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MALTATODAY 4 September 2019 Midweek

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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2019 21 SPORTS FOOTBALL MICHAEL Owen questioned Alan Shearer's loyalty to New- castle during a heated Twitter row about claims made in the former Liverpool striker's au- tobiography. Owen played alongside New- castle legend Alan Shearer at St James' Park during the 2005-06 season and then under his for- mer England team-mate when the latter returned to the club for a short and ill-fated tenure as manager in 2009. But in his book 'Reboot - My Life', Owen, who also played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Stoke, described why his injury-hit four-year spell with the Mag- pies ended up being one of his major career regrets and how his relationship with Shearer fell apart despite once being 'good mates'. Owen, who scored 30 goals in 79 games, wrote: "My move to Newcastle was one I really regret - I should have followed my gut instincts from the start. I didn't want to go there - my heart was still set on a return to Liverpool. "Liverpool couldn't match Newcastle's offer. From a ca- reer perspective, there was no doubt in my mind that a move to the North East was a down- ward step." In regards to a moment he was taken off injured in a game against Watford in 2007, he added: "I could hear Newcastle fans, my fans, singing 'what a waste of money!' as I'm being stretchered off. "I can't deny their actions that day changed things for me. No longer was I even going to at- tempt to ingratiate myself with the fans. Instead, I flipped it in a slightly more resentful way thinking, I don't need to jus- tify myself to f****** Newcastle fans." He also claimed the Toon army are "deluded" and not a "big club". Owen's final season with Newcastle was a disaster and ended in relegation on the fi- nal day when Shearer's side failed to get a point at Aston Villa. He wrote: "I told him that I wasn't fully fit but was pre- pared to play. As I left his office that day, he made an insinua- tion that led me to believe he thought I had half an eye on my next contract. I'm not stupid – we both knew I was out of con- tract in a few weeks. "It wasn't until three months later, I discovered that Alan Shearer was apparently seeth- ing with me. Not only that, it transpired that he was telling anyone who'd listen what he thought of me." Michael Owen's autobiography sparks Twitter row with Alan Shearer Alan Shearer and Michael Owen in happier times

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