Curbishley contact is denied by United
Jun 15 2009 By Mark Douglas, The Journal
Although there has been bemusement away from Tyneside that Shearer is the choice of most United supporters, that neglects the sterling work done behind the scenes during his two months in charge.
Shearer certainly has the support of the dressing room and his reputation in football would aid United’s recruitment efforts hugely.
It is an indication of his pull that one of his targets – Jermaine Beckford of Leeds – favours a move to St James’s Park because he wants to learn from the best English striker of his generation.
Meanwhile, former United goalkeeper Shay Given has repeated his call for Shearer to be appointed as soon as possible.
"I think he is the right guy to move the club forward. He’s got great respect in the game," he said.
"He is a great ambassador for football and I think he would be the ideal man to move the club in the right direction.
"He is a leader off the pitch and now he is going to be a manager he can be a leader more so than when he was captain. He has got the qualities to be a top manager."
Given said that he watched on in horror as Newcastle slid towards the Championship but is now calling for his old club to move on and start afresh.
"I’m not going to sit here and start pointing fingers. I think most people know about what has gone wrong and who is to blame," he said.
"It is not about blaming people and pointing fingers any more. A lot has been said and a lot has been written.
"It’s about moving the club forward. They have been relegated and it’s about getting them back to the Premiership where they belong.
"It’s a club that deserves to be in the Premier League."
MICHAEL Owen’s management company have compiled a brochure on the striker in a bid to win him a move back to the Barclays Premier League.
Wasserman Media Group has sent the document, which highlights the strengths of the former Liverpool man over a reported 34 pages, to a select group of top-flight clubs.
Owen has struggled with injury since joining Newcastle from Real Madrid in 2005 and has fallen out of the England frame.
The 29-year-old is out of contract this summer and, following Newcastle’s relegation from the Premier League, is looking for a transfer to revive his flagging career.
Sam Rush, chief operating officer of WMG, said: "Although there has been interest from abroad, Michael has told us that he would prefer to stay in the Premier League.
"In the week after the season ended, we prepared a document showing all the information an interested club would require and this was circulated to a select group.
"We also included a medical report and answers to frequently asked questions as well as a review of his commercial benefits and international name awareness."
