I haven't seen this, but here goes. In the April issue of Four Four Two, the Rumour Mill column says that Arsenal is trying to get Friedel as the long term replacement for Seaman. 442 has no links. Sorry. Who knows? I haven't seen BS discuss this....
yep, saw this in the magazine as well... he isnt going to come cheap. he signed an extension with blackburn right before the world cup last year and i think he really enjoys playing there; i cannot imagine blackburn dumping brad, duff, and dunn all in one summer...but i guess it could happen.
Re: Re: Friedel to Arsenal? that would be committing premiership suicide. i sincerely hope souness doesn't let this happen. brad has a great situation at ewood park. he's already the best goalie in the world, and he doesn't need arse to tell him so.
I heard something about this a while ago, but I thought it had died out. And if Arsenal offers up an excessive amount of money, its not likely that Blackburn will turn it down.
the Arse don't have the cash needed to sign him. read up. they aren't talking about signing anyone, unless they can get rid of a big salary like Bergkamps.
Ahh... a triangle of keepers. I'm surprised that Arsenal wouldn't go for Neil Sullivan... Reports out of Arsenal were that spending wouldn't be high this summer - but I think that theory will go out the window should they not win the premiership + have to make obvious upgrades. Sullivan would be cheaper than a Friedel - which would allow them to work on the field players/bench. They also are looking at the way things go with Viera.
If Arsenal wants a good keeper and does not want to pay for Friedel, they could pick up Kiley of Charlton. I am not sure what the price on him would be, but it would be less than Brad.
Wouldn't be high is the key. But that doesn't take into account high priced guys like Bergkamp or Kanu leaving. I think they could have the money, but I don't think Brad will leave until after next season.
Brad would go for a new American transfer record, a number upward of Cladio's move to Sunderland. My guess is at least 7 million pounds, maybe as high as 10 million. Given the Gunners other needs and the economic condition, will they be willing to pay the cash for a top keeper for the next five years. I dont know, thats their call. Plus, are they ready to push Seaman out the door? Buying Brad would make him useless.
I don't see it happening. Souness has so much faith in Friedel, and Friedel knows he's a big reason for his success. I don't think Friedel would want to leave Souness. Also, Rustu Recber is going to be a free agent this summer and has already said he wants to play for Arsenal (and he's younger).
I think they were going to sign the Brazilian WC keeper (name not handy) but had work permit problems because he hadn't appeared in enough of the games. During the England-Turkey qualifier last week, I heard that Arsenal was also interested in the Turkish national keeper, but I don't remember if it was from the announcer on TV or the guy sitting next to me at the pub. So take both bits with a grain of salt. d
True. Being a free is a big point. But Recber, while looking like he is in Friedel's class at the World Cup, has not done it consistently in a league like the EPL. Clubs like Arsenal care about things like that. I think the prices put on Friedel here are significantly too high.
Souness has centered the team around Friedel. Friedel has also gone from Liverpool to Turkey and now to Blackburn following Souness. I highly doubt that Friedel would want to go unless he was offered a huge pay increase.
I agree with you, but then I don't. My reading of the Blackburn fanbase is that they'd be very alienated if Rovers sold Brad. If he brought in an obscene amount of money, common sense suggests that would go a long way toward placating the fanbase. But selling him for a non-obscene transfer fee would a) get rid of a fan favorite and b) indicate that the club has no ambitions beyond sitting around in midtable. I think the Rovers fans expect more. This might be a case where Brad is worth more to Rovers than he's worth on the open market.
Are you suggesting that someone has built an entire team around a GK? To cater to his styles/tendencies?
I can't speak for Soccermutter, but Souness probably did build the team around BF. Knowing that BF likes to make spectacular saves, Souness has made sure that Blackburn has a somewhat leaky defense so that he can showcase BF's talent. OK, may be not the entire team, just the defense.
well, who does Blackburn have on the bench backing up Friedel? Could that guy step in and be a first-string 'keeper for any other Premiership teams? If he can, then he could probably do the same for Blackburn should Friedel be sold.
OK..so you are saying he signed a shaky defense on purpose..so he could watch brad bat away spectacular shots?? I guess i just have a problem with the notion that any team is built "around" a keeper. Brad is probably their MVP, but conceptually a team's style is not dictated form the nets..and is done much more so from the field.
Amen. He played great during WC but hasn't held form in the Turkish league. He plays well in high profile matches, so maybe he's worth the money if it saves Arsenal's money for other players? I'd still prefer Friedel any day...
Player/manager loyalty is invaluable. If BF goes to Arsenal, he would just be another good player on a great team. He probably wouldn't get the credit for any success. If he stays put, he would possibly be considered a cornerstone of future Blackburn success. They may be only a player or two away from a serious run in Europe. I wouldn't dump BF given that situation.
Blackburn might be ready for a run in the UEFA Cup. They're more than a player or two away from the CL. What's a run in the UEFA Cup worth?
he might not have built the team around brad... but he has a certain liking of brad and has brought him just about every single place that he has been as a manager the past 8 years or so, in that aspect i guess you could say that he thinks very, very highly of brad as a GK if he is constantly trying to buy him for the team he is managing...that is all. the problem is the rumor is that dunn and duff <when healthy, their two best players> are probably going to be out this summer and on to another team. duff is being courted by just about every major team in the epl and the word around town is that he is gone...to be a team with a uefa cup run they need to retain both dunn and duff.
Can you imagine, 2 or 3 years from now, Man United vs Arsenal for the title, Brad Friedel vs Tim Howard (Man U is rumored to be interested in Howard), and the winner will be the 2006 starting keeper for the World Cup. Just a pro yankee thought, I hate keepers. James