Owen Deserved Better

Michael Owen getting booed was definitely a disappointment. LFC fans are usually above all that. As for Owen stringing out LFC over his contract extension is concerned I always believed he was just trying to give Gerard Houllier and LFC every last chance to prove they could win something (ie the Prem, or at least the Champions League). He's a footballer before his a fan (as are 99.9% of the players out there) so he was looking out for either a better chance at silverware or more money (something he realistically thought he'd get both at Madrid). Don't forget the whole thing blew up in the last week of the transfer deadline, he was originally going to stay (Rafa had convinced him of that - at least in the short term.) I think he would've given Rafa a chance to prove LFC were something else. And if we had Owen, we wouldn't have had the same problems we had when we lost Cisse so early on. In fact we could well have had a far better start to the season or even a stab at the FA Cup and that, perhaps, would have convinced Owen so sign a new contract seeing Rafa vision - you can be sure he sees it now. As for putting people saying he was putting his place in the World Cup before LFC, it's more a case of putting the World Cup before Real (and for that every Englishman should be thankful). That's why he wanted to leave. He has always said that LFC was his first choice and Newcastle his second (something he even reiterated as a United player).

The money, however, was too much to justify buying him from LFC's point of view and Owen would have to practically play for free to make up the difference between what Newcastle and Liverpool were offering Madrid. Yes he could have told Madrid LFC or nothing, but that wouldn't have really forced their hand, they could still use him as a sub, rather than lose out on a big cheque.

I think he was desperate to come back, but again he freely admits that it would be wrong for Liverpool to have paid so much more for a player they had only sold just the year before. He knows that he made a colossal mistake going to Madrid, and doesn't need reminding of it. He was and is an absolute legend and an LFC great. He deserved a rousing ovation and would have got it from me if I had been there.

Hopefully when some true reds go to St Jame's Park they will give him the greeting all LFC legends derserve.