Michael Owen.
Michael Owen.
Anders Lindegaard Anderson Antonio Valencia Ashley Young Ben Foster Betting Blog Busby Babes Carlos Tevez Chants Chris Smalling Competition Contributing Writer Cristiano Ronaldo Current Players Danny Welbeck Darren Fletcher Darron Gibson Da Silva Twins David Beckham David De Gea Dimitar Berbatov Domestic Cups Edwin Van der Sar Eric Cantona Europe FA Fans Federico Macheda FIFA Football News Forum Gabriel Obertan Gary Neville Injuries International Interviews Javier Hernandez Ji-Sung Park John O'Shea Jonny Evans Just For Fun Kits Legends Live blog Louis Saha Manchester United News Match Day Match Reactions Michael Carrick Michael Owen Nani Nemanja Vidic Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Owen Hargreaves Past Players Patrice Evra Paul Scholes Phil Jones Poll Pre-Season Rants Reclaim Our Club Rio Ferdinand Rivals RoM's Best Articles RoM At The Audi Cup Roy Keane Ryan Giggs Shop Sir Alex Ferguson Site News Sponsored Post Staff Stats Tomasz Kuszczak Tom Cleverley Transfers/Rumours UEFA United > England Video Wayne Rooney Wes Brown Youth Zoran Tosic

© 2006-2012 Republik Of Mancunia: A Manchester United Blog by Scott the Red | Privacy Policy

cant believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! boss also said no more signings
So fergie’s really rubbing in the scouser’s faces huh?:D
Should this have been given to Rooney? Or are we making a big deal about nothing?
this is unbelievable
I feel sick
Why??He didn’t ask for it,did he??Sir Alex gave it to him.Trust his decision.
wow! that’s a shocker…
No way! this number should always be given to a talented promising youngster who will have a smashing career with utd, like valencia or ljajic. this is shocking.
Rooney would never take seven. he already has 10, which is probably as prestigious a number. (Law, RvN, Sherri, et al)
I wouldn’t want him to anyway.
I was hoping a winger would get it, Nani or Valencia.
But Owen? Woah, thats a surprise i never, ever thought SAF would do it.
Well, its a reality now, and my this is as much of a surprise as the signing itself!
Does this mean Owen is going to be a regular starter, instead of the supersub he was made out to be by the press? If so, who will sit out in his place? Berba? I hope not.
cant believe it… this must be a joke, this number is a LEGEND, and in the best case scenario Owen could be a “good player” for 1 or 2 years… damn…
No more signings WTF?
fze 123.Ljajic isn’t with us mate. so don’t worry.
Owen, being 29 and all, wont be keeping that shirt for too long anyway. I’m sure it will be available to Ljaji/Petrucci/Macheda etc by the time they become first team regulars.
Then again ive just seen the interview and im not convinced about the no more signings statement. I can see some deadline day drama happining again!
No more signings.
Lets do some maths..
Annual transfer budget 30-35 million (reported)
Players out.
Ronaldo – 80M
Campbell – 3.5M-5M
Martin – 1.5M
Tevez – Free
Transfer budget between: 115M-123M
In:
Valencia – 17M
Obertan – 3.5M
Owen – Free
Total: 94.5M-103M
Remember that figure. It won’t be seen again.
Super summer in the window good to see sir Alex back so let’s make it 19 good luck to you Owen wear the number with pride. And enough of this stupid Rooney 7 talk the man is born to be a united 10
I’m glad we’re are buying no-one else, I have faith in the boys that we’ve got, plus, it’s good for business.
But… Michael Owen #7?!? Was there really any need for that?
Guess the answer is YES, given Sir Alex will be doing anything he can to build the guy’s confidence, but JESUS CHRIST!!
This just tell you how much faith Sir Alex has in his decision.
I seem to be the only one who think that Owen is a great signing! And mark my words he’ll win fans with his goals. I’m also glad that we are not going to spend on players with over-inflated prices and instead trust squad we have.
Owen’s signing is the best thing that could happen for Kiko and Welbeck cause that means they will get more chances compared if we had bought “Tevez the eternal red with a cash/blue heart”!
Good move, will give Owen more positivity and encouragement.
Just watchin sir Alex and Tevere the prick never wanted to say Micheal Owen I’m likin you more every day
I’m still trying to convince myself to believe this…
I thought the number 7 shirt was preserved for some young talent with bags of potential. Instead we give Owen this famous number, a 29 year old player who will mainly serve as backup for Rooney and Berba. I’m not saying Owen is a bad player, not at all, but I just wanted to see this shirt go to a young talented player Fergie believed in. I reckoned Obertan, Valencia, Nani, Kiko, Welbeck, Tosic and even Ljajic would be more appropriate wearing this shirt.
