Owen compensation 'too little'
2006-06-21 20:01
Newcastle - The knee injury that has ruled Michael Owen out of action for at least five months will force Newcastle to enter the transfer market in search of a new striker.
And as he faces up to the huge cost of finding a replacement for his England star, Magpies chairperson Freddy Shepherd has blasted as hopelessly inadequate the compensation that the club will receive from the English Football Association.
Under rules governing the release of players for England duty,
the FA has an an insurance policy which enables the governing body to cover players' salaries for the time they are unavailable for their clubs because of injuries incurred on international duty.
In Owen's case, that will mean paying a salary in excess of
100 000 pounds (about R1.3m) per week while he recovers from a cruciate ligament injury which, past experience suggests, may take a lot longer to heal than five months.
Shepherd said Newcastle should be entitled to compensation
beyond the cost of meeting Owen's salary.
"When you lend somebody something and they return them injured
and broken, you shouldn't have to pay for the repair.
"That what's happened at Newcastle. The level of compensation in my opinion isn't high enough.
Broke bone in foot last year
"Players move on, players wages move on and transfer fees move
on so the level (of compensation) is far too low."
The latest injury is a serious blow to Newcastle's chances of
building on their encouraging finish to last season.
Owen was bought as a long-term replacement for Alan Shearer, who retired at the end of the season.
But he managed only 10 starts in his first season on Tyneside
and saw only 29 minutes of action in his only appearance for the
club this year after breaking a bone in his foot on the final day
of 2005.
Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder has been left with only two fit
strikers in Shola Ameobi and Spaniard Albert Luque and Shepherd
hinted that he would be given funds to spend.
Possible targets for Newcastle include Ruud van Nistelrooy,
whose future is uncertain after a bust-up with Manchester United
boss Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of last season and another
Dutchman, Dirk Kuyt, who is currently with Feyenoord.
A less expensive option would be to join the scramble to sign
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who is out of contract at Middlesbrough
and has already attracted interest from Scottish champions Celtic.-Sapa
- SAPA