Michael Owen scored his third goal of the season against Barnsley this week and has enjoyed a good scoring rate for us so far.
Mike Phelan has today talked of the options we have up front, whether we play Owen in the cups, whether he’s a sub, or if he’s in the starting XI.
“Michael has come to Manchester United as it a fresh challenge for him,” said Phelan. “We can use him as and when we need to use him. He is not at the forefront of everything. It gives him time to prepare and be ready for games like Barnsley. Alternatively we can bring him on as substitute or start him in a first-team game.”
Phelan also talks about the benefits of having a striker like Owen in the team.
“Michael is always looking and always on the move,” he added. “He was quick to take the shot. He got it out of his feet quickly and caught the keeper by surprise. That is the quality of Michael Owen and those qualities are of benefit to us.”
Man Utd News 24/7
I know why he was bought but I think from how he does perform he needs to be started more
brought on earlier
and relied on more
*cory evans almost scored a cracker from outside the box
sorry off topic… Any news on rooneys baby?
I totally agree GHTT.. he deserves more minutes on the pitch. I understand that he is not 100% fit but Rooney certainly wasn’t against the scousers. I think Owen should’ve started that match ahead of Rooney and I think he should be given a start this weekend. Why not give him a run in the first team with Rooney? I’m a big fan of Berbs and I know Owen is a great impact sub but based on his record I think he should start some matches also, preferrably with Wayne. Off topic, Obertan looks like he is class and I can’t wait to see more of him!
Owen seems to be sgharpening up a tad… I am pleased he scored against Barnsley especially the way he took his goal need to be fitter though and lose a tad more weight….. Newcastle seemed to have blunted his enthusiasm.
off topic: Did any of you read that Newcastle are trying to get sponsors to pay to have their brand name used for their stadium…..
I suggested Tampax or Lillets to a couple of Tyke fans ….. they nearly killed me, good job i can run….lol
@ghtt I agree with all you say – but there is just one thing.
It is important to remember that he wasnt bought but came to the club for nothing. We are already three goals up on the deal and you can just feel that he is going to score some important winners like he did against shitty.
We dont need reassurance from Mike Phelan and we dont need any explanations from Michael Owen. He has already done enough and everything else really is jam on top.
I think we’re doing the right thing with Owen, bringing him on the odd 20mins here and there and a rare start every 3 or 4 games.
Would like to see owen start abit more,dont get me wrong i think berba is class,but i think we need a few more goals out of him,aswel as his class touches n hold up play!! And i know there will always be things said about owens fitness,but he needs a good run in the team!
Off topic,heard obertan may start on saturday!!
reserves playing really well, shouldn’t be 1-0 down.
tosic!!1-1
Tosic fantastic freekick! 1-1
Those of us without MUTV appreciate the reserves updates!! Maybe a player rating or two wouldn’t be sniffed at either…
you will never ever see a bigger stonewall peno not given than the one that wasnt given to united there
Drew Vader
very very fast paced
be a winner 90 mins gone
there must
best player for united is tosic, who just nearly scored a belter as i type this, since he came on in the second half its changed the game, cory evans would be my motm from the start, liverpool doing well but since the subs in the second half united are in control. Tosic got fowled from the side inside the box 1 to 2 seconds after the ball went away from him, yet no peno. I think the lines man is scared to do anything due to liverpools first goal been ruled disallowed by the lino but the ref overruled him. King doing excellent aswell . wasplaying deeper in the first half but has come to life since playing straight up front
owen ftw.
http://atdhe.net/10032/watch-reserves-manchester-united-vs-liverpool
cheers
oh brandy close in the 9nd deflected for a corner—corner cleared
93 mins to be played
i think it goes straight into penos
over 1-1
penos
Ill keep up to date on the penos
untill then
anyone wondering what park has been doing since hes been out
cuttin a record
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpgKB9WvkUQ&
kiko up first
1-0
Kiko!
dipper#1
1all
brandy
2-1
their keeper keeps going the wrong way
dipper#2
2all
keeper was clooooose
tosic up next
3-2
dipper#3
3all
maffew james
saved by the keeper
advantage dippers
dipper#4 whos a united fan manc
scores
3-4
Ctlr Alt De Leat
saved
liverpool true
emilys asleep
im having a beer
UNITED SHOULD HAVE GOT A STONEWALL PENO ON TOSIC IN THE 80 ODD MINUTE
We deserved the win imo.
*deserved to win I meant.
I reckon we need to give MO some more game time. We can not expect Rooney and Berbatov to start every game and stay fit all season. So there will come a time in a big match this season where he either needs to come off the bench early, or start, and we need to make sure he has four or five more goals under heis belt for this. And I would start MO for liverpool at old trafford.And I reckon xmas season is Michael Owen season.
Yeah ghtt Tosic was clearly fouled in the box, that was a chance for us to go 2-1 up.
Fucking hell. Even our reserve team is not given blatant penalties.
Have these referees a brain, or is there a conspiracy to punish United at all levels?
we were robbed again by the dippers tonight, oh well if they need to cheat to always beat us then..
