Countdown conundrum

Despite no longer having any connection to the club Fat Fred (remember him?) continues to be given airtime by the press. In his latest missive he has announced that Michael Owen's buy out clause (you know, the one for less than we paid for him, which Fat Fred said didn't exist) apparently expires at midnight tonight, and after that point England's Michael Owen is stuck in Newcastle until his contract expires or we decide to sell him.

If this is true, all well and good - at least the prospect of our losing a player for less than we paid diminishes slightly, although should we now choose to sell him, I doubt we'd get a great deal of money up front.

However, given Fat Fred's record on the subject of Michael Owen's contract, I think it probably best to take any comments with a pinch of salt.