MICHAEL Owen claimed yesterday that he had been made to
feel like a “criminal” because of all his injuries.
Manchester United’s
free-transfer signing from Newcastle revealed his shock at the
criticism he has received and suggestions that he is a spent
force.
The England striker
said: “I’ve had more stick in the last couple of months and it’s
been bitter and nasty. Sometimes you feel almost like a criminal
because of the amount of stick I’ve had.
“I always get
labelled with injuries, but I have played more than 500 games in my
career for club and country. In the last two seasons, I have played
33 and 32 games for Newcastle.
“Well, we only played
38 a season in the league, we weren’t in Europe and we didn’t go
very far in the cups, so I didn’t miss that many.
“But as a footballer,
you always get the chance to have the last laugh and I’m totally
confident about the future.”
Owen added: “I’m not
silly - I know there will be some people saying that maybe Sir Alex
Ferguson shouldn’t have signed me.
“But as soon as the
first game kicks off, I can do my talking on the pitch. Iíve joined
a fantastic team with fantastic players - that’s why they have all
won so much.
“Hopefully, I can
jump on the bandwagon, score a few goals and help us to further
success.”