Never has a player been universally loathed on Tyneside like the morally corrupt Owen. Costing a club record £16 million from Real Madrid in 2005 he was meant a herald a new era at Newcastle, first playing alongside and then replacing Shearer upon his retirement. It was a transfer that caught the imagination of supporters as they turned out in their thousands at his unveiling at St James' Park. Little did they know that four years later they would be cursing the day he set foot inside the club. Combining his transfer fee and wages Owen cost the club a jaw-dropping £30m over four injury-plagued years. In total he pulled on a black and white shirt 70 times and scored 30 goals - A half-decent scoring record of a goal every 2.6 games which ever way you look at it - but one that failed to justify a £100,000-a-week salary. But it was Owen's perceived lack of heart that makes him such a despised figure, transforming into a shrinking violet when the club needed a shot of inspiration from its captain as we sank towards the Championship. Possibly the most undeserving player to be ever given the honour of pulling on armband.
