Newcastle striker is set for an unhappy return for
former club Liverpool on Sunday as his side fight for their Premier
League lives
Michael Owen faces a double dose of humiliation on
Sunday when he makes an emotional return to Liverpool and the
ground where he made his name as the most exciting teenage striker
in Europe.
Owen is set to be dropped for a game at Anfield that is crucial
to
Newcastle's future as
manager Alan Shearer opts to start with Peter Lovenkrands, an
unsung Dane who arrived at St James' Park in January on a free
transfer.
And the 29-year-old's hopes of a dream move back to his beloved
Liverpool in the summer have been firmly ruled out by manager
Rafael Benitez, even though Owen would be available on a free
transfer.
The only silver lining for Newcastle ahead of a game they cannot
afford to lose is that Liverpool's star striker, Fernando Torres,
is a major doubt with a hamstring injury after taking part in only
limited training sessions over the past 72 hours.
Shearer, accused of sitting on the fence too often as a TV
pundit, is prepared to show his bold side as he seeks his first win
as interim manager standing in for Joe Kinnear.
With Newcastle stuck in the bottom three and staring a
financially-catastrophic relegation in the face, Shearer is
prepared to sacrifice Owen, his close friend, after a spell of one
goal in 14 games to accommodate the only two fit left-footed
players at the club, Lovenkrands and Damien Duff.
Former Rangers striker Lovenkrands has scored twice since
joining Newcastle and, crucially, he is seen as a better foil to
Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins, although Owen will still be called
upon from the bench if Newcastle need a goal.
The decision will be a bitter blow to Owen, who, from comments
on his website, is not expecting to be dropped. The £100,000-a-week
striker says: 'I wake up and know where I stand in terms of
performance, my standing in the game, the goals I will score, given
the opportunities. I have been around a long time and everyone
knows if I get the chances I will score goals.
Boss Alan Shearer is poised to axe Owen in favour
of Peter Lovenkrands
'We have to be brave and positive. We go to Liverpool
and we finish the season at Aston Villa. If we can get some points
from those games we'll grasp them. But it's the next home games
against Middlesbrough and Fulham that are the focus.'
The reality is, however, that Owen wants to quit the north-east
when his contract ends in the summer after three injuryhit years
following a £17 million move from Real Madrid. Everton and Villa
are looking at him but it emerged last night there is no chance of
him winning a dream move back to Anfield, where he scored 158 goals
between 1998 and 2004.
Benitez is not interested in landing Owen, five years after
selling him to Madrid. The Spaniard is aware of the club's history
and once re-signed Kop legend Robbie Fowler to use him sparingly as
a fourth-choice striker. But he will not do the same with Owen.
Benitez said last night: 'The situation with Michael is
different to what it was with Robbie. Robbie understood his role,
he came here at a certain time in his career and it was a fantastic
opportunity for him.
Lovenkrands could partner fellow left-footer Damien
Duff in midfield for the Anfield clash
Ironically, Benitez faces a major dilemma over playing
£27m Torres today after the recurrence of a hamstring injury as
Liverpool try to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders
Manchester United.
Benitez is having to consider wrapping Torres in cotton wool
after confirming a Mail on Sunday story that the Spanish superstar
will have just a three-week break between playing in the
Confederations Cup for his country in South Africa on June 28 and
joining up with Liverpool for their pre-season tour of Asia.
Liverpool have accepted a lucrative fee to play in Thailand and
Singapore in mid-July but have to play Torres and Steven Gerrard as
part of the deal.
Although Benitez would ideally like to have left Torres at home,
he is reluctant to make it a huge issue as the tour revenue forms
part of his summer transfer budget.
Benitez said: 'I am sure Torres will go to the Confederations
Cup and he will also go to Asia.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez knows his side must
keep winning to keep the pressure on Manchester United at the top
of the table
'So he will have three weeks' break while the other players will
have five weeks. 'It is a situation we can not change so we have to
manage Torres in the best way. We know when he and Stevie are fit,
the team is better.'
Shearer was hailed as Newcastle's messiah when he arrived at St
James' Park five weeks ago to fill in for Joe Kinnear, who is
recovering from a heart operation.
But Newcastle have won only two points from a possible 12 under
Shearer and the pressure is on. 'I still believe that we'll have
enough to stay up,' he said. 'The games are running out and it's
easy for me to say that, but if I don't believe, who will?'
The former St James' Park captain continued the guessing game
about his future, saying: 'It's not relevant, not important. I said
at the beginning I'm not getting involved in all that. It's not
something I should be talking about - what I should be talking
about is Anfield.'
Shearer admitted that choosing between Owen, Martins and Viduka
represented a tougher decision than naming all three to start at
Anfield. And he raised the intriguing prospect of starting the game
with three central defenders.
'I played it at Stoke and for part of the game at Spurs but it's
another matter whether I go to Anfield with three or not,' said
Shearer. 'First and foremost, I'm looking for a performance and
hopefully it will be enough to get a result.
'We have to go there and put in a good shift and a good fight.
They have a hell of a lot to play for and so have we.'
Xabi Alonso could be sold this summer as Liverpool
look to raise funds for other players
Liverpool need to win as badly as Newcastle to put
pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United in their chase
at the top.
Benitez has been given a limited budget of £10m this summer by
American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett but hopes to raise
£25m for targets Glen Johnson, Gareth Barry and an additional
striker by selling Xabi Alonso, Andrea Dossena and on-loan players
Andriy Voronin and Sebastien Leto, currently at Hertha Berlin and
Olympiakos.
Juventus are in for Alonso and Benitez said: 'He is not on the
market but if other clubs come to us, you can talk.'
Dutch winger Ryan Babel is also available at the right price but
Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano is seen as one of
Liverpool's untouchables, alongside Gerrard and Torres.