But then again, I just have to remind me that this is just a number. When it comes to it we will still have 11 players on the pitch with various numbers on their backs, what matters most is how they play as a team. I just hope this will make Owen more determined to silence the critics. Fergie has proven us wrong over the years, I hope he does it again…
is it how we will line up come August 15th?
…………..Vds…………..
Raf…..Rio…..Vida…..Pat
….MCar………DFletch….
Nani……………..Rooney
……Owen…..Berbatov
I think SAF is pretty determined to Rooney on the left.
Anyone read the interview just before the CL final. He compared Rooney to Henry, and said dominant right footed players could be more of a threat cutting in from the left flank. Henry is righty too. Perhaps Rooney will succeed. He did do pretty well in the league, but CL final…
We should sack Sir Alex and bring in any one of the journos who for the last twenty years have been informing us that United are finished. Let’s face it, they can’t do any worse than Fergie, who again failed to win the quadruple.
In shock. In someway I knew this was coming but was hoping we would still be getting a up and coming superstar. Oh well. Maybe in 2 years time when all the youngsters are regulars, Kiko, Petrucci, ljajic, DeSilva’s etc we will be a force again. For now get ready to grin and bear it but support your team no matter what and respect SAF for what he has done for us.
It’s just a fuckin number if I get the number 7 shirt it doesn’t make me George best player make the number 7 there own the number 7 doesn’t make the player. Best of luck to you Micheal Owen
I cud’nt care wat number owen is, as long as he bangs in the goals of topic we were in 4 benzema but he wanted to join madrid.
@tj.. Haha..really?? You want a chance for it mate??? Coz its an open job you know..The united board search for forums to view what people have to say and take action. If you make a brochure a la owen, who knows they might hire you mate!
I can understand not wanting to pay over the odds right now with all the inflated prices that players and clubs are demanding, and we did not get certain players that SAF wanted so why settle for second best. If I’m honest i think Valencia will be quite a player so lets keep a close eye on him. I do think the No 7 is not right for Owen, but like the saying goes in Alex we trust. He just likes to test our faith every now and then lol.
Anon, He cant go with Owen before Berba, But Owen has got a chance to give Alex a sore head making that decision, i don’t think Tevez made the decision difficult enough. lets see?
i dont really think spending activity is over…maybe SAF just wanna cool down some ridiculous rumors by saying it…i guess we’ll spending 1 or 2 more players in the end of august, waiting for prices back to normal..i thought obertan will be given number 7 since it could boost his confidence..if owen performs really well, i think SAF will offer him contract extension so he will stay longer..how about valencia n obertan?anyone knows whats their number?
this has been a VERY bad summer
i’ve kept quite for as long as i can…..
Owen may well work out… no money means no real risk…. he’ll certainly help with Macheda’s and Wellbecks development. But he ain’t no UTD number 7…. no… NEVER!!
Problem with Owen is his play eeverywhere else on the field…. He’s a box player – deadly and simple
we’re not a box team. We need players who can actually play. The last 3 seasons we’ve won the league and got to one semi and 2 finals of the ECL…. Our play as been inventive and fluid. That is not Michael Owen….
RVN for all his brilliance was the same – easy defensive target cus all his work was in 18yds of play… easy for a top club to defend – and he was better on the ball than Owen!!
Whos going to be our Dead Ball specialst?? Eh?? Whos gonna help Vidic offer some aerial threat?? Eh??
WE are gonna Struggle this season…. We have basically gone to Chav$ki and the Dippers … its all yours – heres your boost … we’ve got rid of the best player in the world and a excelent sub and ….. sweet FA!!
Really need Anderson and Nani and Berba to come good this season…. if they do we stand a chance and i s’pose now out of the all encompassing Ronaldo brooly they stand a chance (thinking of Fabregras blooming after Henry left ARSenal!)
But basicaly we’ve fucked up this summer
No Douglas Costa ….. No Fabiano…… No Hernanes…… No Sanchez…… No Vuncic…… No Velso….. No Salvio…… No Detihno ……These were all players of HUGE potential and AChievable targets and ALL will now slip thru our Tight ARse fingers!!!
Wonder which one we’ll be trying to buy for 30-40 mil in couple yrs time!!
Where has this the number 7 shirt has been reserved for a young up coming talent come from? Beckham was an established International before that Ronaldo and Cantona wore the shirt and prior to him who was 26 when we signed him and from Leeds, maybe that is why Owen has the shirt.
i think rooney and owen wil be the best there is if they play in the same team and the numer 7 is perfect for owen but i Think we still need douglas costa and eto then we will be the best ever
@Anon
Were’s ando?
GHTT agreed mate, but still, its a symbolic shirt. It’s more often than not been our most potent player in that jersey, and most famous!
lets see how Owen does. Hope he gets a bagful!
