Take a peek. It's quite funny. The link to the full brochure ^ the accompanying article is below.
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Once the darling of England, Owen is available on a free transfer and has been reduced to sending out a speculative document that looks like a timeshare sales pitch, begging for a new job.
Here, Football News Correspondent NEIL ASHTON flicks through the brochure and gives his verdict on the tales of large houses, helicopters and horses as Owen's lifestyle and dismal injury record is laid bare.
The brochure on Owen, a World Cup hero at 18 who is now 29, was mailed out by his management team to clubs in the Premier League
and is also available in 'Spanish and Italian'.
Come in number one: Once the darling of England, free agent Michael Owen is now being touted by his representatives to clubs in a bid to find him a new home
HIS MEDICAL RECORDS WHAT THE BROCHURE SAYS:
A medical review by John Green, Owen's very own personal physio, reports: 'Michael approached me… following tests at the West of England University, we deduced that Michael's hamstrings were weak eccentrically (this lack of strength renders the athlete susceptible to muscle strains).
No nonsense: The dossier claims Michael Owen is not injury prone
'Consequently, Michael and I instigated an appropriate regime of strengthening exercises to rectify the muscular imbalances that had been noted.
'Four months later, retests were performed and showed no deficits in strength … Michael continues this programme to this day, under my supervision.'
Green, who has been working with Owen for three years, talks the reader through all of his injuries. From anterior cruciate ligament damage to a fractured metatarsal sustained on New Year's Day 2006 against Tottenham.
The medic then reveals how Owen 'first complained of groin pains in 2007', but that Newcastle decided on a different treatment.
'Six months ago, Michael complained of feeling ''groiny'' again. During the time he was recovering from an ankle sprain, he had revision surgery on both groins.'
The report then reminds us of Owen's virus before the start last season that gave him a 'severe symptom of mumps' as an allergic reaction to an innoculation with England. It claims Newcastle then rushed his return.
WHAT WE SAY:
John Green claims that Owen's reputation as an 'injury-prone player' is 'nonsense'.
But there's no hiding place for the player who missed much of his first two seasons at Newcastle... injured.
Since then he has failed to rediscover the form that made him one of the greatest England strikers, with 40 goals in 89 international appearances.
Any club which signs him now - even on a free transfer - is sure to demand a pay-as-you-play clause to protect their investment.
IS HE FIT NOW?WHAT THE BROCHURE SAYS:
Michael has no articular cartilage damage (arthritic changes common in footballers) in his knees (reported by Doctor Richard Steadman) or ankles (reported by James Calder). By following a tailor-made strength programme for his legs, Michael is no longer susceptible to muscle injury.
Michael, like many players, should have a specific programme designed to maintain and enhance his speed, agility and acceleration and I have offered to work with the club to implement this, but the constantly changing infrastructure at Newcastle has made liaison difficult at times.
Michael is an exceptional professional and is always diligent and committed when undertaking his programmes. In my opinion, he will play at the top for many years - trouble free!
Fitness doubts: Despite what the brochure insists, concerns still exist over Owen's ability to hold down his long-term fitness particularly from Fabio Capello
WHAT WE SAY:
It doesn't bode well when you need a personal physiotherapist to provide you with a regular fitness plan.
Fabio Capello, however, has questioned his fitness, has not picked him for England duty for more than a year and continues to have doubts, though he recognises Owen's goalscoring ability.
The brochure's claims that the striker will be able to come through the most strenuous fitness tests remain to be seen. He might pass the test, but how long before the next breakdown?
It's sad, but he has had terrible luck with injuries and the only way to prove he has overcome so many knocks is to stay fit, have a sustained run in the first team . . . and score goals.
Who will take that risk? And will revealing so many private details so publicly actually help?
