So, he's gone, leaving a gaping hole at the wings and in the goal-scoring charts. He got what he wanted, a move to Real Madrid, and got the Glazers 80 million Pounds in return. Goodbye Cristiano Ronaldo!
Time, then, to welcome Manchester United's biggest, and so far, only signing of the summer so far - Michael James Owen.
But the question that must be on the lips of every Red Devils fan is - can Owen actually bring the record-breaking league title No. 19 to Old Trafford? Can he be a worthy successor to the illustrious Number Sevens in Man U colours - the likes of Best, Cantona, Beckham and C-Ron?
It isn't as though Owen can fit straight into Ronaldo's slot. The Portuguese star could be a midfielder, a left or right-winger and a striker all rolled into one. Owen, on the other hand, is a pure striker who, despite his gift for finishing, has never been one to create too many opportunities for himself or his partners. Plus, age and medical history are also not on Owen's side.
So, have United made a bad move? Especially when a striker in question happens to have scored 204 goals in 418 club appearances in England and Spain. Especially when, despite his reputation for being injury prone, he has played 31 league games in each of the last two seasons. And especially when your manager happens to be a wily fox, named Alex Ferguson.
Fergie has been known to pull rabbits out of hats with his formations. One look at the squad, as it stands, will reveal that the Scot will go for a normal 4-4-2, starting (from right to left) Anderson, Michael Carrick, Park Ji-Sung and Nani in the midfield and Rooney and Berbatov/Macheda up front. The old legs - Giggs, Scholes and Owen, will be given short bursts on the whole, and maybe held back for pressure situations.
If Rooney and Berbatov start, they will either play side-by-side or with Berbatov staying back, to let Rooney pressure the defence with his pace. Anderson and Nani will form a pacey wing-duo, with the work-ethic of Park coming in handy in a weakened midfield. If Fergie does go-for-broke with Macheda, though, one might see Rooney hanging back and playing provider.
Ferguson himself has indicated, Owen is more likely to have a bench-role. In the last four seasons, all for Newcastle, Owen has scored 7, 0, 13 and 10 goals. Even the most optimistic United fan will not expect more than 15 goals from the Chester-born man. Off the bench, his role might be reduced to the region of 7-10 goals.
But even though the deck looks heavily stacked against him, one would be ill-advised to write-off Owen. After all, he has got off to a great start, playing in both pre-season games against Malaysia XI and scoring the winning goal on each occasion.
Owen has a lot more on his side - arguably the best medical staff in the country, a street-smart manager who can rotate his players to extract the maximum out of them, and that one quality that a four-year stint without top-flight football can give to champion players.
Fire in the belly.
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