Alan Hansen, BBC Sport Online, Christmas Eve, 2005:
“Michael Owen makes his return to Liverpool with Newcastle on Boxing Day - and he will be guaranteed an unbelieveable reception from the Anfield crowd.
Owen was a great player for Liverpool, a man who single-handedly won the 2001 FA Cup Final against Arsenal with two late goals after Gerard Houllier’s side had been second best all day.
Once a richly-deserved rapturous reception is out of the way, however, it will be down to business and a vital game for both Newcastle and Liverpool.”
Liverpool vs Newcastle Utd match report, The Guardian, December 27 2005:
“Michael Owen retreated ashen faced to Tyneside last night with the jeers of those who once adored him haunting his thoughts and defeat chilling his soul. If the England striker had hoped to be welcomed back, a prodigal son back in familiar surroundings, then this was a humiliating rejection; those on the Kop have clearly not forgiven him his departure for Madrid 16 months ago.
The home fans were merciless, the smattering of boos which accompanied his name when it was delivered over the Tannoy pre-match escalating to a full-scale eruption when he received possession for the first time. Once Liverpool had eased their way into the lead and the gulf between these sides had become apparent, the abuse was bellowed. “Where were you in Istanbul?” slipped into “You should have signed for a big club”, though it was the strains of “What a waste of talent” which must have cut Owen deepest.”
Ah, yes, the greatest fans in the world.
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COMMENTS / ONE COMMENT
anu thought this on Dec 28 05 at 3:34 pmThe thing is that Hansen doesn’t really have a clue what the average Liverpool fan is thinking - if indeed there is such a thing. Spend some time obsessively trawling through various forum postings (not that I do anything like that of course) and you’ll see a whole host of opinions, just like you’ll read a wide variety of different reports about Owen’s return: some papers have reported the chants as good natured banter, while others, like yours, have reported it as above. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.
What is true is that many Liverpool fans do feel somewhat betrayed by the way he left - without giving the new manager a chance (and where was Michael in Istanbul), for a relative pittance, and just before the transfer deadline, despite protestations that he wouldn’t “do a Bosman”. Well, £6 million for Owen is almost the same (I’m assigning a negative value to Nunez). Basically, just as Owen had the right to do what he did, so the fans have the right to remind him that he’s made some poor decisions recently - he’s an excellent player in one of the poorest Toon sides for a decade - what a waste of talent indeed.
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