Fze123
Have you ever, honestly, seen a bigger stonewall peno not given
On topic, the best way to use Owen is to either start him with Berbatov, or bring him earlier as a sub and replace him with Rooney not Berbatov because as we have seen before they play very well together. I think, against the lower teams (if there are any left in the league) Fergie should start Macheda with Rooney. Macheda is a good finisher and with Rooney playing just behind him passing him the ball to slot it in, this could well turn out a good partnership.
last sunday
tobbe
misses wayne is reportedly considering a three-cover magazine deal, making a fitness DVD for new mums, has been asked to write a pregnancy style guide, AND is rumoured to be designing a baby clothes range.
This could make baby Rooney a millionaire by the time he/she is, wait for it, three months old.
Ghtt in all honesty, no. From what I know of stonewall peno, it’s obviously a clear foul committed in the damn penalty area, which is what happend! It reminds me of the dippers game last week, same opposition, same ref decisions. Either the ref in the reserves game was the blind ref exposed by FSW or it was the same ref from Sunday.
Really gutted. Wanted the kids to win for playing fantastic football and for Ole to be rewarded with the cup for doing a fantastic job in making them play the way they’re playing.
i like the berba/rooney combo. they havent been playing well together but i think it just needs more time and when it does finally click it’ll be all hell breaking loose. really, though, at this time i think berba and owen just judging from styles of play is the best partnership. i’m not saying owen is better than wayne but i do think he does make better off the ball runs and needs way less space to operate…he just seems more intuitive to what berba tries to do. and honestly if nani isn’t going to cut it we might as well just scrap him and put wayne out there
is it jus me or does it seem as if welbeck shud b startin i kno he picked up a knock against barnsley but tha kid seems too good 4 tha reserves n playin out wide seems to b killin him…he needs to b played tru tha middle…let denny n owen start durin against tha weaker sides…
Just read rios magazine called Number 5, and in it he has a football skills section with the gold-digger Robihnio and a tribute to Oasis!!!!!!! Rio whats going on mate?????????
off topic
dont know if this has been mentioned already – apologies if it has
Marlon King has been jailed for 18 months
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8332029.stm
tosser got wat he deserved!! – maybe he should have used gerrard’s lawyer
@ dv-ant it hasn’t been mentioned actually. What a cunt, assaulting a woman, doesn’t he think before he acts. Did he not know he won’t be able to play football for a long time for doing such thing, that’s if it matters to him at all. Even if he used gerrards lawyer, won’t help much, Marlon King ain’t a dipper is he
supermanc – Oasis? Fucking hell Rio, get Ian Brown or Mani in not those fake guvnor wannabe cunts.
I really think the Berbatov and Owen pairing could work to devastating effect but we all know what that means. Definately worth doing it in certain games if we need to open teams up.
Finally I have been rather critical of Tosic up till recently but I have to say the lad has looked excellent recently. Whether for the Reserves, first team or Serbia. He has an absolutely sweet left peg as evidenced again tonight. He has a great touch and superb dribbler of the ball and good pace. More importantly though he really has bulked up and looks more up for it now and has been putting himself about on the pitch. Made of tough stock the Serbian lads. If he keeps on progressing at this rate it is another winger Nani could be worried about.
This Fergie “witch hunt” is becoming a piss take now. Note the word “blasts” in the headline. If you get a second just read Fergie’s comments and tell me he is “blasting” the FA. Cunts.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6896190.ece
King Eric- Just read it and I kept wondering what he had said.Fucking hell, when I finally saw what SAF had said I realised how journos make their money.
The best part was how they assumed or inferred everything, like “he didn’t say England’s match against Qatar in Doha,but he means it”. Best part was, SAF said he understood that these matches were a a part of the modern game, but still the headline says that he blasted the FA.
That’s what you call the best journos in the country. They’re all cunts, the lot of them.
off topic.
I haven’t seen the reserves match, but whatever i have seen of Tosic has made me wonder why we don’t see him much more in the first team. Even in the Barnsley match, he had to be subdued due to the Neville red card. I really want him to be playing, coz the lad seems great on set pieces and controlling the ball. And since he is playing for serbia first team he should be a better product than obertan.
It’s sad, but the English press do not have a high reputation around the world, so why would you expect the sports writers to be any different.
I wonder what qualifications are required to be a sports writer?
To be honest, some of the comics I read when I was young were more ‘high brow’ than the average English newspaper.
Unfortunately they (the press) seem to have an unhealthy influence in the UK.
Thanks for the updates GHTT…
To Fze123
“I think, against the lower teams (if there are any left in the league) Fergie should start Macheda with Rooney”
I agree with everything else in your post, regarding the Berbs and Owen pairing and all. They have a connection and complement each other nicely. Berbs and Rooney don’t see eye to eye and it really kills our attacking play at times.
I just disagree that Kiko should get the nod over Welbeck for the 4th striker spot. Welbeck looks like he can play a lil…; nice touches and good skill, pace and I’d rate his finishing as better than Kiko. I hope Kiko goes out on loan to the Hulls or Portsmouths or even a Championship side to get much needed experience.
