splutter to a virtual standstill, that he was not fully appreciated at Real. 

However, Owen could not have picked a worse time to abscond to the Bernebeau.

He arrived in August 2004 while Jose Camacho was in charge, but within a month the management had changed hands. Owen himself only stayed in the Spanish capital for one year, but in that time he saw three different managers come and go, none of whom really trusted Owen to lead the line. Instead, he spent the majority of his time there warming the substitute’s bench.

He did seem to be regaining his form toward the end of the season, though, and finished with 13 goals to his name.

He was to return to the Premier League regardless, his time abroad generally seen as a slump in his development. 

Owen had not been at Newcastle for six months when his injury jinx began. Owen was always a player who counted heavily on his turn of pace to out-fox defenders, but when he broke his metatarsal in December 2005, it began a host of problems that were eventually to hamper that speed on which he relied.

Having barely recovered from his metatarsal breakage, Owen went on England duty only to rupture a knee ligament, an injury that could have potentially ended his career. He fought his way back to fitness, but has since been blighted with various problems such as thigh strains and a double hernia that have kept him out of action. Only now, almost exactly three years from that first injury, is Owen beginning to get a run of games under his belt, and have the opportunity to find that form that brought him to the brink of superstardom all those years ago.

Yet his return to fitness has coincided with the end of his contract at Newcastle, once more fueling speculation over his imminent future on Tyneside.

Newcastle are currently in talks with Owen over extending his contract and he really ought to study their offer seriously. There is great instability at the club, in reference to their haphazard owner Mike Ashley and his attempts to sell-up, and they are also be propping up the wrong end of the table.

Newcastle, however, will always be a good club to play for; a club that Owen has just started to hit a run of form for. It would be ridiculous to consider another move and risk having to once more settle down in a new place and with new teammates, just when he is finding his groove again.

It is not as though prior experiences suggest Owen responds well to upheaval, with both his move to Real and then to Newcastle, for different reasons, hindering his progression.

It might be the case that he has become disillusioned with club’s direction, or instead a big stunt to try and manipulate every last drop of money out of his contract – but either way, deciding to leave would be a huge risk at this stage of his career.

Then again, Owen has always been a bit of a gambler.