Illusions in G Major

You can't buy class

More on Michael Owen today, and it shows the power of Twitter (or the pettiness of Newcastle) that there is a response from his former club with regards to comments Owen made, "Prefer playing less often in a top team than every game in a poor team. Been there a[nd] didn't enjoy it."  Newcastle's odd response is to say:

The former Newcastle co-owner Freddy Shepherd, who bought Owen from Real Madrid for £16m, said: "We might have been a poor team but we made him a rich man."

Newcastle's managing director, Derek Llambias, said he was very disappointed by Owen's remarks. "Under Kevin Keegan's management he was offered a one-year extension at £140,000 a week which he did not take. He was already on £133,000. His time here cost £40-odd million, about £1.3m per goal."

Which demonstrates just how unmercenary Owen is.  He could have stayed there for the money, but prefers to play for us for the glory.  What's their point exactly?

Mark Ogden claims Sir Alex is following the AC Milan way in keeping older players on:

The United manager’s philosophy is that knowledge and experience outweigh minutes on the pitch when determining the ongoing contribution of his senior professionals and it is one he has adopted as a result of his respect for the approach taken by Milan.

While many clubs dispense with players approaching their mid-30s in favour of youth and potential, Milan have consistently bucked the trend, with the likes of Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Cafu and Clarence Seedorf all performing central roles for the rossoneri during their domestic and European successes in recent years, despite being into their mid-30s and beyond.

Also on the players signing contracts front, The Mail has a bit of a non-story (for a change) on problems over Valencia's new contract:

The Ecuador winger is halfway through the four-year deal he signed after arriving from Wigan for £16million in June 2009. United are prepared to improve Valencia’s £50,000-a-week contract but early discussions faltered when his representatives asked for image rights to be included in the new package.

Old Trafford chief executive David Gill is refusing to agree to image rights clauses while investigations continue by HM Revenue and Customs, who believe they may be able to recoup millions owed in tax on the payments across the Premier League.

So it doesn't sound like much of a stumbling block, and it's not exactly urgent business yet.

The Mail also report that Sunderland want Darron Gibson and Wes Brown:

Bruce has identified Gibson as the man to replace Jordan Henderson, who will join Liverpool if they can compromise on a fee with Sunderland.

Gibson, 23, is on the fringes of United’s squad but the Irishman has failed to command a regular first-team place and is one of a number of players who will be allowed to leave Old Trafford this summer if the right offer comes in. United value him at around £6million.

I'm sure we'll hear more on that in due course.

Finally, Adam Johnson takes some rubbish about Man City being bigger than us next season.  I think he means they might win something (important)... Bigger?  I don't think so.