Tugay

[JacknOry]

bout that time of year i guess 

 

[bluebruce]

13 hours ago, JacknOry said:

bout that time of year i guess 

 

I feel like every day should be that time of year.

I love how he clearly shouts 'Fuck off!' after scoring that Fulham goal at the end.

[Upside Down]

Waste even that long ago that we had actual world class players wearing the famous blue and white halves.

[bluebruce]

28 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

Waste even that long ago that we had actual world class players wearing the famous blue and white halves.

Not that anyone was willing to admit it until they left us.

[Upside Down]

17 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Not that anyone was willing to admit it until they left us.

Come off it we all knew the likes of Tugay and Duff were absolutely first rate.

Granted some players got unnecessary stick but that's the same everywhere. 

[JacknOry]

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

I feel like every day should be that time of year.

I love how he clearly shouts 'Fuck off!' after scoring that Fulham goal at the end.

 

Absolute baller - we will all at least have those memories. Unless you're born too late lol

[bluebruce]

3 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Come off it we all knew the likes of Tugay and Duff were absolutely first rate.

Granted some players got unnecessary stick but that's the same everywhere. 

I'm not on about our fans.

[Upside Down]

47 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

I'm not on about our fans.

Ah right. Well fuck the media, they're just a bunch of jealous bastards. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I had a brilliant view of the Fulham goal from the JW upper. It flew in. Didn’t MGP get another terrific volley in the first half ?

[jim mk2]

22 hours ago, JacknOry said:

bout that time of year i guess 

 

 

Brilliant technique with all of those goals, balance, poise, head down, toe down, hit the laces through the ball.

Sheer brilliance 

[Ianrally]

I’ve been privileged to have seen some magnificent players in my time, Duggie was always my favourite, but it was an honour to see Tugay in the blue and white. What a talent, highly skilled and a showman to boot. And don’t forget we got two players for the price of one, Tugay and his mate who only Tugay could see ! 😀

[Neil Weaver]

4 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I had a brilliant view of the Fulham goal from the JW upper. It flew in. Didn’t MGP get another terrific volley in the first half ?

He did indeed...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlFYo0NwN8E

..... decent cross from the underrated Shefki too.  Think it was a season opening game wasn't it?  Must have been quite a Goal of the Season video that season.

[bluebruce]

4 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

 

Brilliant technique with all of those goals, balance, poise, head down, toe down, hit the laces through the ball.

Sheer brilliance 

Who else has ever scored only 13 goals (all competitions) for a club, and yet 10 of them are of that standard? Truly didn't score tap ins.

Unless my memory is bad, it didn't seem like he shot from distance very often, but when he did it was usually a quality effort. Not sure why he didn't take more pops, other than that maybe he was smart enough to know and feel in his bones when it was likely to work and when it wasn't.

[bluebruce]

10 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Ah right. Well fuck the media, they're just a bunch of jealous bastards. 

Them too, but I was mostly referring to fans of other clubs. I used to hang with a few Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs fans at uni, and I remember trying to tell them just how good Brad Friedel was. They actually laughed when I told them he was a better keeper than Jens Lehman, but it was me who should have been laughing. As far as they were concerned though, nobody could be considered world class playing outside of the top 4/5 teams in England. I don't feel like Brad got his full dues until he'd played at Villa and moreover Spurs, and even then he doesn't get as much credit as he should from many.

Far as I'm concerned, the top three keepers in Prem history are him, Schmeichel and peak Cech. Whatever order people want to put them is subjective, but those have to be the top three for me. On ability, not shit like trophies (which really depends a lot on the other ten players around you). I'm quite sure many football fans from the general public would replace Friedel with Van der Saar (who isn't far off tbf), and for me that's purely because he played for Manure. Incidentally, Friedel was also under consideration by Manure at the time, and the main reason they went for Edwin instead was reported to be because we would have wanted a lot more money than Fulham. There have been plenty of other terrific keepers who aren't too far off the reckoning (Jaaskelain was another underrated due to who he played for), but I reject any notion of that not being the top three. Still personal opinion of course, but I'm not for budging. Brad was superhuman, and so consistent. A human wall. But many couldn't see it until he was at higher profile clubs.

Another bone of contention for me in this regard is how many players haven't been called up to England (or not often enough) due to playing for us and other 'unfashionable' clubs. Even in favour of 'big club' bench warmers at times. But that's a whole other rant.

