Owen Owes A Lot

Another quiet weekend with plenty of friendlies but not much in the way of important news. Freddy Sheperd believes that Michael Owen owes Newcastle a great debt, which is a fair comment. The paid a lot of money for him, he's hardly played any games for the Magpies and they have looked after him during his injuries, so I think most people would believe that Owen owes them a fair bit. Owen has always seemed like a down-to-earth man, and he probably realises just what Newcastle have done for him so I can't see him moving away this summer. He'll spend at least one season, and if Newcastle do well and he plays well, then I can see him staying longer. But, I can't see him staying more then 2 seasons without Champions League football, a player like Owen needs to be up against the top teams, and he may have to move away to find that kind of football...but for the moment, Newcastle fans can sleep easily, knowing that Michael will be there for one more season at least.

Steve Bruce is confident that Ghaly will sign for Birmingham, from Tottenham, in a 3 million pound deal. However, he also believes that the Mido deal is going to fall through. Firstly, Birmingham should be thanking their lucky stars that the Mido deal has gone through, 6 million for him was just silly money, and you'll be better off without him. Secondly, the Ghaly deal is a good one. He has some Premiership experience, is in his mid-20's and though he wasn't incredible at Tottenham, he was a very solid central midfielder who would be a good player to have in a relegation fight. I'd definitely have Ghaly over Mido any day of the week, and I think most people out there would agree.

Congratulatons to Iraq for winning the Asian Cup for the 1st time. They beat Saudi Arabia 1-0, and fully deserved their victory. It is obviously a difficult period for Iraq, but to win the Asian Cup sends out a good message about the future of sport over there, and I hope that they can build on this victory in the future.

I watched the Arsenal game on Sky earlier, when they were playing Inter Milan, and they were looking very fluid. People have already started writing them off but I wouldn't be too sure. Van Persie scored a wonderful goal and looked very dangerous, and I was also very impressed by Alexander Hleb. He was playing in a central role, just behind Van Persie, and had a cracker of a game, he is a player I would watch out for this season. He's had a couple of seasons to really adapt to the Premiership and he knows that if he doesn't do the business this season, then he'll be shipped off. So, keep an eye out for him this season, and I'm going to make sure that he has a spot in my fantasy team.

Finally, Franz Beckenbauer has given England his vote for staging the 2018 World Cup. Of course, his bacing doesn't really count for much at the moment, but it was decent of him to give the England bid a boost. We face stiff competition from Italy and Russia, but we do have a very good chance of getting the Cup...and by 2018, McClaren can't possibly still be manager, so we might have a chance of winning the tournament! Brilliant, things are already looking up.

And on that optimistic point, I shall take my leave. Good Night.