The brochure lists 21 ‘brand values’ that clubs could use to market Michael Owen
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- Fit and healthy
- Clean and fresh
- Charismatic
- First Class
- Good looking
- Articulate
- Successful
- Global
- Technical
- Young
- Enthusiastic
- Instinctive
- Dynamic
- Stylish
- Aspirational
- Committed
- Respected
- Cool
- Sincere
- Devoted
- Resilient
WHAT WE SAY:
Young? Well, he’s 29. Fit and healthy? Sometimes, but not often enough. Good looking? Not for us to comment.
He’s been cool plenty of times in front of goal for England, that’s for sure, and his ‘current sponsor family’, including Umbro, Tissot and BMW, would clearly have him down as ‘global, stylish and charismatic’.
Newcastle fans, who endured the bitter pill of relegation to the Championship last season, would have settled for one more category — ‘Deadly in front of goal’.
THE HELICOPTER FILESWHAT THE BROCHURE SAYS:
Underthe section of Tabloid Stories (And The Truth), the brochure aims to dispel these claims...
MICHAEL OWEN IS ALWAYS INJURED: Between January 2006 and August 2007 he was.
But he has appeared in 75 per cent of NUFC’s Premier League games, a figure which matches Wayne Rooney, Roque Santa Cruz and Fernando Torres and is higher than Drogba, Van Persie, Bellamy and Obafemi Martins.
At the races: But Owens brochure denies he has lost his desire for football to the glamour of horse racing
HE HAS LOST HIS DESIRE: Don’t believe that for a moment. He is a ruthlessly determined person who is desperate to be back in the England squad… his calm
and calculated demeanour might be misinterpreted as a lack of passion, but he has an unquenched desire for success.
HE TRAVELS TO NEWCASTLE FROM HIS STABLES IN CHESHIRE EVERY DAY BY HELICOPTER: Michael has never once flown from the stables to Newcastle.
He does have an investment in a helicopter company and one of the perks is that, in a week when he has a day off, he will use the helicopter to fly to his other family home in Flintshire.
Michael has always had a large house in Newcastle… he also has property in Portugal and Dubai.
The Yard is a business investment for the future where Michael and his wife Louise, a keen horsewoman, will breed and train horses in the future.
WHAT WE SAY:
Claims that Owen’s horse racing yard is a business investment for the future, requiring ‘little or no time’ at this stage, is at odds with his Manor House Racing Stables website, which clearly states that it is ‘now natural for Michael to take a more active role’ in the business and helping to ‘steer its growth’. Ooops!
And is Owen really so squeaky clean?
IS HE WORTH SIGNING ON A FREE?WHAT THE BROCHURE SAYS:
Michael Owen is a global football star. After David Beckham, he is the best known
English player in the world.
Were it not for an unhappy spell at Real Madrid and two injury-scarred years at Newcastle, he would be spoken about in the same breath as Torres or Ronaldo.
At 29 years of age, he is about to make the biggest decision of his football career.
It is true that he is not the Olympic speed sprinter who tore through the Argentinian
him ahead of virtually any opposing defence in 1998, but he is still quick over the first 10 yards and has a brain that puts defender.
Because Newcastle lacked a creative midfielder, Michael has been asked to play a deeper role, so the electric bursts are seen less frequently, but still remain.
Becks appeal: The dossier states that Owen - like former Real Madrid team-mate David Beckham - is a global football star and worth signing on a free transfer
In these difficult economic times, Michael could be the best value signing of the summer. He will now almost certainly move. He is ultra-professional, never late for training, a great presence in the dressing room, popular with team-mates and a true ambassador for football.
WHAT WE SAY:
The PR guff claims he is hungry to be playing well and scoring goals, seeking the right
opportunity to remind people why he was once crowned European Footballer of the Year.
The truth is that he held that accolade in 2001, when he was one of the most feared strikers in the game and he is no longer in that class.
Between the ages of 17 and 26, he was in his prime, enjoying a career that few professional footballers can boast.
Someone will take a chance on him, but nowhere near the £105,000 a week he currently commands. If he takes a reduced deal, he’s worth a punt, surely.
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