Michael Owen has launched a passionate defence of his conduct at
Newcastle.
Owen ended four unhappy years at St James' Park this summer when
his career appeared to move backwards at a rapid rate.
A couple of major injuries in his early years did not help and
then when he was fit, the Magpies had descended into chaos under
the ownership of Mike Ashley, ultimately ending in the humiliation
of relegation into the Championship.
As his contract ran out, Owen knew he would not be following
them and instead took up a surprise offer from Sir Alex Ferguson to
join Manchester United.
But the star striker has been stung by repeated criticism of his
behaviour, particularly helicopter flights back to his Cheshire
home from the north-east and a fledgling horse-breeding business
being run by his wife Louise.
Both have been used as evidence Owen's heart was not with the
Tyneside outfit, a damning verdict on their £18million record
signing which he is anxious to counter.
"You learn to understand the reaction but if you do step back,
you think it is strange or unfair," he said.
"When you are being relegated, nobody is interested in listening
to you. But I knew it was all to do with me not scoring.
"If you don't score and you don't win, you are wrong to have a
helicopter and fly home each week to see your kids. You are wrong
to have a business outside of football. You are wrong to plan for
the future.
"If the goals had been going in I would have been a great lad,
popping home to see my three kids and be a family man on a Tuesday
after training. I would have been thoughtful and innocent little
things would not be misrepresented."
In fact, for the team Newcastle became, returns of 13 and 10
goals respectively during the past two seasons were not bad
totals.
Yet Owen knows he was capable of much better, as he hopes to
prove at Old Trafford.
His affection for Newcastle ensures he will not launch an
all-out attack on a club that seems on a mission to
self-destruct.
However, mere commonsense dictates the backdrop to live on
Tyneside meant producing his best form was impossible.
"There is no hiding from the fact it was disappointing at
Newcastle because the team got relegated," he reflected.
"I played 33 games, so I will not shirk my share of the blame.
What I would say is whether you are the best or worst player in the
world you are a human being. You are affected by the surroundings,
the mood of people, by confidence.
"I could have done more and score more goals but the team was
lacking in confidence. It was not playing well, there was a manager
every two minutes and unrest at board level.
"In a situation like that you cannot name many players who have
played well on a consistent basis over the years. Everyone's
standards drop.
"I don't want to say I was dragged down by Newcastle because I
have a lot of respect for the club and had some good times but I do
believe I play better in a team full of confidence."
As a striker, once things start to go wrong, individually and
collectively, blame soon follows at Newcastle.
The club of Jackie Milburn, Malcolm MacDonald, Kevin Keegan and
Alan Shearer needs its forwards to be heroes. That naked desire is
why so many turned out to welcome Owen's arrival from Real Madrid
four years ago.
That a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered at the 2006 World
Cup with England kept him out for a year only made matters
worse.
"It was Newcastle and it was me, so maybe it was worse," he
said.
"If another player had flown home to see their family it would
not have been such news.
"They had paid a record fee for me and I broke my foot trying to
score goals for them. But when I was out for another year playing
for England it hindered me.
"Probably if I had done my knee playing for Newcastle, there may
have been more support.
"I was on the back foot straight away and reversing it was
difficult."