Maybe its just that we don’t have a no.7 yet, the likes of Macheda are not ready yet. Even Beckham didn’t get that number until he got back from Preston. So what’s the fuss? Its just on loan with Owen
Beckham wore the number 24 then 10 and finally 7.
I wasn’t expecting Owen to get 7. I was expecting Fergie to say there won’t be more signings. He said that 5 months ago. Then this summer we’ve bought 3 players. We will buy at least 1 more player. Douglas Costa has been linked so I think a deal will be done for him.
I think Fergie will keep the wallet closed until January or next summer. The transfer market now is really inflated and not many appropriate players are available for a realistic price.
But this move by Fergie shows us how much faith he puts in Owen. That boy should be really grateful and will probably owe Fergie his career if all goes well.
I can’t wait for the season to start, I love it when people write us off, it gives us a chance to prove them wrong…
Spanish Plumber, maybe he can play Owen and Berba together?
willierednut: Is Ando our regular first teamer? i doubt. ok ok i know about no first team, only squad policy but Fletch and Carrick started more often than Ando last season, so i think we will be seeing more of the same, for this season at least.
oh my god i dnt care who the no 7 is given to i was just hoping for 2 more signings eto’o and costa wat the hell is SAF thinking
MUFC the religion:
“I wasn’t expecting Owen to get 7. I was expecting Fergie to say there won’t be more signings. He said that 5 months ago. Then this summer we’ve bought 3 players. ”
what?! five months ago SAF was referring to that transfer window, not the rest of his managerial career!!!
I m really surprised with the news…owen a no.7 at united…no one would have even dreamed that…heard that we r trying for douglas costa again…is it true???…
What can I say, I’m shocked too. But if SAF believes in him, so will I.. for now.
The no.7 shirt carries a lot of weight, let’s just hope Owen is up to the challenge…
The problem is that we know that SAF went for Benzema after he had signed Owen but failed. So obviously he identified the need for reinforcements up front.
Either he is still lining up another target or, he knows we still need another striker and is hoping Macheda/Welbeck can do the job. I’m sure some of you will agree, that is one hell of a gamble.
Where is your source of this information?
@joero, I reckon SAF saw Benzema as a good investment for the future. But SAF refused to go into a bidding war with RM.
I just hope we’ll be allright and I won’t be expecting a lot from MU this coming season.
Best 7 Robson 7 Cantona 7 Beckham 7 Ronaldo 7 Owen 7 does it fit with the rest?? Lets hope so SAF hasnt stirred us too far wrong (not mentioning veron the 2 djembas forlan bellion kleberson) lets hope this masterstroke works
I can understand why fergie said no more signings. first of all, who’s available for us to buy. even those who are, their prices are inflated. why spend tons of money on a unproved youngster who will/won’t make it in england, or, why should fergie buy world class players even. we make those, don’t we. also, we have replaced ron and tevez. we got owen who’ll bring us goals and valencia/obertan to provide and assist.
i am not too sure about owen getting number 7. he’ll only be here for a few years, and it’s mostly given to promising youngsters. would’ve liked valencia to get it, or it should’ve been vacant until jan to give it to ljajic. maybe when owen leaves it’ll be handed over to them. anyway, fergie knows what he’s doing, so i’ll leave it as that.
I think 1 more forward will come in, as ive said be4 i dont know were the goals will come frm, wazza and berba will have to hit the ground running nxt season.
i don’t think we should make a big deal of this,owen is a world class striker whos had injury problems aslong as he stays fit he’ll get the goals.I’m thinking if eto doesn’t sign for anyone and things don’t work out utd can make the move in january, barca will be desperate to unload by then.saf must feel hargraves is making good progress by not going out and signing a midfield player.i would rather have a squad of players who’s comitted to the club rather than sign someone who is overpriced and doesn’t want to be here
i watched the interview and fergie did say no more signings but also said theres 2 months still to go until the transfer window closes, i still think he has another signing up his sleeve so watch this space……….
@Gopher Brown
My source of information is SAF.
@Howie
Depending on where you read, We had a bid accepted, but Benzema chose Madrid. We definatley wanted him though.
omggggg i thought my mates were having a piss…bu tthis!!!! alright alright this is alot to take on
@Joero: I am happy you postes those figures above mate. You are right. We will probably never see that money again.
About the number 7. So if it’s not about wingers exclusively, why didn’t Fletcher get it? I am sorry, but Owen has the right to play at United, but he doesn’t deserve to wear that shirt.
hardly believe
giving number 7 to owen means hes not here just to be on the bench..he’ll be on our first team and leaves rooney as our second striker..so shocking, i used to think owen will be our 3rd striker or supersub..how about DM, that is one of our weakness last season..i think SAF realize that problem, so i think its kind of mind games from him..its not d first time he said wont be buying anyone but 1 or 2 players comin’ in 2 or 3 weeks later..
