NEWCASTLE UNITED received the better end of the bargain when they agreed to pay a club record £16m to replace the wayward Craig Bellamy with England hero Michael Owen.

That was goalkeeper Shay Given's verdict after helping Graeme Souness' side to their first league win since April at Blackburn on Sunday.

Owen opened his account for Newcastle with a predatory near-post header at Ewood Park and showed Bellamy, who was sold for £5m in the summer, how things should be done in front of goal.

The fiery Welshman had been hoping to use the match to prove Souness wrong for off-loading him after a public row nine months ago, but it was Newcastle's new No 10 who stole the show.

Owen has started life on Tyneside in exactly the sort of manner the football world has come to expect over the past eight years.

At Liverpool he scored 118 in 193 league appearances, while at Real Madrid he hit 13 in 20 La Liga starts. He is also ranked fourth among England's leading scorers, having netted 32.

Given, who spent four years with Bellamy at Newcastle, said: "Michaels' goals per game ratio is phenomenal. Centre-forwards get paid to put the ball in the net and there's not many better.

"I suppose that's why players like Michael cost so much. Everyone wants those type of players. The hardest thing to do is put the ball away and he has been doing it for a long while.

"At Blackburn, Michael got across the defender (Ryan Nelsen) and met Charles N'Zogbia's cross with a fantastic header. That's a huge lift and I'm sure he will be pleased to have scored in only his second game."

As well as Owen getting off the mark, Alan Shearer ended more than 25 hours of football without a goal - an incredible drought by his standards.

But, having edged to within five of Jackie Milburn's 200-goal club record, Given is predicting Shearer will go on to end his last season in the game by doing what he does best - scoring goals.

"From where I was standing at Blackburn it was nice to see Alan score," said Given, who insists all the good work on the training ground must carry on ahead of Saturday's home fixture with Manchester City.

"We have said it many times before but when there's a free-kick on the edge of the box Alan's your man. The power he gets behind it makes it difficult for the keeper to see it. I was relieved to see it hit the back of the net. That will probably see him go on a run now.

"We will make sure we do exactly the same against City. If we work hard in training we can seriously think about getting our first win at home. That is what the supporters deserve and it would be great to give them something to shout about."

By the time Stuart Pearce brings his City side to St James' Park, Newcastle should have Emre and Kieron Dyer back in the squad after hamstring injuries, while Scott Parker will be back from suspension.

After Sunday's first three points of the season, Given claims the whole squad is far more confident than they were last week when the vultures circled above the head of manager Graeme Souness.

"When we got that first goal at Blackburn you could see it gave everyone a real lift. We have been lacking goals but we got three on Sunday and it has lifted us all. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come," said Given.

"There has been a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. The pressure was mounting on us all because we had gone five games without a victory. We were second bottom and that is not acceptable for a club of this size.

"There's nothing like winning a match to lift confidence when you have waited for so long for three points."

Defender Steven Taylor will miss Saturday's match with City through suspension after his sending off at Blackburn.

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