[Oldgregg86]

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

Them too, but I was mostly referring to fans of other clubs. I used to hang with a few Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs fans at uni, and I remember trying to tell them just how good Brad Friedel was. They actually laughed when I told them he was a better keeper than Jens Lehman, but it was me who should have been laughing. As far as they were concerned though, nobody could be considered world class playing outside of the top 4/5 teams in England. I don't feel like Brad got his full dues until he'd played at Villa and moreover Spurs, and even then he doesn't get as much credit as he should from many.

Far as I'm concerned, the top three keepers in Prem history are him, Schmeichel and peak Cech. Whatever order people want to put them is subjective, but those have to be the top three for me. On ability, not shit like trophies (which really depends a lot on the other ten players around you). I'm quite sure many football fans from the general public would replace Friedel with Van der Saar (who isn't far off tbf), and for me that's purely because he played for Manure. Incidentally, Friedel was also under consideration by Manure at the time, and the main reason they went for Edwin instead was reported to be because we would have wanted a lot more money than Fulham. There have been plenty of other terrific keepers who aren't too far off the reckoning (Jaaskelain was another underrated due to who he played for), but I reject any notion of that not being the top three. Still personal opinion of course, but I'm not for budging. Brad was superhuman, and so consistent. A human wall. But many couldn't see it until he was at higher profile clubs.

Another bone of contention for me in this regard is how many players haven't been called up to England (or not often enough) due to playing for us and other 'unfashionable' clubs. Even in favour of 'big club' bench warmers at times. But that's a whole other rant.

Had the same argument with all the manure fans round here. I used to say schmichel was the best then friedel. I honestly wouldn’t have swapped him for any keeper in the world at one stage 

[SuperBrfc]

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

Them too, but I was mostly referring to fans of other clubs. I used to hang with a few Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs fans at uni, and I remember trying to tell them just how good Brad Friedel was. They actually laughed when I told them he was a better keeper than Jens Lehman, but it was me who should have been laughing. As far as they were concerned though, nobody could be considered world class playing outside of the top 4/5 teams in England. I don't feel like Brad got his full dues until he'd played at Villa and moreover Spurs, and even then he doesn't get as much credit as he should from many.

Far as I'm concerned, the top three keepers in Prem history are him, Schmeichel and peak Cech. Whatever order people want to put them is subjective, but those have to be the top three for me. On ability, not shit like trophies (which really depends a lot on the other ten players around you). I'm quite sure many football fans from the general public would replace Friedel with Van der Saar (who isn't far off tbf), and for me that's purely because he played for Manure. Incidentally, Friedel was also under consideration by Manure at the time, and the main reason they went for Edwin instead was reported to be because we would have wanted a lot more money than Fulham. There have been plenty of other terrific keepers who aren't too far off the reckoning (Jaaskelain was another underrated due to who he played for), but I reject any notion of that not being the top three. Still personal opinion of course, but I'm not for budging. Brad was superhuman, and so consistent. A human wall. But many couldn't see it until he was at higher profile clubs.

Another bone of contention for me in this regard is how many players haven't been called up to England (or not often enough) due to playing for us and other 'unfashionable' clubs. Even in favour of 'big club' bench warmers at times. But that's a whole other rant.

I agree with all of this. It has been the same in my experience too. Rovers players being overlooked and not getting the recognition they should due to big club snobbery, from people who didn't care to watch Rovers properly or on enough occasions to understand or know how good those players were.

Another example for me, before going on to Brad, is Lucas Neill. He was a superb defender, who could have played for anybody in the Prem, imo, yet he gets no recognition from fans of other clubs. I still miss that guy! Loved his robust style. No nonsense, would get stuck in and he could play too. No wonder Liverpool wanted to sign him.

Going back to Brad, it was only two months ago that this very topic, best Prem keepers, came up on TalkSport on a show that Cundy and O'Hara were hosting. A Rovers fan rang in and made the very points you have made and said Friedel has to be in the discussion.

After umming and aahing for a bit one of them (Cundy) responds with "hmm, no, I'm not sure, I don't think he was in that elite bracket, hmm, no, I wouldn't have him down as elite, hmm". O'Hara then agrees with him. No further comment from either of them.

They appeared stumped by the suggestion, like they weren't expecting Friedel's name to pop up. They couldn't provide any analysis on Brad's time at Rovers, no mention of any memorable performances, no mention of a standout moment, nothing. Only the bit mentioned above.

It was obvious to me, from the way they were talking that they could not remember peak Brad at Rovers, didn't care to watch him at that time, and because it was little Rovers involved, they couldn't include him in the discussion.

If Friedel had spent the exact 8 years he had with us, in a Liverpool shirt instead, there's no doubt for me, he'd be talked about as being one of the Premier League's very best.

