Michael Owen claims he wants to make his peace with the Liverpool fans who gave him such a frosty reception on his return to Anfield on Boxing Day. The Newcastle striker suffered at the hands of the Anfield crowd when he returned with the Magpies in a 2-0 Premiership defeat.
It was the first time he had been back to the club with a rival team since leaving for Real Madrid in an £8million deal in the summer of 2004, but his comments in the newspapers prior to the game added fuel to the flames. He said he was "sick to death" of Scousers saying he snubbed a return to Anfield, and that he "would celebrate if Newcastle scored against him". Nothing wrong with that, I'm sure, but the Scousers weren't too impressed.
He told The Sun: "It was strange going back on Boxing Day. I certainly didn't love every minute of it. People have talked about the 'hostile' reception. But I'd say the fans just took the mickey out of me. It wasn't nasty and they didn't insult me. It was more jokey. My family are from Liverpool, so I know what Scouse humour is like.
"I'm not sure what I expected. I suppose I expected a bit of a clap before the match, then a proper, hard game of football with some jokes and songs along the way. I got all of that except the clap at the start!
"Yet I still respect Liverpool and Liverpool still respect me. Even now, I get nice letters every day from Liverpool fans and I'm pleased to see them doing well."