Only a passing reference, admittedly. Friedel's on the list, as are a few other, reportedly excellent (and cheaper) keepers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/2828395.stm Also, note Barthez's "It seems I am not good enough, I don't know what my future is now." Almost sad, really.
Well, Brad followed Souness all the way to Blackburn, and the fans love him to death. I'd be surprised if he left. I don't think it's impossible, merely improbable. My girlfriend, who became a Blackburn supporter primarily because of Friedel, would be royally pissed...! And that Barthez remark... He's certainly not tops in the premiership, but he's still a very good keeper. I'm sure he'll find a home for a few more productive years.
If Blackburn sells Friedel, that's a signal to their fanbase that they aren't trying to win anything. They're not trying to get into the Champions League, they're not trying to pull off another title. So, to me, the money they'd get for selling Friedel (in this market) isn't likely to be more than they'll lose from lack of fan interest (revenue), payments for winning in cup competitions, etc. I mean, if not for the appalling number of points Blackburn dropped against the weak sisters of the EPL, they'd definitely be in the UEFA Cup, and be one of the teams fighting for the CL. If Souness can add a quality center back, and "teach" his team to avoid peaks and valleys, they definitely can get into the CL next year. But not if they sell their best player. The way I see it, the fee a GK will fetch, even from ManU, doesn't make financial sense for Blackburn. Wasn't that a buyout clause, rather than a negotiated transfer fee?
I would think that Chelsea would be more likely to sell Cudicini than Blackburn would be to sell Friedel. Bates needs to reduce his wage bill; you may see Hasselbaink and/or Gudjonsen let go this summer as well...
Sure he would. Duff will go there if United want him. They just have to come up with the big bucks. Remember Berg, Cole and Yorke all went from Man Utd to Blackburn. But Friedel will not end up in Old Trafford with United. Look at the list, anyone who's played a good game recentlt is being mentioned. Purely press speculation.
Yeah, my heart really goes out to him. Let's see, at 31, he's a World Cup winner, European Championship winner, European Cup winner, French League Championship winner, EPL winner, voted World's Best Goalkeeper in 2001, and unless he's a complete moron, set for life financially.
Well, if Blackburn were to do this, they could easily pick up (Ruiz or Wolff or Mcbride or Twellman), Howard, and Bocanegra at a minimum in exchange for the transfer fee they would have received from Friedel. I would do it if I were Souness. But then again, I doubt he would pick up three yanks.
If BBC (via NRP) and Soccernet are to be trusted, Manure are targeting Anntti Niemi, Paul Robinson and Carlo Cudicini to replace Barthez. Note that neither Niemi, Robinson nor Cudicini is Brad Friedel. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=265617&cc=5901 My guess is that Blackburn will put a too hefty a pricetag on Friedel, just as they did when Liverpool targeted Duff last summer.
Exactly. Those are the same names being mentioned as people Arsenal are rumored to want. Brad will play one more season at Blackburn and then if they haven't won anything more will look to move on. Playing in Spain or London would be his preferable destinations.
Re: Re: Re: Friedel to ManU? Not only that, he's from France, where stepping out is encouraged. Who says we live in a free society?
if the URL ends in a .uk and it talks about transfer speculation, it has about a 5% chance of being true.