Owen has been linked with a move to the Nathan Tinkler-backed club, with the racing tycoon keen to bring in a player who owns his own fair share of thoroughbreds.
Reports that Owen could be lured by the enticement of a champion stallion thrown in as part of the deal prompted predictable media headlines.
But the fact that a current Manchester United player has been seriously linked with a move to the A-League is testament to the competition’s growing strength.
Critics scoffed at early reports Dwight Yorke could join the A-League, but Sydney FC were rewarded for their initiative with the signing of one of the most effective players in the competition’s history.
And many felt it unlikely that a player of Robbie Fowler’s stock would stick around when things went pear-shaped at North Queensland Fury, but stick around he did, even if his impact for Perth Glory has been minimal.
So Owen’s link with a move to Australia is a boost for a competition eager for another injection of star talent.
The former England whiz-kid has only started once in the league for United this season, and he was an unused substitute as Wayne Rooney crashed home a spectacular overhead winner to settle a cracking Manchester derby last weekend.
But Owen still possesses a predatory instinct and he’s surely grown tired of being overlooked by Sir Alex Ferguson – who already has Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez to call upon from his star-studded squad.
A change of scenery might just be in order for the former Liverpool legend, with English players now showing an increasing willingness to look beyond their usual haunts.
Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has recently lobbed up in West Java to ply his trade with rebel Indonesian Premier League club Bandung FC, while Nicky Butt currently calls Hong Kong side South China FC home.
And the recent arrival of Gold Coast’s new German import Peter Perchtold – not to mention the stellar season-long form of his compatriot Thomas Broich in Brisbane – suggests it’s not impossible for A-League clubs to sign quality European talent.
Speaking of Broich, it will be a travesty if Brisbane Roar aren’t crowned champions at the end of a highly anticipated finals series.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were imperious in their systematic destruction of Gold Coast United on Saturday night, and the Roar are not only the best team in the A-League this season, they’re fast approaching one of the best teams we’ve ever seen in domestic football in Australia.
I’ve long been an advocate of a finals series to decide the A-League champions and I don’t see any reason why the system should change.
But in this case I’d be mortified if Brisbane failed to win the Grand Final, simply because it would represent such a flagrant injustice.
That’s precisely the nature of knock-out football though, and whoever wins the 2010-11 competition will have slogged their way through a tough finals series.
Still, I can’t see anyone but Brisbane lifting the ‘toilet seat’ on Grand Final day, although perhaps Newcastle Jets will be in with a shout next season – hopefully with a fit and healthy Michael Owen bagging plenty of goals for the Novocastrians.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I'm not sure what Michael Owen would cost ... but, you'd reckon he's worth more than 37 year old Roberto Carlos, who just signed a deal with FC Anzhi Makhachkala - a mid-table team in the Russian Premier League. Oh, and what is 37 year-old Roberto Carlos being paid by this unfashionable Russian team? ... a cool €5 million (approx $6.7m) per season and he has been signed for 2.5 seasons!
Gibbo
Guest
" the FFA has the perfect opportunity to scrap the finals series, which in turn will move the focus from the final series to the league." Will this turn the focus of the media to the league? Or will it diminish the somewhat hightened coverage that the finals generate? In summary, i think you're wrong. I love first past the post, but in this context the finals are fine. And we (ie. football supporters) all know the difference between the premiership and the championship. One's for the league, and ones for the finals series after the league.
Bernie
Guest
It has been publicly stated for some time by the Jets that Bridges will become a squad player paid within the salary cap. He is the lowest paid marquee player in the league.
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
Ah, but there lies the problem. Why should casual supporters, or the so called Euro Snobs, media, sponsors, etc bother with th league, if it is deemed only a minor achievement? Why spend hundreds or even thousands on dollars supporting a team, when you could just wait until the end of the season for the final series to start? The only way these people will think differently regarding the importance of the league is if the Final series is scrap. As I have mentioned before, when the FFA introduces an Australian Cup (or whatever it gets called), the FFA has the perfect opportunity to scrap the finals series, which in turn will move the focus from the final series to the league. If on the other hand, the FFA insists on the final series remaining as the way to decide who wins the league, then don't expect much change in regards to crowd figures etc for regular season matches - unless the FFA and clubs can somehow convert AFL, NRL supporters or turn a large number of sport fans in Australian sokka fans. As for sponsors, surely they would like to see the league become more important, as it would mean more people taking notice of it, which in turn should see then receive bigger return for their investment Don't get me wrong, have have nothing against Cup competitions, but thy should not be used to decide who is the best team of the season.
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
I no in the past Matt McKay, Ange, Moore, Farina and a few others have all come out and said it is the league that is most import, not the finals. Those comments weren't just this, but in seasons gone by also.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Perhaps I'm wrong but, when Broich says "not for us", I'm sure the "us" to which he refers are his current football colleagues at the Brisbane Roar ... not his mates back home in Germany or former German football colleagues. I'm not against the finals, I'm just of the view that the League title is the trophy that has the most prestige and accurately identifies the best team of the year - even if MVFC were to win the GF there is no way I would consider them to be the best team this year.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Yes, but Thomas Broich hails from a nation which has played first-past-the-post football since before he was born (although, somewhat ironically, Germany also has a long tradition of playoff games) and I'm not sure he's the best authority to speak on behalf of how Australians feel.