@ Costas
No worries. I think we all deserve to know what will happen to that money. As I said on another post, i would be happy if the Glaziers came out an said that the money would be used to expand the stadium, or used to give us the fans back something.
Somehow, I doubt anything will happen.
The only thing is does say that Man Utd is one hell of a business!
@ JonyB-)
this hasn’t been a bad summer. what’s with all the pessimism anyway. we might struggle at the beginning of next season, as we always have, but we won’t struggle throughout. you said “we need players who can actually play”. what do you mean, owen and valencia can play. obertan too. all the players you said we missed out on, well, they are unproved and way to pricey for fergie to even consider them.
i have a feeling fergie will wait until the jan window and splash the money on a DMF. we will be needing one if hargreaves is plagued with injuries.
MO7. I think the shirts will sell pretty fast now, replacing those fans who have the ronaldo shirts.
no more signings…love it! Come on lads!
http://www.1000goals.com/wallpapers/owen-hargreaves-manchester.jpg
Hargreaves is gonna be like a new signing for us, he’s quality and I don’t feel he’s appreciated enough.. people always say ‘Oh, I forgot he played for you.’
After that cracker against the Arse, how can anyone forget?!!
What about douglas costa??…if fergie dont sign him, costa will come back & bite him on the arse…u mark my words…..could of signed another central midfielder…yaya toure would of been spot on as we all know Hargreaves is a Crock!!…
Squeaky bum time next season guys, cant see us winning it…..u can trust me on that!!!
I never thought ’7′ was for a young up and comer, but rather the most creative inventive and effective player thus the list of past players. Does Owen fit any of these? Selfish predator springs to mind which is the antithesis of the spirit of ’7′ (except for maybe the selfish bit with CR7)
@rossee For some reason I trust SAF over you.. Mark your words? How many times have you scouted Douglas Costa? How many times have you watched his videos? Fergie has done his homework and didn’t want to be shafted when it came to price, it’s value for nothing or we do without.
You can’t see us winning the league next year? Why not?
Stop being so negative! We have the strongest squad in the Premier League mate
EPIC FAIL.
what numbers did Valencia and Obertan get?
Lets have faith lads…seriously
Sometimes you have to put emotions behind you in football even if it means accepting that MO is wearing the no7.
Sir Alex knows what he’s doing…
IN ALEX WE TRUST!
does any1 know where owen hargreaves is, is he fit, is he still injured, is he recovering, will he be available for the new season?
OBERTAN SHOULD BE NO 7
@derek
No he shouldn’t!
for those doubting the source its on mu website look at the squad
and by the way…douglas costa is said to be so overblown in europe…He cant even crack first team at gremio and has a big attitude problem, so even if we do sign him, he’s not miraculously going to become the worlds best…These things take time…
What will be will be…
hahahaha…this is fucking brilliant from fergie..absolutley hillarious.
i just love the guy. he knows some fans would be on his back. he knows the media will laugh at him. but he just does what he wants to do. brilliant.
what a ride it will be the coming season.
agree with Micky. hargreaves is so underrated, it’s frustrating. it’s true, he is made of glass but he is no doubt world class. i think that he was the reason we were double winners in the 07/08 season, and not just ron’s goals. the excellent midfield was where the games were won.
i hope he comes back before jan. he’ll be as as good as his first season.
and am i the only united supporter that who thinks this ‘number 7′ phobia among our fans is childish?
if you start buying players to fit the legend, you are a moron.
when ronaldo was given the number 7 was he fit to wear it like best, robson or cantona?
its a number folks, just a number.
No. 7 is a starting 11 shirt.
So what the fuck does this mean???
Rooney on the left??
Berba on the bench????
3 strikers ??????
Fergie’s done it again.
And think of Owen. A guy who a month ago was being ridiculed about his brochure and with Hull city the only potential buyer is now the No.7 at OT!!!!!!!
Now thats something you will never see again!!!!
erm.. its just a number worn by Best, Cantona and Becks, Ronaldo… its just a number but a special one to me..
erm again, in Fergie we trust.
holy shit, he is in 7??!!heartbreak!!!
can’t help but feel deflated. Where’s the ambition?
OK, we’re not gonna pay inflated prices – although we didn’t say ‘Hold on, that’s too much’ when Real coughed the £80m for Ronny – but surely the powers at OT know how it will appear after Fergie’s ‘No more spending’ statement.
‘It’s all going to the Glazers’: ‘United are crippled with debt’: ‘The next Leeds United’: ‘United are accepting they can’t compete with the big boys on transfer fees’: ‘United sell Ronaldo then fob the fans off with the signing of Owen as if he is Cantona reborn’ – you can almost see the headline-writers sharpening their pencils already.
