I'm still fairly sure he'd be third best after Shearer and Ferdinand.

NOT FOR SALE

caps lock off ffs!

Bonus, i hope he's here for 5 years as well.

Thats a great sign of Big Sams man-management skills given that he's dropped Oba on more than one occasion this season.

Very promising. Just hope England don't come calling when the inevitable happens to Mclaren.

That's very true.  I can't get my head around why, with the goals he's scored, he's not talked about as one of the best in the Premier League. If he was playing for Arsenal he'd more than likely be 'the new Henry'.

I didn't say he was. I said if he played Arsenal, he'd be talked about in those terms. 

All this from Oba still won't stop the tits in the media speculating about him leaving us, no matter how many times he says he is happy and wants to be here, same thing with Owen.
All we have to do is ignore the press and listen to what our players say!!

He is getting better and better game by game and we are very lucky to have him.

I have to say, if he played for Arsenal and Adebayor played for us, I know which would be being raved about.

Doesn't matter anyway like, he's ours! 

Sigh.  I was using the Henry comparison to emphasise my point. I'm not saying he's in any way of the same ability as Henry.

The good thing is he seems to have gotten over the initial pressure of wearing the No.9. Honestly, I don't even think about Shearer when I see Martins now. Initially, I have to admit, I did think quite a bit about whether he'll be good enough for the shirt but over time he's proved himself capable of doing a job and is now on his way to making the shirt his own. I haven't felt this good about the club since we came 4th in Bellamy and Robert's first season

Imo we're heading in that direction so that's why I'm really optimistic about Sam's (and Ashley's) era.

Skirge -- are you saying you didn't think Owen gave his all v. Tottenham?  He did a lot of hard work, dropping to pick the ball up, linking play, holding the ball up...I assumed Sam took Owen off because he looked knackered.  After all, Owen's not exactly a big lad, not used to being asked to play link-up for his less-able partner (sorry, I've never been impressed with Oba's build up play, his passing is a major weak point and he has trouble with the ball at his feet, not off his chest) and I thought he worked his bollocks off for the team with little to show for it at the end of the day.  If Owen doesn't score, people assume he's played poorly or doesn't give his all.  He played very well, and I suspect he played exactly how he was instructed to play by Sam (dropping to get the ball, linking up...it's not Owen's instinctive play, I don't think).  All that suggests to me that he was definitely giving his all -- and willing to swallow the fact that such play does not always flatter him or win him anything but backhanded criticism. 

I'm not slating Martins, he scores some crackers.  But I hardly think he was the "pick of the forwards" v. Tottenham.  I think Owen is still the stronger option, if Sam decides to play with a big targetman (like Viduka) and I think Owen is simply the superior striker.  Overall, I think Owen showed a versatility against Tottenham that could serve the club very well.  Martins can and should learn a lot from playing with someone of Owen's class -- and that can only be good for Newcastle in the long run.  Because we could conceivably keep Martins for another 10+ years, and if he develops well he could be the next legendary #9.  In time.