LAST time Michael Owen was at St James' Park, Azerbaijan coach Carlos Alberto branded him a "midget". Today, at the same ground, the 25-year-old will be unveiled as Newcastle's latest footballing great.

For a club that have won nothing of note in the last 36 years, the Magpies have proved surprisingly adept at enticing some of the best players in the land to Gallowgate.

Eight years after the footballing world expressed its collective disbelief as Kevin Keegan paraded Alan Shearer in front of his adoring public, there will be an equally palpable sense of shock when Graeme Souness presents Michael Owen on the Tyneside turf.

Somehow, the Magpies have done it again. Just as the club looked to be hurtling into the abyss, a saviour has been found. One of the leading footballers in the land is about to pull on a black and white shirt.

Within the corridors of power at St James' Park, Owen's arrival has come as no great surprise. Souness identified the England international as his number one transfer target in May and, since then, the club's power-brokers have gradually worked towards his arrival from Real Madrid.

But, outside of the Newcastle boardroom, the prevailing mood is one of complete amazement. Last summer's unsuccessful pursuit of Wayne Rooney seemed to suggest the club's time amongst the English elite was up.

Why would Owen opt to join a club that was out of Europe, out of the title race and seemingly out of hope?

The striker might provide the answer to that question himself but, regardless of what he says as he is officially unveiled at St James' later today, the plaudits for his capture must be directed primarily at one man.

He might not be the most popular figure on Tyneside, and his much-publicised misdemeanours continue to leave a sour taste in the mouth, but Freddy Shepherd deserves enormous credit for making the dream of signing Owen a reality.

Persuading the striker to sign for the Magpies must have been difficult enough, but providing the funds to secure his signature proves an irrefutable commitment to remedying Newcastle's current plight.

Shepherd, who was taunted by his own fans at Bolton last Wednesday night, has come up with the goods when his club needed it most.

Since sacking Sir Bobby Robson last September, the United chief has funded the purchase of some £47.5m worth of new talent.

With the club's debt currently standing at £48.5m, that outlay is likely to require further borrowing. In turn, that borrowing requires a marked improvement on the pitch.

While Shepherd's position has never looked so secure following the capture of Owen, it is now time for Souness to deliver.

In the past, the Scot has attributed his side's poor run of form to a lack of both quality and depth at his disposal. From now on, that excuse will not wash.

Chelsea have spent more money than Newcastle this summer - just - but even Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking enviously at the multi-million pound fighting fund laid at Souness' door.

Since replacing Robson, the Magpies manager has signed a leading centre-half (Jean-Alain Boumsong), three international midfielders (Scott Parker, Emre and Albert Luque) and a world-class striker. Consequently, failure is no longer an option.

Robson was famously dismissed for failing to get Newcastle into the Champions League. A top-four finish might be too much to ask this term, but European qualification is now a minimum requirement.

The club's start to the season has been little short of disastrous - Kidsgrove Athletic in Unibond League Division One are the next club in the football pyramid not to have scored a league goal this term - and this week's events demand an immediate improvement in form.

Newcastle fans love a big name and, after nine years in the game, Owen is one of the biggest. But, if Alberto's "midget" is to turn into a Gallowgate giant, he will have to help the club achieve tangible success.

Thus far, even Shepherd has been unable to do that.