The immediate reaction to Michael Owen joining Manchester United on a two-year deal must be: Is Sir Alex Ferguson taking a gamble? Will the risk backfire on him next season?

To be honest, I don’t get this at all. If Ferguson was spending £10m to £15m on Owen, then, yes – it would be a calculated gamble. The reality, though, is that he is getting someone with a tremendous scoring record in the Premier League for free. How is that taking a gamble?

Even the wages aren’t going to set United back too much as it is being suggested that Owen will take a significant pay cut on his salary at Newcastle.

I appreciate that when people talk of this ‘gamble’, they are not always referring to financial matters. Instead, they point to Owen’s injury problems. There is no hiding from the fact that he has suffered with a few knocks in the last couple of years at Newcastle.

However, Owen still made 32 appearances for the Geordies last year and they weren’t exactly in many competitions for too long, were they? Didier Drogba didn’t play many more games for Chelsea - and they reached the latter stages of the Carling Cup, FA Cup and Champions League.

The other factor in the ‘gamble’ is in regard to Owen’s ability as a player. Some have suggested that the one-time Liverpool man is past his best. How ridiculous!

Owen is still only 29 and has the ability to score plenty of goals in the Premier League. It was only four years ago that he was banging them in left, right and centre for Real Madrid. Then he joined Newcastle United and it hasn’t quite happened.

To be honest, though, who would have had a decent time at Newcastle in the last four years? They have been on a downward spiral and have become a very poor team. Owen thrives on decent service from his teammates and this hasn’t happened during his time at St James’ Park.

He deserves to be at a top club and he deserves to be given credit for his record and his ability. Ferguson may well have pulled off a fantastic transfer coup here and for next to nothing in terms of money. How can this be a gamble?

Owen joining Newcastle United was a gamble that backfired. For him, joining Manchester United at this stage of his career simply doesn’t fall into that category.