You all had to know who number one was going to be: the great hope of Newcastle United, and the man who would take over Shearers mantle once he retired. To this day Owen remains Newcastles record transfer, having cost them a princely £16m from Real Madrid. But what followed his signing was an all-too brief spell of good form followed by a horrible set of injuries, and a love of horses that just couldnt be tamed by football anymore. Of course, when Owen signed for Newcastle, every fan on Tyneside went crazy: they had a Galactico in their midst. Unfortunately they would not stay that happy for long. While during his time at Newcastle United, Owen did score 30 goals in 79 games, but those will not be remembered by the embittered fans who just remember the hopes they had, and how cruelly they were shot down. Owen cost the club a huge amount of money, to the point where they almost haemorrhaged it just to keep him. Owen was on double the wages of the likes of Alan Shearer at £110,000 per week and over the course of the four years he was with the club, he cost them almost £50m in wages and transfer fees. Overall it worked out to £1.3m per goal for Owen, and almost £500k for every appearance. Of course, no-one can say that it was all Owens fault: two horrible knee injuries halted his progress with the club and he couldnt get back into the form he was in at Liverpool or Real Madrid after those. Which other United players who failed to meet their potential belong on this list? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
