Tottenham’s first choice goalkeeper from last season says that he knows Spurs have other long term plans but that he still expects to stay on for another campaign. Brad Friedel signed on a two year deal last summer and stated that he is happy to see new arrivals.
“We will welcome any good addition to the squad,” said the American international.
“When I first signed here, there was no secret Tottenham would one day need a new long-term goalkeeper. I am 41, this could be my final season.
“I will do whatever asked of me, whether that is number one, two or three and will do it to the best of my ability.
“When you get older, it is easier to realise this is a team sport and the egos have to take a back seat if you want to be successful.”
There’s been plenty of speculation concerning a deal for French international Hugo Lloris and Brad has probably been around long enough to understand the club’s intentions if this happens. From his comments however, it seems as if he may be happy to hang around as the deputy and that could also be a good option for the club.
‘”theres a old saying”if its not broke,dont try to fix it”friedel has hardly put a foot(or hand)wrong since he came to spurs.horror of horrors hes 41.lets get rid of him because hes 41.not because hes lost form.madness.by all means buy a 25 year old with promise to learn from him.these stories of braizlian pair flying in and french goaly following are just storys.both clubs have rubbished these storys.the silly season has started.
Brad was great for us last season — even more with the stability he brought to the back line than his (good) keeping skills. I also think he would be able to put in a comparable performance this year.
The problem is that if AVB uses his expected style then our keeper will need to be more of a sweeper/keeper than traditional. Cech had trouble with that transition and Brad has even worse stats than Cech in those specific ‘sweeper’ areas.
Great article about that: http://www.eplindex.com/16173/friedel-survive-villasboas-tottenham-compared-petr-cech.html
He seems willing to help out wherever he can and if nothing else he’s a solid backup and a great mentor for any of the young keepers we’ve been linked with.