It’s fair to say the serialisation of Michael Owen’s new autobiography has caused a stir.

Owen’s ‘Reboot’ autobiography launches on Thursday and the little snippets that have emerged this week suggest it’s going to be a fascinating read.

Newcastle, Alan Shearer, David Beckham and Fabio Capello have already come under fire. It even led to a rather public spat between Owen and Shearer on social media.

One man that probably hasn’t been criticised in Owen’s book is Sir Alex Ferguson.

Owen’s football career was in limbo in the summer of 2009 after he left Newcastle at the end of his contract.

You’d think that a former Ballon d’Or winner at the age of 29 wouldn’t be struggling to find a club.

Especially after scoring more than 150 goals for Liverpool and enjoying one season at Real Madrid.

He even notched 30 goals in 79 appearances at Newcastle. But injuries were starting to take their toll and Owen was in search for a new club after the Magpies' relegation.

In fact, there was so little interest in signing the striker and his agent compiled a 32-page dossier trying to raise interest in signing 'the athlete; the ambassador; the icon.’

The dossier really is quite something.

It starts off with ‘The Opportunity’ as it attempts to tell clubs what they could be getting if they sign Owen.

It lists his goalscoring record for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle and England which stood at 0.56 goals per start.

Next up is an ‘Introduction to Michael’ which reveals some of his carer achievements to date.

But it’s page 12 that is our favourite. A list of Owen’s ‘Brand Values.’ These include ‘Cool,’ ’Stylish’ and ’Sincere.’ Amazing.

There is also a ‘Medical review’ by a professional physiotherapist, John Green. He examines Owen’s hamstrings, groins, virus and the future to dispel any belief that the striker is injury-prone.

Next up is ‘Tabloid stories (and the truth!) as the dossier looks to address some of the negative headlines regarding Owen.

They include:

‘Michael Owen is always injured’
‘He has lost his desire’
‘He made a mistake joining Newcastle’
‘He is not the goalscorer he was’
‘He travels to Newcastle from his stables in Cheshire every day by helicopter’
‘He is not as fast as he used to be and his fitness in questionable’

The dossier ends with a summary which begins: “In these difficult economic times, Michael Owen could be the best value signing of the summer following Newcastle’s relegation from the Premier League.”

It goes on to state that Owen is “Ultra professional, never late for training, a great presence in the dressing room, popular with teammates and backroom staff and a true ambassador for football.”

Read the full 32-page dossier HERE.



It seemed to do the trick as Ferguson took the gamble and signed him for Man Utd.

The medical report section of the dossier was probably incorrect, though, as Owen struggled with injury playing just 52 times in three seasons at the Threatre of Dreams.

There will always be that late winner in the Manchester derby at, though.