Owen Hargreaves was 29 years old on the 20th January
Owen Hargreaves has one more year left on his contract at the end of this season
Owen Hargreaves may well have been the most expensive mistake United have ever made.
Owen Hargreaves may well be the best player that we never saw make it at United
When we talk about making your own luck, Hargreaves must have been a very bad man at some stage of his life..its just heinous how fate has cruelly twisted his career at a time when he could well have been the best player in England, bossing games for United and England..showing Stevie G just how its done. But it wasn't to be.
So the question is now 'what do we do with him?'
His omission from the Champions League squad tells us more than words where Sir Alex thinks Hargreaves is at the moment and what headspace he occupies. Much has been made of his mental attitude recently, due to a couple of remarks made by the manager, but i do not really buy it. Trusting your body physically is difficult after you've been through such a car crash of an eighteen months, but there comes a time when everyone has to say 'enough is enough'
Will we ever see Hargreaves perform at his top level again? I think this is what is holding the lad back. Does he really know that he will never be the same player? Does he think that if he gives it just another week that he will recover something that he may well have lost? Self confidence is a funny thing, but the truth is you could be the fittest man on the planet but with no confidence you are nothing. If the boss detects this about the player he has to do the right thing by the club first and Hargreaves second.
An explanation would be nice from United..it was just yesterday that he could be ready by the Milan match, but that all seem like cloud cuckoo land. It is unfair on us to put Hargreaves on such a pedestal, when the guy cant even train fully with the first team. And it is also unfair on him, the expectation that when he comes back that United's midfield will be unstoppable and that he will destroy every team at the World Cup with his superhero engine bossing matters
Maybe its time we all let go?
The question of his contract makes it all the more horrible and grubby. With a year left in the summer do we give him a new one? Pay as you play maybe..well that hasn't really worked with Michael Owen..who it is worth noting is fully fit! Or do we let go a player that we courted so strongly for over a year and literally twisted Bayern Munich's arm to get hold of? His £17 million transfer fee plus his high four years worth of wages could well be about the worst bit off business this club has done in living memory. But my opinion is that without Hargreaves drive in his first season, we may not have won the Prem and the Champions League. Remember his free kick against Arsenal? It seems such a long time ago. His 37 appearances will represent a truly disgusting ratio of 'games vs £' but we will have to take it on the chin.
I still hope Hargreaves proves us all wrong..his road to recovery has been like a soap opera. But the time gets ever closer as Fergie has to decide whether he is worth the number 4 shirt anymore. Its a crying shame. Looks like neither of United's two Owens will be on that plane to South Africa. They both need miracles now..
Fergie leaving Owen off the CL squad list does not mean that he won't be back *at all* this season. Sure, it's a shame that he won't be there to help guide us to another trophy but he can make an impact during PL matches. All is not lost yet. I think some are putting the cart before the horse just because he was left out of the CL team.
ReplyDeleteGranted this is off topic, but why do so many media types think Nani's first goal against Arsenal was Almunia's fault, i.e., they take credit away from Nani? After seeing the defense shredded, Almunia had to come out to reduce the angles and N. just chipped it over his head...how is that Alumina's fault?
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