I know it’s a forlorn hope, but somebody at OT really must come out and tell the fans what the real story is. We were misled over the Ronaldo sale, and now it appears the cash from that is helping make life easier for the Glazers.
Any football club is nothing without its fans, and a club like United – to succeed in a commercial market – needs to have marquee players simply to keep the fans happy. United needs to make the fans feel they are important and it is doing all in its power to stay at the top. More importantly, United to keep people buying club merchandise. Imagine the scene: your a football-mad fan from India or the Far East, you go into a sports shop to buy a shirt for the new season and you have a choice to make. On one display, there’s shirts with the names Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema; next to it is another display with Owen, Valencia and Obertan. Which are you going to buy? Difficult choice, eh?
It’s all right Fergie taking a stance against transfer inflation, but United really have to think of their fans’ morale. There is a bigger picture, yet we see star players leaving and promising youngsters being sold, while all that is coming in are a player who did well in a middle-ranking Premiership team, an unknown French winger who wasn’t even good enough for his own club a striker whose injury history suggests his future is behind him. If the Glazers are as financially astute as they try to make out – and if they are in for the long haul – surely even they will realise that new players who get the pulses racing will keep the cash registers turning over.
URVAL87. yes mate. the irony is pretty clear ain’t it.
Trivia: Who was the last Liverpool #10 to wear a United #7?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Very well said MKRed!
Here is the source and more news about the validity! http://11reds.com/news/owen-gets-the-legendary-seven-jersey/391/
Nobody is a worthy No 7 until they have FILLED the shirt.
Give him the chance, Fergie has and so should we.
Until he has played we do not know if he is the greatest No 7 EVER
(or not). Time will tell.
Picture of Owen wearing the Number Seven Jersey Revealed!! http://11reds.com/news/new-signings-gallery-is-the-pic-for-real/396/
LOL!
I didnt think you’d take the news to well….
n0 7 to owen is ok but i would have prefered macheda for that.
as far as no more signing its ok . but i think fergi will sign costa.
we have 80million to spend i think we could have bought ONE or two good players. but i think we have good players.
vdv
rafael vidic rio evra
carrick fletcher/hargreaves
valencia nani
rooney berba/owen
@ MK Red
do you think sir alex should sign players that sell shirts or do you think he should buy players who can work for the team?
if your priority as a football club is only to make triple digit profits each year, then that in itself will make sure your profit will not be triple digit.
if united play well and win the premiership for the fourth year running (yes..fourth year running..the first of which came when the only signing of the summer was michael carrick) and do well in the champions league..then united supporters over the world will buy shirts of owen..will buy shirts of valencia and will buy shirts of obertan.
and not all football-mad fans from india or asia buy football shirts. what a load of popular rubbish. even the one i have is not branded (oh yes go ahead..shoot me for not participating in the capitalistic eyewash.) a true united fan will not touch a madrid shirt.
let’s look at our signings with an objective eyes shall we?
valencia..top notch signing. we changed the whole system to suit ronaldo last season. but valencia will give us excellent balance. he will track back..get stuck in..and is not bad going forward. he is very good infact. the fact that he scored three goals for wigan last season is a lazy argument. that was wigan atheltic. with rooney and berbatov uptop..he will set up goals and he will score his share.
owen..the obvious question is of fitness, not of goal scoring ability. he made 33 and 32 appearances (surely not starts) respecively for newcastle the past two seasons. newcastle did not play in the uefa cup. newcaslte did not have a long cup run. its a myth that he is injury-prone. his own words of course. but its quite true. if he stays fit he will score goals..and crucial goals.
the jury is out on obertan till we see him perform. but the jury is out..not against him already!
united DON’T need to make the fans feel that they are important. that is what newcastle did. look where they are.
mass hysterical opinion is not the way you manage a club. and havent we quite had enough with the myth that glazers are tight with the purse? we spent 30 million on berbatov last season for crying out loud. they spent 18 million on carrick when the popular garbage in the media was that sir alex had lost it. they have been quite good for united.
and can we bust one more myth please?
our midfield of carrick..fletcher..anderson..and occasionally scholes and giggs is more than enough to win us the premiership again. and compete well in the champions league.
we came unstuck in the champions league final. but that was barcelona, with a midfield trio of xavi, iniesta and toure. can any united fan name any signing in midfield that would make us compete with those kinds of players?
we got tactics wrong on the night. and surely our players must have learnd something in rome?
there is nothing wrong with our midfield. we of course should make the effort to get a worthy successor to scholes in the coming seasons.
