Please Rafa....

[Red Chilli]

One scores goals the other doesn't. Goals is what we need. Which is why we needed Owen more than we do Bellamy.

But neither of them stay fit long enough.

[kopdan]

sorry but strongly disagree here Colin

Bellamy has started to look settled and was scoring goals. Then got injured again.

[Rocket]

Bellamy has had too many injuries this season, but i don't think Owen could be any less injury prone.

the only time Owen has stayed injury free in recent years is when he was warming a bench at madrid.

[einar]

From ABC Sport:

The date says it all.

I´m not saying we should go for Henry. I´m saying he is the type of player we should go for.

[Kopite_Colin]

Bellamy has produced decent form in the last few weeks only. Which is why he deserves his place ahead of Crouch ATM (early in the season it was the other way round). He's scored 5 all season. Not good enough. We shipped Anelka out for a similar return. Owen's scoring record makes a mockery of Bellamy's - the two aren't even comparable. So I'm not sure what you strongly disagree about. But one thing is for certain - that Court Case certainly seemed to be a watershed for him.

[AFII]

No point in signing Owen until he's proven he can go a season without getting injured.
So probably at least 2 years before it's realistic. Are we going to wait that long?

I know. He will probably need at least three or four months back playing again until anyone will know how fit he is.

We can only go on what Steadman have said and that's that Owen won't have any problems with his knee and Owen have trained the muscles he had problem with before.

He should be fitter than he was before his knee injury but we won't know that until he is back playing again.

[Red Chilli]

Owen and his injuries is not the player to take us to the next level, neither is Tevez IMO.

Replacing Bellamy with Owen is like replacing Crouch with Heskey IMO.

[einar]

Bellamy has produced decent form in the last few weeks only. Which is why he deserves his place ahead of Crouch ATM (early in the season it was the other way round). He's scored 5 all season. Not good enough. We shipped Anelka out for a similar return. Owen's scoring record makes a mockery of Bellamy's - the two aren't even comparable. So I'm not sure what you strongly disagree about. But one thing is for certain - that Court Case certainly seemed to be a watershed for him.

I think Bellamy has earned more time to prove himself.

[Red Chilli]

I know. He will probably need at least three or four months back playing again until anyone will know how fit he is.

We can only go on what Steadman have said and that's that Owen won't have any problems with his knee and Owen have trained the muscles he had problem with before.

He should be fitter than he was before his knee injury but we won't know that until he is back playing again.

3-4 months? That's not long enough, not even half a season. WE need strikers who can play for more than half a season, as for trusting Steadman, who is always going to talk up his results as best he can, I'd rather not risk millions of pounds on a surgeons say so, I'd prefer to see some evidence first.

[Kopite_Colin]

Owen guarantees goals. If we need a striker to score then as part of a quartet he would do so - assuming he stayed fit. But that's another story. But I think Rafa would use him more sparingly than GH did. Anyway we'll see whether he can still score at the highest level when he comes back.

[Red Chilli]

Owen guarantees goals. If we need a striker to score then as part of a quartet he would so - assuming he stayed fit. But that's another story. But I think Rafa would use him more sparingly than GH did. Anyway we'll see whether he can still score at the highest level when he comes back.

Too much of an assumption given his recent record.

[Red Chilli]

The very fact that Owen's name even comes up in this discussion highlights the fact that there are not many strikers around who we can sign and are going to improve the team.

It's ridiculous that we can't get past naming Owen, there are other players than him.

[Kopite_Colin]

A cruciate knee ligament injury can happen to anyone. It's a freak injury - you can't lay that one on the lad. The hammy thing is more relevant, but Giggs has had a decent career despite being plagued by the same problem, so there's no reaon why Owen won't. Anyway - this isn't an Owen thread, and time and future goals record will speak for itself.

[kopdan]

There are plenty of names ahead of Owen.

[tomasjj]

Please not turn this into an Owen thread.