Fabulous footballer joining a club in turmoil, ready to score the goals that will take the beleaguered Toon back into Europe? Or over-priced forward signing for a club that was not his first choice, in a move that simply papers over the cracks in the Toon's armour? Michael Owen has agreed to join Newcastle United in a four year deal worth £17 million. Freddy Shepherd had this to say on the Club's website: "Bringing Michael Owen to St. James' Park will rank alongside the signing of Alan Shearer as my proudest moment at Newcastle United." Your comments stuart mitchell
l like Owen because l would like owen be the new captain. When Alan shearer retires Mr Arthur Hope
It has been reported on the news this morning (10/2/06) Michael Owen has said he is on line to return to playing for England in the world cup, important that this is is he not forgetting who pay's his wages. If he is not playing for his club how can he be considered for his country. kirsty sutton
i think michael owen is one of the best strikers in the world .even though i support liverpool i have followed michael owen from liverpool to real madrid then to newcastle.if i could choose three clubs that i agree michael owen to go to it would be liverpool newcastle or arsenal.but i love him nathan mccarthy
he is the best striker in the world and should never leave the club!!!!! Alexander Beer
I think he's a fantastic striker and I really hope he doesn't want to go to Liverpool after all. Maybe he could help us into Europe but he can't do that at the moment because he is injured. Ben
Michael Owen made the right choice to join, just hope Shearer starts scoring frequently, and possibly get fitter, work on his sprinting. Luque will come good. Souness to go, only way to get best of squad. emma
I think micheal owen should have gone to wigan athletic the good team Jeff
Cant wait for boxing day eh? ha ha ha 2-0, should have been 6-0 josh kennedy
it is brilliant hes the new hero nabil mohammed
michael get fit soon please and score goals michael for me you are the best striker on this planet kelly
hi man micheal owen is cool.da best player on earth. bye HEADLESS
MICHEAL OWEN IZ DA BEST SO IS SHERER ANNE HOGG
GREAT NEWS.. I AM A GEORDIE IN CANADA AND LOVE TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE TOON ARMY. HOWAY THE LADS . LOVE ALAN SHEARER. HE IS A GENTLEMAN. stej
michael does not have the pace he used to and is pricey at 17 million quid Ryan Richards
oh yea, the best..so happy, supported d magpies since i was 3, and an unbelievable signing..but i have to say Shearer's was the coolest jon
i think it is great that owen is with newcastle im a big supporter and looking forward to see all the goals him and shearer will score together jon caddell VictoriaChen
What a wonderful thing & scene for Michael to join in Newcastle! I believe Michael & Alan will present us the best performance! Newcastle will have the most prosperous years for us! Cheers, Alan & Michael! Matt
Yes, i am so happy owen has joined the magpies. I started to support liverpool because of him. I am vvvhappy. michelle ridgwell
michael should of came to arsenal because he looks wounderful in an arsenal shirt!! Baz (Proud to be a Geordie)
What planet are some people on? "bad season at Real Madrid", played more games than 90% of an excellent squad. "too expensive" for one of the undoubted top five strikers in the world!!! "2nd choice" If he had no other options would that have been better? As the jealous sarcastic "Mackem" says, lets not get carried away. But for once let`s look forward & allow ourselves a little optimism. A brilliant business and footballing coup! Michal we are all lookin forward to the time you`re "Proud to be a Geordie" Howay the lads!!! Ahmad
Michael Owen Would Break Milburn's Record If He Continue His Career With The Toon. & Will Be Newcastle's Legend For Sure!! ... WELCOME MICHAEL drew
great news, club needed a stricker and who better than michael owen, his record speaks for itself, now lets hope the rest of the team can lift and we'll back up were we belong. Welcome michael!! Aaron Durrant
Fantastic signing for us, hopefully it might give the team a new found hope and take some of that enormous pressure off of our legendry Shearer. But also not over looking all of our great summer signings. I'm especially pleased to see Nobby back on boards. Lets look forward to a great season now! marco
this is a great signing for newcastle united. but 16 million is a bit steep after a bad season at real madrid. craig ross
Im a newcastle fan but what im about to say isnt me favouring them, i truely think that newcastle have made the best transfers this year bringin in EMRE,PARKER,SOLANO,KRUL,LUQUE n OWEN. Its the best team we have had for many years Clare
It's a nice time for me at the moment ; a Geordie living in Liverpool.The Echo paper over last couple of days has been great reading with all the bitterness of Liverpool fans and pundits coming through. OK so we weren't first choice & everyone knows that. At least give him a chance. I know we've got a history for big spends not producing much,we can only hope things are about to turn for the better. the return of Solano is a great move. I can't wait for Boxing Day match! david gluck
when you bought shearer you got back your full money's worth here when you bought owen the team will build confidence he will build up himself and we will actually get somwhere in the end. ari gluck