He isn't viewed in that way by friends (non Rovers fans), random fans in general and the press because he played for a 'small' club. That's the snobby vibe they all give off.

United fans actually respect Friedel because of the numerous world class displays he had against them, but they still put Van Der Sar into the 'best prem keeper' debates ahead of him. Van Der Sar was a quality keeper too, but would he be talked about as much if he played for Fulham and then Rovers, instead of United?

There are other good keepers that also don't get a mention due to big club bias. Jaaskelainen is one. I rated Antti Niemi too, he was superb for Southampton, but is rarely talked about.

I'd have your top 3 as mine too. Schmeichel was a monster keeper, we know all about Brad's quality and Petr Cech was unbelievable in those first few years at Chelsea. Remember that game at Ewood in Feb 2005 against Chelsea? He saved a Dickov penalty and kept everything else out that night too. Peak Cech was top drawer.

Souness was spot on though and telling the truth when he said he wouldn't swap Friedel for any keeper. I wouldn't have done either.

We're lucky that we got to see some of the best at Rovers up until 2010. Those on the outside who look down at Rovers and our former players have no idea how good we had it. Piss them and their glory hunting charade.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Friedel was worth a goal start when he was at Rovers. Brilliant keeper,some of his performances were out of this world.

I used to go in a designer furniture shop on John Dalton street in Manchester. It was called  “Lloyd Davies “. The owner was a mad United fan who was definitely in the know back then. Brad was also a customer of his. The guy told me one summer that Brad had definitely signed for Utd and it was just a matter of time before it was to be announced. What went wrong with the deal I don’t know. This was a few seasons before Brad left.

[bazza]

Brad was the best keeper I've ever seen at Rovers. But, in my eyes, he had a weakness in that he was regularly beaten by a low shot to his left. Well, nobody is perfect.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

9 hours ago, bazza said:

Brad was the best keeper I've ever seen at Rovers. But, in my eyes, he had a weakness in that he was regularly beaten by a low shot to his left. Well, nobody is perfect.

Like most/all modern keepers he didn’t command the 6 yard box from corners/free kicks from out wide. We conceded too many headed goals from close in. That rarely happened back in my Stone Age playing days. Maybe having 20 players in and around the box makes life more difficult for keepers these days. One day maybe a manager will shove two small attacking players on the half way line therefore drawing back 2 or 3 defenders - he’ll be regarded as a tactical genius no doubt !
Other  than that I’d no complaints, he won us games on his own at times. Best keeper in a Rovers shirt in my lifetime.

[wilsdenrover]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Like most/all modern keepers he didn’t command the 6 yard box from corners/free kicks from out wide. We conceded too many headed goals from close in. That rarely happened back in my Stone Age playing days. Maybe having 20 players in and around the box makes life more difficult for keepers these days. One day maybe a manager will shove two small attacking players on the half way line therefore drawing back 2 or 3 defenders - he’ll be regarded as a tactical genius no doubt !
Other  than that I’d no complaints, he won us games on his own at times. Best keeper in a Rovers shirt in my lifetime.

I’m interested in why you’d place him above Roger Jones.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

50 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

I’m interested in why you’d place him above Roger Jones.

Bigger, better, played at a higher level for longer. The best keeper in the World Cup in Japan/South Korea. I liked Roger Jones but Tim Flowers was better and Jim Arnold and Terry Gennoe were as good.

[Mattyblue]

Flowers was superb in his first three seasons or so, his form dropped markedly towards the end of his time here.

[Andy]

7 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Bigger, better, played at a higher level for longer. The best keeper in the World Cup in Japan/South Korea. I liked Roger Jones but Tim Flowers was better and Jim Arnold and Terry Gennoe were as good.

This bit is quite key.

Brad played (excelled) in the Premier League and the World Cup.

Jones played in the 2nd and 3rd tier for us.

I'm sure Jones would have been a good GK at that level, but Brad was way ahead of him.

[Upside Down]

Have made a thread specifically for Big Brad.

Both he and Tugay were some of the best players to ever wear the shirt.

[Spartakfenni]

11 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Bigger, better, played at a higher level for longer. The best keeper in the World Cup in Japan/South Korea. I liked Roger Jones but Tim Flowers was better and Jim Arnold and Terry Gennoe were as good.

It’s difficult to judge two players from different eras. What I would say in Sir Rogers defence is;

He didn’t get the chance to play in the top league until the end of his career.

He must be a similar height to Raya and therefore as size goes was good enough to be at the top league.

He was several generations before other goalies, as he enjoyed being a sweeper keeper. 

i loved big Brad, but there will always be a place in my heart for our Roger.