Owen shows his worth

Newcastle Utd 1 Bolton Wanderers 0: GARY MEGSON has a habit of dropping the name "Nic" into conversation. Tellingly, Bolton's manager looks distinctly wistful when discussing Nicolas Anelka, the France striker he "loved" coaching but lost to Chelsea last January.

Had Anelka still been around, Bolton would quite possibly have beaten Newcastle but, instead, the excellent Shay Given saved Kevin Nolan's penalty before Michael Owen stepped off the bench and headed a classic poacher's winner.

It left a relieved Kevin Keegan wreathed in smiles but nursing nagging fears that he, too, could soon be left pining for a departed striker.

On Wednesday Keegan will meet the Newcastle owner, Mike Ashley, and his fellow directors. Top of the agenda will be a decision on Owen's contract which expires in June and, if allowed to run down, would leave him a free agent next summer and able to talk to other clubs in January.

Yet although Keegan is desperate to retain the England striker, Ashley balks at Owen's €150,000 weekly wage and is seemingly determined to slash that salary. Meanwhile, rival managers watch with an interest half-dulled by the daunting remuneration package demanded by a deadly yet injury-prone striker.

Mumps and calf trouble ensured Owen took no part in pre-season and he only managed two days training last week. But his positional instincts remain undimmed and, shortly after replacing the injured Obafemi Martins, he made a scoring connection with a Geremi cross.

"As soon as Geremi gets the ball I come alive, he's a fantastic crosser," enthused Owen. "There are certain players who look for through-balls or look for this and look for that but Geremi likes to get it out of his feet and cross it quickly. I tried to get half a yard (on Bolton's defenders) and I was able to almost run on to the cross."

Megson's side was well-organised if uninventive and worth a point but lost their momentum after the otherwise impressive Nolan failed to capitalise from the penalty spot after Steven Taylor's handball.

Given the impending summit, Owen's timing could hardly have been better. "You'll have to ask them (Newcastle's board) if it's strengthened Michael's case but I wouldn't think it's done any harm," said Keegan. "We do all want him to stay, all of us, but we've got reach an agreement that's right for both parties. I think we're pretty close, we'll find out on Wednesday."

Owen's "pulling power" is surely vital at a time when St James' Park is no longer automatically sold out.

Indeed, with season tickets still on general sale, cash turnstiles, once seemingly obsolete here, were back in operation on Saturday.

• Guardian Service