Ya.. agree that gives him more minutes on the pitch, and he can conjure more that what he did in past games! Time for him to stay on pitch past games seem fleet. So why don’t jz give him more try? Or mayb, what about a 4-3-3 formation?
He can be blur for the whole match on pitch. Bt as what he is irriated about, a start and a goal. But obviously, Owen often prove that, a chance and a goal. Where to seek for chance? He knows by heart. His divine play definitely helps!
hurm… gutted here.. stupid ref again..
cantona7
I dont blame the ref i blame the linesman
Off Topic:
Can anyone tell me about the performance of the lads in the Lancashire Cup against the scoucers. I mean which players were good and if any player gave a stand out performance. Specially interested in Tosic’s performance.
I’d be interested to see Owen and Rooney start against Chelsea next month. Owen offers that extra bit of penetration that we don’t have against the big teams without him. You saw on Sunday that when he came on he was the only player that looked like getting a one on one with the keeper and was set up by Rooney so who’s to say they aren’t a good partnership?
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8671_5660539,00.html
Story that Spurs are looking at buying Rio in the summer and we are after Jack Rodwell.. What would you lads think?
@bigphil2003
agree mate.they can play together althogh that didnt work out against Burnley.Owen still is better at finding the spaces between defenders than Rooney and Berba can.He also dosent drop too deep like the other 2.But saying that Berba’s first touch is magical and has been our best player over the last month.Rooney ahs been the odd man out and has been poor by his standards.i personally think SAF will play 4-5-1 against the rentboys with Rooney alone up front and ando fletch and carrick in thye middle with valencia and giggs on the wings.
Long John O’Shea
rubbish news just to sell the copies.will never happen
AIG… it came from the Mail for fuck sake… i really should know better than even reading shite like that… but still it did get me thinking.. I wouldnt mind Evans getting a good run with Vidic..
Long John O’shea
evans is the future of this club but i am sure rio still has a lot left in him.just loss of form which happens with every player at some stage in their career.he will be back to his best soon.still think we should buy another young centre back maybe round about 19-20 years of age.heard we were signing some brazilian defender dodo.have we signed him? heard he is a great talent
AIG, i agree too that Berba has been our best player the last month, but I’m still not convinced that he and Rooney are a partnership that will do great damage in the biggest games. Unfortunately I think you’re probably right that Fergie could play a 4-5-1 against Chelsea but I’d rather he takes a risk and starts Owen. With Fletch in midfield I think we’d have enough tenacity (that we lacked sorely against Liverpool) that we don’t need 5 midfielders.
AIG… Haven’t heard much about this Dodo chap.. But could you imagine? 3 Brazilian defenders for United? Evans would be the only one with the keeper in our half!!! But really I do hope Rio does get his head down with the football and takes a back seat in his other businesses until his form is back..
Morning everyone.Before the Chelsea game, we have Blackburn to look forward to. A game for which we could have some key players missing. Fergie said that Rio,Vida and Ryan are doubtful. Fletch resumed training yesterday and could be in contention for the Chelsea game. Vida’s calf injury is the biggest concern at the moment.
Another keeper linked with United.i have seen hi play.Is a very good keeper and is germays regular keeper now.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5660730,00.html
I would like to see this goal from Tosic and a alleged penalty …links ..??? Anyone?
Yeah Costas, I wasn’t forgetting about the Blackburn game at all as they have been our bogey team a few times – but I think that for games against the “smaller” teams – and particularly home games – then I think Berba and Rooney will be more effective.
@bigphil2003
For one thing, i agree that we shouldn’t play with 5 midfielders at the Bridge. Secondly, i also think that it’s time Owen started a game of that magnitude. I have been impressed with him over the last couple of weeks. At Anfield he was one of the few reds that did theselves justice. I am just very cautious of Blackburn, because this season we have found it very difficult to kill off these games at Old Trafford.
Morning
Costas – Is Fletch still not fit for tomorrow then? Blackburn should be considerably easier than normal seeing as they have all got swine flu. Even if they have recovered they won’t have trained properly. Should bury the fuckers tomorrow.
Moning King Eric. I think Fletch is out. That’s what i gathered from Fergie’s press conference. But he should be fit for Chelsea. Of course, a cameo against CSKA, wouldn’t hurt him.
I hope you are right about Rovers. And it’s about time we buried a team at Old Trafford this season(other than City).
It has been a long time since we threw a small club down the stairs.I hope Rovers are our victims.
“It has been a long time since we threw a small club down the stairs”
What an awesome turn of phrase.
@ Andrew
I think Macheda is better at finishing, whereas Welbeck is more good at set pieces. Apart from his goal at Barnsley, he was missed some close chances sloppily. The kind of goals he scores are headers, 20 yard screamers, he has a powerful shot. Also, he is energetic, similar player to Rooney, so I think Macheda would be better suited up front partnered with Rooney. If Macheda goes on loan, it’s unlikely he’ll be back because it’s happened many times with out youngsters on loan. Also, he said that he’d like to go back and play in Italy in the future, so it’s best to keep hold of him. He’s quality, will be something big in the future.