Please see below. It says that Sir Alex said Owen would be number 7 with a smile on his face so may not be true folk. Also I do reckon we will get Costa. Sir Alex often gives the media red herrings.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6701202.ece
Owen really needs to impress now, I would rather or should I say I think it’s more deserving for Rooney to be wearing the no. 7 shirt, or even Carrick? But SAF knows best!
Alot of names on here I have never seen before. Surprisingly just been negative!
most he scored in a season is 28 … I have a sneaky feeling he beat that record at United … kid scores goals IT IS A FACT .. I am sure he take the penalities also .. good luck Michael .. T
vinay nair – Spot on about the midfield mate. Been saying it for weeks.
we dont need to see shirts. yeah it is quite frustrating that evnthough we have money we are not buying but this doesnt make real a better team
i still say mufc will win the league and do well in champs league (beter than real).
In my opinion this is a major over reaction to a shirt number and to the boss’ comments. Doom and gloom has hit most of our supporters already, give the team a chance, and if we are doing shit in January then grumble and be negative.
Is it just me or are Utd supporters just always pessimistic, keep the faith.
hey guys, take a while to consider this…The number 7 has some weight of expectations on it and giving it to someone (Owen) who (1) will not buckle to pressure and (2) needs to prove a point in scoring goals to make it back into the England World Cup team, is just the best way Fergie needs to raise Owen’s game…and he’s done it before after doubts so lets sit and watch.
But i strongly believe someone will come in before the close of the window…maybe Costa, if the financial package is accepted by Gremio.
Holy Molly…Another bombshell has been dropped. Well what can we say, Sir Alex has always been full of surprises. Guess we’ll hv to hv faith in his decision.
As for no more signings??? I can’t really believe that after all the talk about ibra or aguero. =(
Nvrtheless, RED DEVILS TILL I DIE !!! GLORY GLORY MAN UTD !!!
I don’t know what all the fuss is about.. We don’t need any more attacking options. We’ve got Rooney who will hopefully now play in his favoured central position and score goals galore. Berbatov who’s got a full season behind him and as he showed for Tottenham CAN score goals (he’s not a striker for nothing). Owen who is a natural proven goal scorer providing he gets good service which wasnt the case at Newcastle but will be at Utd. And youngsters in the shape of Macheda and Welbeck who have bags of talent and plenty of goals in them. Besides that we’ve got Valencia, who yes didn’t score too many at Wigan but then again, he played for WIGAN. The lad can find the back of the net and has a great shot on him so we can expect a few from him this season. Nani’s in the same boat and now that Ronaldo has gone he has the chance to raise his game and get quite a few goals himself. I also have the feeling that once Ando gets his first he’ll be off and running. Lets not worry so much and trust Sir Alex. Those of you who say ‘I’m not expecting much from us this season’ should bite your tongue. We are Manchester United and anything’s possible!
its a joke I am sorry but to give the no7 shirt to a player past his best is a joke. C ronaldo wore this shirt why in the hell are we giving it 2 a hass been. so we lose ronaldo hey lets buy an average french winger a has been and an average wigan winger. and unless other players step up to the plate it will be an average season. and thats my two cents on that
@manutdchampions2008
Well dude, do not rule out man utd b4 pre-season has even started. We hv a lot of depth in the squad and as peacesofpeace said, the no 7 shirt might give Owen the impetus to shine once again. Never say no in soccer mate.
Albeit that I would think 1-2 established players in the defence and midfield department might complete our squad for next season. A lot of potential might blossom this season. Watch out scousers !!!!!!!
dumb4ss hmm owen on the ball is awful he has no skills. well there is no more coming in it is a poor squad when half the team cant get into double figures goal wise anderson cant even score in open play
RedMegleeker – Rooney always wanted the number 10 shirt.
Owen will just be holding it for a couple of years until one of the youngsters grabs it.
@manutdchampions2008
That might be true, bt we should be faithful though. We still hv Berba who has yet to show his full potential and of course the iconic rooney. Fingers crossed that 1-2 more signings will be made so that we can really maintain our crown as well as challenging for at least the semis of the CL cause at this rate the top 2 in Spain has really outdone English teams this year.
manutdchampions2008… I think you will be swallowing your words whole mate come the end of the season. Michael Owen scores goals. And he will for UTd. Fact. Have a little faith pal, we still have the strongest squad in the league. Besides, Sir Alex always has a trick up his sleeve.
Two amazing Manchester United Videos that will bring tear to your eyes as a fan http://11reds.com/just-for-fun/two-amazing-united-dedicated-videos/418/
utdforever the current squad looks better than what it is when ronaldo was on board. C ronaldo was the ace in the squad the one who made the difference and without him the squad looks weak. valencia and the french winger just adds to the mediocre in the midfield area. and having owen and berbatov does not help.
