No get-out clause for Owen: Shepherd

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd today insisted there is no clause in new signing Michael Owen’s contract which will allow him to leave the club after just a year.

Speaking as the Magpies prepared to unveil the 25-year-old England striker at noon, Shepherd admitted there are a series of clauses in the agreement which will govern his four-year stay on Tyneside, but none allowing a get-out after 12 months.