great signing. when you spend quality you get quality. no point spending small money on small names. we bought shearer for £15 and he's given back a lot in return. Anne
I am more excited about Lee Clark coming back, at least he will play with all of his heart. Wait until MO wants transfer after the world cup..will he still be the toon,s hero then!!!! Ashley and Louise
Absolutly brilliant, we'v brought the best player back to the priemiership! Are season can only get better!! We LOVE YOU MICHAEL!!!!! Sanz
What a signing! CUM ON U MAGPIES!!!!!!! Lisa
he is a wicked signing fro anyone that is smart enugh to get ahold of him, but i think nufc was foolish to spend so much money on him, becuase RM got him for 8million some investment for them. mohamed osman
i think owen he is a great player and he can change the title of newcastle and also he will become the scorer of premiership and newcastle will get a new title in the league Dicky, Washington
whoah there little ladies, win the premiership, have you bought Owen or a magic wand? Lets see how things pan out before you start jumping the gun. Dont get carried away now, you still got Souness :) Least NoB will fit in well, he's a bit handy with his fists/elbows/feet. DingDing round 1!!! tompa
fantastic signin well chuffed we have him we have one of the best strikers in the world and along side alan shearer i think we will achieve alot more than what we got last season Leslie
brilliant signing. for those of you who are STILL complaining, u dont deserve 2 support the toon. weve just bagged what we need.....one of the best strikers in the world....and still we have sceptics. THERE IS NO GET OUT CLAUSE!!!! just wait till hes scoring the goals u will worship him then...until then its an amazing signing hats off 2 freddy and souness and of course shearer, great news HOWEVER U LOOK AT IT!!!! jane
what a great signing, best since shearer. im so glad weve managed to pull this one off its going to give us a great season. great for shearer too, the two playing together will get us alot of goals. bring on the likes of man utd and arsenal! Dan
This got to be up there with one of the best signings we have made.Are season should kick off now starting with Fulham. Hamza Nkuutu
I am totally over the moon that Owen has signed for Newcastle. Ithing it is a great signing that any Magpier should cherish. I am probably the sole United fan back in my small central african country of Rwanda, capital Kigali. Long live Freddy Shepherd NUFC Fan
Let set things straight here. Owen has played for liverpool all his footballing carrer, you can see how tempting it is to go back there. But at the end of the day, who REALLY wanted him? Finally, there is NO get out clause for £12m!!! Best of luck for owen, just wait till he walks on that pitch with 50,000 geordies cheering him! Geordie Asian
I think just as important was the signing of Nol Solano, (its a pity the toon couldnt get Bernard back as well, he's on trial at Bolton last i heard!!) But Solano was the best crosser of the ball by far in this team, and thats what shearer needs more than Owen!! With Emre, Parker, Bowyer/Dyer and Solano i think we now have quality to provide chances for the front two of Shearer and Owen, on occasions all 5 midfielders should play with shearer sitting out and Owen running the line on his own!! Dan, London
It's a great signing for the club, at £16 million it's a lot of money, but Owen is a proven goalscorer and will repay the Toon with 20-goals a season. Puffadder [LocoTes]
Owen, Luque, Emre, Parker, Solano all great signing... but Owen is a WORLDCLASS signing.. GO MICHAEL SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT!! =D =D =D =D Sam Elliott
I think its a great signing for the toon!! We will move up the league fast. Welcome to the toon army Michael!! Peter McDougall
What a sign Owen at my club now we have england past,present and future! lucy
i think this signing is great. i will really burst newcastle back onto the scene of great football. Michael Owen is a top player and one of the greatest goal scorers on the modern scene. Real Madrid are stupid for not wanting him and i believe he is gonna go to greater heights this season! manchester utd fan
i think owen wil ban excellent signin 4 nufc. i kinda hoped he`d join us but we already hav 2 of the best forwards in the world ruud and roon wel done shepard its about time you put your hand in your pocket man u wil stil always beat nufc any way David Ravenhall
owen is a great player and i think i should of joined man u but nistelrooy is better thats why he is at newcastle simple fact darren
are u watching liverpool!! Malcolm - Exiled geordie in california
Realistically, we have played arsenal away (did we really expect anything greater than a point... so we lost, we played man utd at home not exactly a 3 pointer u look at when u see the seasons fixtures, so a dull draw and a loss at bolton... anyone remember few seasons ago? knocked out of intertoto... silly start to season... we finished in top 4, with parker, emre, dyer(when fit and behaving), shearer, owen, luque... the back four will tighten up with taylor in it regularly... were back baby!! haway the lads Bobby Lane
