by azriahmad » Fri Aug 13, 2004 4:56 pm
If I remembered correctly, last time when Steve MacManaman left us under a Bosman, Houllier has said that no first team Liverpool player will be allowed to have contracts with left than 2 years left so that there will not be a repeat.
What's happened? Why was Owen's contract let be left with less than 1 year to run before Houllier left? It is hardly Benithez's fault. All he did is to decide to sell when he realised that Owen has been stalling for more than 16 or so months from the time when the contract extension talks began. I suppose Parry did try to make Owen sign but he still stalled.
What's up with Owen? Was there something wrong? It has been reported that he is an admirer of Valencia's organisation in their play and was instrumental in influencing the appointment of Benithez. When the man did arrive, he baulked at signing a contract extension. He did say that he will never leave Liverpool on a Bosman but with some 10 months or so left in his contract and having stalled at signing yet again, surely Liverpool had to do something to get something out of this situation and not let Owen leave under a Bosman.
Is Liverpool less of an English club now that Murphy has gone? Must liverpool have a core of Liverpool born players in the first team at any one time, regardless of their general quality? Does Owen feel that the local team spirit has gone with Murphy or Heskey gone that he is not willing to try and stick it with Benithez and see how things go? Or is it more of a case that Owen is frightened at the prospect that he has to rotate with the others and that he may not ba an automatic choice?
Only a few weeks ago he did say that he will sign the extension, but why still stall before Liverpool is certain to make it into the group phase of the Champions' League? If his game is only to sigh after Liverpool has made it the the CL group stage, he should have come forward and out with it instead of stalling yet again. If you were Benithez, what would you do? Risk cup tieing him by playing him in the Graz game and be at the mercy that even after Liverpool qualify for the Group stage, he'd still stall at the extension. If that happened, Real would have waited until January and get him on a Bosman.
Puzzling events that led to this outcome and only he and his people knows why they handled themselves that way.
We don't know actually and can only speculate. Whatever it is, we have been s*ckered into selling him at such a cheap price and I can't help but feel that we have been really squeezed. I still hild the view that Owen has been a fantastic player for us and I thank him for all his contributions to Liverpool and wish him all the best in the future.