@theroc:
Personally i can live with the team having a bad season. So i don’t care if our only signing of the season is Frank Sinclair. What i would like to know is what has happened to the Ronaldo money. Simple. We are acting as if we never had it. Would i have liked to have seen them splashed out on Ribery and Benzema? No. But how can our only choices be Owen and Obertan? Valencia is a different case because he was part of our annual budget. The Glazers should just say the truth: the money have gone to the debts. The fans will understand. But you can’t lie to them all the time. Of course, if United end up spending 80 million in the next summer, i will be the first to apologise. But until then i will remain sceptical.
Ljajic will get the #7 in the future.At present giving the #7 to any young player will create a huge pressure on the player.So its for the better that Owen will keep it for a few a years and then someone (ljajic hopefully) will get it when they are ready
I got to say but man utd are acting like a small club. but the way real madrid show off their players you got to take your hat off to them. it is also a way to put a seed in small kids minds when they grow up I want to play for that club. the way united show their players off I am sorry no wonder we are not a great attraction anymore, it is so dull.
Hmm, not keen on that but, there we go, suppose it is ‘only’ a number!
This is interesting news .. going to wind up Liverpool fans .. But I’m much more concerned about the no more signings comments today! WE NEED A MIDFIELD INJECTION BIG TIME!!!!! We were made look like children in the CLF and need to address the issue in Hargreaves isn’t coming back … I believe probably Giggs and certainly Scholes are on the last season(s) home run and this issue is nagging on my mind the last few weeks … hopefully, I just be over negative (possible) or maybe other fans feel the same. We could do with a banner head signing for sure there …
VDS/Foster
Rafel/Brown Ferdie Vidic Evra/Fabio
Valen/Tosic Hargo/Fletch Ando/Carrick Nani
Berba/Owen Rooney
GGMU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
@vinay nair
I’ll take issue with your arguments about points I made earlier.
Firstly, with regard to the fans. I didn’t advocate that United should make the fans feel important – my point is that the club should care enough about their fans so that don’t feel marginalised, unimportant or irrelevant.
Secondly, the Glazers didn’t buy United because of their love of the red shirt or the fact that they are great ‘soccerball’ fans. They bought United as a vehicle to earn their family even more money. To that end they have options: one is to asset-strip; another is to let the product – for that is what United is to them – slowly slim down with existing income streams servicing the debt, then sell at a profit the potential of the club; a third option is to invest/re-invest in the belief that existing profits can be improved. It’s all right being idealistic, but the fact remains that today’s football is among the most capitalist businesses around, and anyone who still believes it’s all about Corinthian spirit is deluding himself.
With regard to shirt sales, United’s deal with Nike – as I understand it – earns them as much money whether they sell one shirt or one million. However, the major clubs are continually looking at fresh markets, hence the assaults on the sub-continent, the United States and Asia. The clubs want new fans – fans, after all, spend money – and if someone has discovered or is developing a love for football before making a commitment to any one club, he may well want a club shirt to show he is a football supporter. Which was the point I was making with regard to Ronaldo-Kaka-Benzema vis-a-vis United’s Owen-Valencia-Obertan axis. I was not inferring that United fans might transfer their allegiances to Real Madrid because of a shirt: what I said was that a football fan, not yet committed to any one club, might find Real more attractive with the players they have signed this summer.
There is another point. Like it or not, United are a glamour club, and their players have traditionally been among the most glamorous, football-wise, in the game. Think Law, Best, Charlton, Robson, Cantona, Giggs, Beckham, RVN, etc. With this summer’s departure of Ronaldo and Tevez we have lost two of our most glamorous players, and I’d argue we only have Rooney left of that genre. Wellbeck, Macheda, Ljajic, Petrucci, the Da Silva twins, Anderson, may one day enter that upper echelon – but they’re not there yet. That’s one of the reasons I believe it would have been better, for the reasons I have cited above, to land a marquee name to compensate for the loss of Tevez and Ronaldo.
Signing Owen is a shot to nothing, while the fear among fans is that Obertan may be another Bellion (lots of potential but no end product). Two seasons ago Valencia looked a decent player in a middling team, but his serious dip in form last season must raise doubts whether he is up to the much higher standards that are essential at United. Berbatov was, in my opinion, a bad buy: not only did he fail to deliver what we expected, he also unsettled the attack by squeezing out Tevez.
My fear is that Fergie’s statement today sends out all the wrong signals to fans, not just of United but other clubs like City, Chelsea and Liverpool, who are gloating. To be honest, you wouldn’t think United have just won three in a row, so low is the morale among the fans after our pathetic show in Rome followed by the loss of Tevez and Ronaldo and then the absence of any thrilling signings. Surely that must be of concern to the United hierarchy.
only fucking retards would have believed ljajic would have got it
wtf is up with that? i would have rather seen obertan wear the 7 shirt (because he’s french, just like the king) or another winger. BUt to be honest i expected Nani to get really cocky and take the seven shirt.