I am a Wolves supporter - here in the States - but I feel so happy for Newcastle United, home of some of the world's most passionate supporters and probably England's most ardent club backers. You have to be happy for them and Michael. He will thrive there and this will undoubtedly kick-start a revival of sorts on Tyneside. Oh, and Souey can fold up those cardboard moving boxes in his garage for at least another eight months or so, until his No. 9 moves in to take over the lease at Tyneside! adam jones
I feel that newcastle signing owen is a brilliant move for everyone. Newcastle get there Goalscorer. Madrid get £16 million. Owen gets regular football. And Theres going to be a massive morale boost in tyneside. This will hopefully enable us to push for european places. Also souness has the chance to proove he's a good manager for the club. Also Noone can say Freddy Shepard hasn't forked out after hes spent over £35 million and weve started to fet a reputation as the chealsea of the north-east, all i can say is HARD LUCK LIVERPOOL! JIMBO
Owen, fantastic player and a nice bloke by all accounts. he will score too few, lets face it Newcastle are not very good and they have a very very volitile manager who won,t be there come next May. The whole dam thing is sick sick sick anyway cause of the stupid money envolved. What about the NHS & the poor disadvantaged, not to mention the poverty all over two thirds of the world. When are we gonna get real. Think about it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! leazes battersby
excellent signing but still need more, a left back and some width to provide for MO. happy for now SHOBZ-Newcastle
We have great strikeforce-Luque,Shearer,Owenand Ameobi- 3 outta 4 english-go toon army bill turks @caicos islands
mission now must be to achieve european place @hopefully silverware this season Ken, Atlanta, USA
As a frustrated geordie, living abroad I can tell you this is what the Toon needed. Let's face it he's still young a proven goal scorer at every level he's played. It reminds me of when we signed Super-Mac and remeber he scored a hat-trick on his debut. Ha'way the lads. Mark, Durham
Great signing. Was there today and the atmosphere was great just the boost the team needs hopefully Owen and Shearer will send us up the table. Tracy
Great signing. He will be a hero like Shearer and most of all we have a top british striker. Nico
It might be misplaced scepticism, but do you think Mr Shepherd has created a smokescreen for which is ultimately what Michael Owen wanted, a year long loan deal. It seems strange to have this get out clause after one year. It seems Freddie has got the fans from his back and given Michael what he wanted. He has been transformed from public enemy no. 1 into a hero in 24 hours and it will be Owen the villain if, as I fear, he walks away after the world cup. I think Owen has the potential to be as big a hero as Al, but is his heart in the north east or his beloved north west. I hope to be proved wrong and Owen to be a toon player for the extent of his contract as he really is world class. I wish him and our team all the best for the forthcoming season as we desperately needed a big signing like him, even if it is for 12 months. Willy
The toon's ganna enter the big stage and be known for the passion and belief that seeing football signings in black and white brings. Howay! Toon Army! Steven Robinson (robbo)
Absoultly class day atmosphere waz amazing, Owen wicked signin. CUM ON DA TOON!!!! Mal Walker
Great news, Owen is honest to say he would have liked to go home first. But now he will give his all for Newcastle and you can't ask more than that. Other supporters 'Go cry in your beer' Birmingham Mag
Well done NUFC. Great to see some good news and some positive press for once. Let's enjoy the moment and be proud of the supporters and the club. How many people will watch the news today and hear the word 'passionate'. Howay the toon. Paul
As a Liverpool fan living on Merseyside can i say i hope Michael is the player you are looking for to set the club alight.I have always had a soft spot for Newcastle and hope he can bring you some overdue silverware hopefully not at the expense of Liverpool though.. James, Liverpool
He's a great team player/goalscorer. We're (Liverpool) top heavy with forwards and Rafa won't pay 17 mill when he sold him less than 18 months ago for 8 mill. Good luck to you and him but you won't be a top 3 team by having him alone. We should know. JEFF MITCHELL
fantastic news, of course he would prefer liverpool, just as clarkie would prefer the toon. hes a pro and will get us back competing, long live the entertainers, never mind not winning anything we need to be competitive and score goals. PS why is there so many pulled muscles etc in todays game, is it over training, bad diet or not warming up correctly. well done Freddy. Michael, Liverpool
Speaking as an Everton fan, not a Liverpool fan, I hope your chairman, is not leading you into another Leeds scenario. It would good to see Newcastle become a top five/six club. However, I would be worried if Owen will really see out the whole of that four year contract (you want see the size of his house in North Wales, if you know want I mean). Victor (Baden-Baden)
He is just the man we needed. When a team has a bad run, something special has to happen to return a sense of belief and purpose...for the fans as well as for the team itself. Newcastle is an attacking outfit...it's not enough to tighten up defence when we're not threatening the opposition's goal. If Michael starts well...this will kick-start our season. Maggie May
