Ex-United star rejected by UAE club

One of the strange things about racking up season after season on Championship Manager back in the 1990s was seeing contemporary young players ageing and not being worth having anymore.

The sight of a player who in real life was 18/19 losing his vital stats and his skills waning was a stark warning of the mortality of all humanity. Life lessons right there.

One of the players that was a superb example of this was Michael Owen; 18 at the time of Championship Manager 97/98 so it would take around 13-15 seasons for him to fall apart and not be worth happening anymore.

Keen fans of maths will realise that it is now around 15 years since that game and Owen now pretty much resembles his virtual counterpart at this time of the season and a Daily Mirror story today sums it all up really.

Owen, who was released by Manchester United earlier this month, was reportedly being hooked up by his agent to join United Arab Emirates outfit Al-Shabab for a final Middle Eastern payday but one small hitch has sprung up; Al-Shabab don’t really want him.

The club’s vice president Khalid Bu Humaid said: “There have been some talks and his agent is coming to Shabab Club tonight but there is nothing to confirm with regard to him signing or not. This is a general talk with no obligations. When someone calls us we listen to what they have to say and see what they have to offer But this part of the world is not the market for Michael Owen anymore."

Pretty damning really if a UAE club say you’re past it but the search for another club for Owen presumably goes on.

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