Titus
Guest
In a league without promotion/relegation the finals are necessary, in a way, to keep all teams involved. But once we have promotion/relegation we should abandon the finals series because this makes every game a final and it means fans and media are interested all season long and not just at finals time.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Mike I reckon the attitude of football professionals and all football fans that I know is summed up by this exchange between TWG's Vitor Sobral and Brisbane's superstar, Thomas Broich at yesterday's HAL Final Series launch: Sobral: For some in Australia the Finals are more important than winning the League Broich: Yeah. But, to be honest, not for us. It was a major achievement for us to win the League and it's another challenge now ... Source: http://player.sbs.com.au/theworldgame#/twg_08/ALeague/A-LeagueNews/playlist/A-League-finals-Brisbane-Roar/
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
But BrisbaneBhoy, I'm looking at the finals series purely from an Australian point of view. You mention "Eurosnobs" failing to support the league, but surely a greater concern is when the mainstream media/sponsors/casual sports fans don't support it? And the fact is these people have been exposed to finals series in various other codes. Every A-League team goes into the season knowing that if they want to be considered the best, they need to win the Grand Final. Just because that's not the way they do it in Europe (and conversely knock-out post-season football has been a regular feature in South American and Asian football) doesn't mean we should immediately discard the idea in Australia.
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
From the article: Mike Tuckerman - [i]"I’ve long been an advocate of a finals series to decide the A-League champions and I don’t see any reason why the system should change. But in this case I’d be mortified if Brisbane failed to win the Grand Final, simply because it would represent such a flagrant injustice. That’s precisely the nature of knock-out football though, and whoever wins the 2010-11 competition will have slogged their way through a tough finals series."[/i] While a Cup competition does have a place in football, it's place ISN'T to determine who wins the league/earns the right to be called the best team/winners of the season. The team who proved there worth over the course of 30 games, and finishes top has earned that right. As for the final part of the quote - "That’s precisely the nature of knock-out football though, and whoever wins the 2010-11 competition will have slogged their way through a tough finals series." - So slogging your way through 4 (possible only 3) games instead over slogging your way over 30 games is the right way to determine who should be crowned Champions? Is there any wonder why teams seem to struggle for supporters from the so called "Euro Snobs" (a term I hate and not understand)? The FFA and the teams should be focusing on winning the support of the football communities, not the fans from other sports. Like I have stated many-a-time, I really hope the FFA uses the opportunity to to remove the Final Series Cup competition from the fixture list when the FFA Cup s introduced. Replace a poorly designed Cup competition for a proper Cup competition. It will still allow th FFA to have their "money maker" games, so they won't/shouldn't lose out on anything. At the same time it gives the team who wins the league their rightful dues by awarding them as the best team of the league. The same goes for the team who wins the nation cup competition.. They will be recognized as the team who won the Cup competition (not the league), which should be an honor in it's own right.
Mick of Newie
Guest
The Jets were big on this sort of announcement under the old regime. This will be a credibility test for the new regime. If it turns out to be kite flying it will reflect poorly on them. Personally I would love it to happen but I would be equally happy if they found the next Hernandez, Flores or Van Dijk and them here for 3 years.
James Gray-Foster
Roar Pro
All the players you've mentioned there were well passed it, Mike. Yes Dwight went back to the EPL when his tenure in the A-league finished, but he was merely there to add depth to a below-par squad. Juninho and Fowler did quite well in the A-league, but again, they're careers were effectively over in their home countries and it made more sense to come to a country with a nice lifestyle and decent enough pay-check. Michael Owen isn't on the same boat. He's 31 years-old, and bar the lack of starts for United this season, he has scored crucial goals and is considered an important part of the squad. He earns a load more money at United, than he would in the A-league. Sure, if he got an offer from Qatar, Dubai or UAE he'd earn more money there, but he'd prefer the English lifestyle and he's far too good to be playing in a league of that nature. I don't think there's a strong possibility of this happening until he's 33/34 and not playing and out of favor in England.
Rob McLean
Guest
Sydboz, I drove past a Sunderland Street in Newie when I was there last year. Maybe he could visit that, play a street game and revisit the Mags v Cats derbies!
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Would not many critics have argued that we got "carried away" with the idea of launching a professional league? Or signing Dwight Yorke? Or Romario or Juninho or Robbie Fowler? Michael Owen could earn ten times more money going to Indonesia, but it's not going to come with the beaches or the weather or the laid-back lifestyle (or a horse!), which is why the A-League is not quite the hard sell that many think.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Franny Jeffers was only on a ten-game guest contract which expired in January. Both parties publicly stated they wanted to sign another deal but couldn't come to an agreement.
sydboz
Guest
From one Newcastle to another? Sounds a little bit like a joke but you never know. He would pull in crowds
Rob McLean
Guest
Jamesb, because I, and many other Reds supporters, don't want him to leave Adelaide!!!!!! ;) What a joy to watch.
Phil Osopher
Guest
I have to agree with you James. Far too good for the A-League. You speak sense. Aussies do get a bit carried away with ourselves at times. Unless he has some dream of warm weather, I dont think we'll see it.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Flores indeed. Jets need a quality import. Another question: what is going to happen to Bridges? Current Jets Marque should be quaking in his boots, no?. Take up a foreign spot instead? Doubt it. If we get Owen, that would be huge. Both Owen and Jason Culina would be massive. Perhaps the 'big name signing' will just be Culina... ...and we will be wondering what Owen would have done for Barça Jets in A-League VII. :-)