Best is rolling in his grave
To be honest lads?
If fergie thinks giving Ownen the Number 7 to give him more Motivation to live up to his potential then i accept it!
I also think its another ploy to also increase our transfer chances this summer. Fergie has also openly said that he expects no one else in!!! This both takes away the desparation that we need another player! So instead of clubs trying to rip us off we can pay the true market value!!
ANyway, i trust in fergie! I trust in Owen – He is a united player, i support united so i support Owen!
If he plays poor then i will dislike him but he still will get my support!
@MKRed
Well said…
Btw im from Malaysia and going to watch MANUTD 1st Asia Tour here…
GET OVER IT PEOPLE,ITS JUST A NUMBER!!!!!!!
As much faith as I have in Sir Alex, this is a bit disappointing. Let’s hope he proves himself a good fit for the number.
Even though I have doubted Fergie throughout the years, he keeps proving me and everyone wrong time and time again.
However, this summer has been a big disappointment – losing the best player in the World and not replacing him with an established name is quite de-motivating.
There was talk of Benzema, etc etc etc – we need a central midfielder who has pace and can run the show.
This is the guy we need: Yoann Gourcuff – outstanding and one for the future
Anyway, Fergie did say spending was over but then said there is 2 months of the transfer window and anything can happen – he will wait a few weeks till the prices come down (when Real & Man Shitty stop spending) and then pounce
I don’t see any problem with it….if SAF thinks that he’s the man to wear that number then fine by me…..
Best, Robson, Cantona, Beckham, Ronaldo.
All United heroes.
Owen is a dirty scouse bastard, it’s bad enough he’s even wearing a United shirt, never mind our most prestigious one.
My god the amount of whining about a number and how we aren’t spending £80m is pathetic. I’m not sure what people expect us to do, the only people we could realistically replace Ronaldo with is either Messi or Kaka, obviously neither of these are going to happen though. Yea we could bid for Ribery but for £60m? Not a chance, if Kaka is worth £56m then Ribery is no where close to that, they can’t even be considered in the same class of player. Owen has replaced Tevez and I fully expect him to do better than Tevez did (let’s face it, it won’t be hard). We have Valencia, Park, Tosic, Nani, Macheda & Wellbeck, I think between them and an increase in goals from Rooney & Berbatov (which I think will happen now Ronaldo has gone) we’ve got nothing to worry about.
Just because one player has left it doesn’t mean goals are going to suddenly stop, lets face it Rooney, Berba etc had as many shots, free kicks and penalties as Ronnie they’d of scored more. Ronaldo wasn’t a team player, he’d played for himself, he did well by doing so but in turn this effected other players. By bringing in Valencia it gives us balance and a better structure, with two wingers who are prepared to track back and cross rather than shoot only, it’s going to create a lot more chances for the attacking players in the side.
I agree with what other people have mentioned, although Fergie’s claimed to have stopped spending I think we can still expect one or maybe even two players to come in. If everything goes wrong we can always look to reinforce in January.
I think SAF is protecting Valencia from undue high expectations. Let’s face it Valencia, however talented he may be and will become, will never be in the same league as Ronaldo. Oberton is too much of an unknown risk right now. Who knows how he will develop.
Giving it to Owen seems the only option available as it might be an SAF calculation to give Owen the confidence to step up his game. Besides, he’s only around another 2 years (contract wise) and by that time, Utd may well have found a real young talented starlet to give it to. Maybe Gremio’s Costa? Hmmm.
My initial thoughts were to give it to Rooney but other posters here pointed out correctly that No.10 is a historical number in its own right.
Overall, I’m okay with owen with the No.7 shirt.
Wrong wrong wrong.
Owen, number 7?
Thats not right.
Is he going to play every week then? Hope not. But number 7′s don’t bench warm.
He should have been given a squad number, not a first XI number and certainly not number 7.
maybe SAF has a hidden reason behind it. i can think of 2 possible ones:
1. give it to owen for a year or 2 in which case SAF has someone else in mind to give it to once they become regulars, eg:macheda or possibly a new signing he has his eyes on already
2. to make sure owen is united at heart now and show him that SAF has faith in him. getting the number 7 jersy would be a great honour and this might make owen want to play for united more.
and btw im sick of everyone bagging out man utd and SAFs decisions of late. before you all write a post sit back take 2mins and think why did SAF make that decision. he always has a reason and 99% of the time he is right. have faith
Shocking to be honest…to give him that number. I dunno. I want to believe it will make him worthy, but i dunno. I think SAF might have made a mistake…hope not, but it sickens me that Owen will wear the number 7.
I’d liked to have seen Anderson getting the 7 shirt. He’s got enough game for that shirt.