IT SEEMS so obvious now. Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema might all have estimable qualities as footballers, but they were lacking that vital ingredient. What Sir Alex Ferguson was looking for in a forward this summer was obviously an ability to discuss the horses likely to make the frame in a six-furlong maiden at Sandown.
Cynics will assume that Michael Owen's considerable knowledge of the form book will be more valued at Old Trafford than his diminished pace and rusty finishing instincts. That, though, would be to underestimate both the experience of Ferguson, and Ow
en's own determination to remind us of his abilities. Let's not get too misty-eyed. Owen's biggest advantage, from Ferguson's point of view, is his price-tag.
Signing Benzema or Ribery, had they wanted to go to Manchester, meant gambling £40million or so. If signing Owen is a gamble, it is, relatively speaking, £10 each-way. It's not unlikely that the erratic Frenchmen would have struggled to settle in the Premier League. Owen has played all but one season of his career in England, so he knows the demands.
United fans' traditional sense of entitlement has already been bruised by international superstars' disdain for the delights of north-west England. They won't be chuffed with the recruitment of Owen, not least because of all those years he spent at Liverpool. They may also be expressing a singularly English lack of appreciation for a player who, in a decade with the national team, established himself as the best forward since Gary Lineker.
Owen has scored 40 times in 89 appearances for the England team. And yet, for much of that decade there were regular voices questioning his right to a starting place. His Berlin hat-trick against Germany in 2001 should have attained him iconic status. Instead there were constant grumblings.
The problem was Owen's low-key personality which encouraged a lack of respect. As a teenager, with the world at his feet after that slalom through the Argentine defence, he could have appointed the team of marketing consultants, agents and fixers to make him the biggest name in world football. Instead he settled into a steady club professional at Liverpool, maintaining a ratio of a goal in less than every two games.
Ferguson noted Owen's demeanour in contrast to that of his own England star David Beckham. Owen was a country lad more at home on the golf course or at the track than in a nightclub. It's indicative of Owen's reticence that nobody knows what his wife looks like. He has never attracted the paparazzi in the manner of most of his former England team-mates.
He would have been happier as a one-club professional, but it was his misfortune to collide with Rafael Benitez's need to recast Liverpool in his own, Spanish, image, and to coincide with Real Madrid president Florent Perez's willingness to buy any footballer with a Ballon D'Or in their cabinet.
Held in disdain by the club and the manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo, he still scored 13 times to win over an initially-hostile Bernabeu crowd (they had been slow to forgive him for stealing that Ballon d'Or from Raul). If he hadn't been so obviously uninterested in asserting himself in the club's murky political infighting, it might have been interpreted as a great first season.
It was Owen's misfortune that his spell at Newcastle United was marked by the worst injury of his career, the cruciate ligament damage sustained at the 2006 World Cup, and by the worst spell of mismanagement ever witnessed at a Premier League club. A player with a star's entourage would have made their disenchantment very public. Owen remained dignified and subdued. Character must make a compelling argument for Ferguson. Certainly it would be difficult to find a greater contrast in attitude than that of Owen and Ronaldo.
Ferguson seems to view Owen as another Henrik Larsson: a proven international of reliable character to provide experienced back-up to younger players. From the player's point of view, it will be intriguing to see how much of his ambition remains. The key consideration is that 2010 is a World Cup year. If Beckham is dreaming of a swansong in South Africa, Owen can also be justified in hoping for a recall.
Fabio Capello's unwillingness to include Owen in his England plans was justifiable at the time due to Owen's injury problems. But if a fit Owen dovetails with Wayne Rooney, and if Ferguson rekindles the player's desire, Capello will be only too happy to fast-track him back into the England side. In Owen's language, it's about a 3-1 shot, but watch that price tumble.
SIR ALEX'S GAMBLES
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GOOD BETS• HENRIK LARSSON
Having played a match-winning hand in the 2006 Champions League final, the Swede returned home to Helsingborgs to end his career before a loan stint at Old Trafford. He only stayed for 13 games, scoring three times.
• ERIC CANTONA
That the inspirational Frenchman's qualities were ever considered a gamble may now seem laughable, but when he made the move from Leeds to United, it was far from a sure-fire success. Despite some notable flare-ups, his on-field influence was indisputable.
• TEDDY SHERINGHAM
When Cantona retired in 1997, Sheringham arrived from Spurs, but did not represent the continental flair some had banked on. He won over fans with his attacking play. His goal in the 1999 Champions League final win makes him part of United history.
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DODGY PUNTS• JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON
Having shelled out £28million on Veron in 2001, Ferguson was expecting a major impact. Instead, the Argentine turned in two seasons of inconsistency before being packed off to Chelsea.
• MARK BOSNICH/MASSIMO TAIBI
Faced with the impossible task of replacing Peter Schmeichel, Ferguson struggled to find a man up to the task. Two who tried were Australian Bosnich, signed amid a blaze of hype, and Italian Taibi, who made just four appearances.
• DIEGO FORLAN
With a price tag of nearly £7m, the Uruguayan's failure to score for 27 games ensured he earned plenty of criticism. His form eventually picked up, but his consistency at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid in subsequent seasons proves United never got the best of him.
