To put it lightly ... Owen was lucky not to be substituted when Kinnear hauled off Martins ... who was Newcastle's only threat up front all game.Owen took stick for his effortless performance, and so did Kinnear for leaving him on the pitch!
Kinnear Defending Owen ... Or Himself?
To put it lightly ... Owen was lucky not to be substituted when Kinnear hauled off Martins ... who was Newcastle's only threat up front all game.Owen took stick for his effortless performance, and so did Kinnear for leaving him on the pitch!
Kinnear: "I thought some of the comments about Michael Owen's display on Saturday were a bit out of order and well over the top.
"Yes, Michael had a quiet game by his high standards, but the coaching staff on the bench could see how hard he was working, and we felt he did a lot of unselfish running for the team.
"This was backed up when we had a look at the video after the game and studied each individual performance and saw what Owen had done.
"Our big regret at Middlesbrough on Saturday was that none of the chances we created came Michael's way, but this was not necessarily his fault.
"He kept running into goalscoring positions, but he just never got the ball - and this is something we have to work on."