Changes nothing until Newcastle start building a team rather than buying expensive stars. Scoob
17 Million. Over to you now Mr Owen. Do the business on the pitch and we the fans will treat you like a god. You have not experienced hero worship like the Toon Army give, even at Liverpool. No one is more passionate about football than us. Week in and week out we go to matches and fill the stadium even if we have no trophies to show for it. Football is in our blood and always will be. Gareth Sewell
What about when Liverpool put in £12 million in summer- we cannot refuse it because of his clause...therefore, Owen is just an expensive loan player! Malcolm Perth Australia
The only reason I have satellite TV is to watch United. Getting MO is out of the storybooks and he WILL make a difference along with the other newies Parker, Emre, and Luque once they play together. I agree with others that a winger and a left back plus the workers we already have and it SHOULD be Europe next year. Then the wife won't moan about the TV fee and complain about me being up at 4 in the morning for NOWT. bails, Sydney
Fantastic, now we have an outside chance of returning to tangle with the Big Boys in Europe.NUFC are lucky to get him, considering the state of the rest of the team (Alan exempted) Malcolm (Tokyo)
I think Owen is one the best strikers in the world, but he's made it obvious he doesn't really want to come to Newcastle. The ultra-loyal Toon fans deserve better than this, and so do the players. Owen is just a bone thrown to them by ineffectual and brain dead management. david hebson
an excellent signing ,a top class player at a top class club.best of luck at the toon owen. David Doherty
Wonderful signing,lets hope Michael comes to play,still only 25,his best years ahead of him.Great job by the chairman,manager and Alan. Peter, Poland
OK, but we still have not a lot players with ability to improvise. Under Souness they are just workers. scotty bear
give greame the time and he'll do the business. Owen's the man to score the goals but who's gonna set them up? Paul, Gosofrth
Its not going to be success over night, but least its something to get excited about at last. Les Payn
Well of course Owen prefered Liverpool first - he is a scouser ! Do you remember when Alan Shearer opted for Geordieland instead of Manchester United ? Just rejoice and stop your bloody whinging !! Paul, Prudhoe
Who could resist the "Rolls Royce Treatment!!" An awesome signing! JC Bedlington
People who say Owen has made the wrong move are only jealous.He will be a huge hit at Newcastle. ian
If Owen is worth 17million, WHAT ARE THE NURSES IN THE RVI WORTH? Danny MacGee
Where are the wingers, where is the flair & the craft. We have a defensive midfield. Who will provide the through balls or crosses for our strikers. Les Brown - Hebburn
Great Signing; I raise my glass of Whiskey to Shepherd and Souness. I did not expect Owen to sign but go to Liverpool. Owen and Luque in attack, The Toon Army can only now hope for a european place. Howay the lads. Stevie Knowles
Great news on owen, lot's of hard work done. Now let's get the right side vacated by solano sorted...Will he come back???? Let's hope so. Wal (West Moor)
Exciting signing but when will we learn that the cult of the personality does not work in football? We are still several players short of a team that will challenge for honours and we are, after all, the second biggest club in England. neil matthew
third choice by owen for a third rate club. the sooner shepeard and souness go the better ST, Warwickshire
Great news! I just knew that the temptation of playing with shearer and of becoming one of the many Newcastle legends was just to exciting to turn down. I think that come the unravelling of him at 1pm tomorrow the hole of the sir john hall stand is going to be packed with Geordies and then Owen will know he’s made the right chose and that the Geordie football lover’s adore him! BRING ON FULHAM!!! Tim McKagan
Time will obviously tell but I can't see this transfer as anything other than brilliant. Owen WILL score goals and now he's signed, others of his quality will follow in the future. Newcastle are capable and should finish in the top 6, if not top 4. Only 4 games have gone, there's plenty of time to go up the table. It's times like this I'm so glad and PROUD to be a Geordie. I wonder how the Mackems are feeling right now...har har. Phil. Chester-le-Street
At last we have something to cheer about. Could Owen be the missing piece of the Jigsaw, or will he simply help Souness outstay his welcome? kenny yates
its a great day for the geordie nation shearer is our king we now also have our prince Davy Scott
All we need now is Robert and Solano on the wings MG, North Shields
Fantastic news for the club, fans and Newcastle area. Now lets get on with the football and let these Hollywood footballers earn their Hollywood wages and get us up to where we should be!!! Norm (Toronto)
Well done! I'm still reeling over here. If only there were a proper medical staff to ensure that he (and everyone else) doesn't limp off in 30 minutes with a strain/pull/tweak... HOWAY THE LADS!!!! mark gilfillan
Best thing to happen to newcastle since shearer came now owen the best 2 english strikers in the England. Newcastle to win the prem!!!!!!!!! Elaine, London
At the end of the day, it's only a game of footie, isn't it! But it is good to see Owen back in England. Best of luck to him. | 
