Goalkeeper.

[den]

I am still sitting on the fence although Brad's superstar show yesterday nearly got me to vote for him.

When does the voting close?

The last chance to vote on the 'keeper will be this Tuesday.

On Wednesday we can move on to the best ever right back.

[Hanks]

brad to get my vote with flowers a close second,roger jones did a great job for us,as did gennoe but neither had outstanding careers in the top flight and were not in the same class as brad and tim.

[AlanSheppard]

What will happen for centre backs, central midfielders and forwards den? Will there be two votes or will the top two be included?

[Simon Says]

Hard choice.

Would have loved to have voted for Sir Roger, but Tim Flowers was a big part of the team that made us champions of England. The goalkeeping display against Newcastle will live long in the memory, and the interview afterwards even longer.

So he gets my vote.

[den]

What will happen for centre backs, central midfielders and forwards den? Will there be two votes or will the top two be included?

All sorted.

For the first of the two centre half positions, we will have a list of up to 15 nominations of all the best centre halves [probably nowhere near that though]. The first C.H will be chosen from that entire list.

The next C.H. will be chosen, in the next poll, from the same list - minus the first player to be voted in. I reckon if we simply had two different lists, the best two C.H's could be in the same list and that wouldn't be fair. Also, if we have one list and we choose the top two voted players, one player could be so far in front, that the second player could be voted in with a very small percentage of the vote. [as is possible with the C.F. position, i.e. Shearer.]

The same for the C.M and strikers.

The next position to be nominated, after the goalkeeper has been chosen, will be the R.B. Henning Berg will be down as a R.B, but if he isn't voted in for that position, he will be nominated for the C.H spot, because obviously he played in both positions.

Does that make any sense?

[Claytons Left Boot]

My heart says Sir Roger but without a doubt my choice is Brad - the guy is simply super human.

I can't think why John Barton wasn't included even though he couldn't drop kick it past the half way line.

[philipl]

Jim Arnold was a huge favourite but Brad gets the vote.

A lot more of Saturday's form please- I think we will need it this season.

[Claytons Left Boot]

The thing that must swing it Brad's way is the fact that he does, and has done it, week in, week out, against not only top flight opposition, but against some of the best strikers in the world.

[Andy Kennedys Hairdo]

Where is John Filan? The courage he showed going for that ball with Des Walker in the 7-2 rout of Sheffield Wednesday, resulting in a shatered arm!

Don't lay the blame on poor Des. It wasn't him. If I remember correctly it was a bloke called Wayne Collins - he went on to play for Blackpool.

As for the top Custodian. It has to be TG. Great keeper. Plus he used to give me a lift home from matches

[percy]

The thing that must swing it Brad's way is the fact that he does, and has done it, week in, week out, against not only top flight opposition, but against some of the best strikers in the world.

I've voted for Brad for the same reason as CLB.

Friedel has been superb for Rovers since his arrival on a free transfer. Since he's been here he's put in some amazing goal keeping performances - will we ever be able to replace him when he leaves ?

An outstanding keeper who's excelled at the higher levels of both club and international football, and most importantly, who's played a vital part of the club's success in recent years along the way.

Thanks Brad !

Edited August 30, 2004 by percy

[cn174]

Dont worry, we're not having a re-vote or anything

I'm putting everyone's profiles, thoughts etc together to make a Greatest Ever section of the website. The amount of info I have to work with is quite larga anyway, but it appears there isn't that much about Friedel except for a few lines.

So if someone could come up with a profile/thoughts about him, so I could use it, that woudl be fantastic. It doesn't have to be very long, just something that will demonstrate why you think he got voted greatest ever keeper.

Cheers

[Alan75]

Height: 6-4 (1.93 m).

Weight: 202 (92 kg).

Born: May 18, 1971, in Lakewood, Ohio.

Previous Clubs Galatasaray, Liverpool

Club: Blackburn (English Premier League).

American international goalkeeper Brad Friedel’s first experience of the English Premier League was with Liverpool, who signed him in December 1997.

However after starting no more than 25 Premiership games in 3 years at Liverpool, he became surplus to requirements, after Gerard Houllier signed Dutch keeper Sander Westerveld at the start of the 1999-2000 season.

Graeme Souness who had worked with Friedel at Galatasaray, and much to the surprise of many a Rovers supporter, signed him up on a free transfer in November 2000.

He soon became Rovers' number one - and won many plaudits for a series of fine displays for Rovers and at the 2002 World Cup with the USA.

In the 2002-03 season he excelled and was included in the Premiership Team of the Season after recording 15 clean sheets.

Made his 150th Rovers start in 2003-04 season

A veteran of three World Cups, he is the second-most capped goalkeeper in U.S. National Team history helping the USA to the quarter finals of the World Cup in 2002.

[American]

In 2002, Brad had one of the great years by a keeper. First he helped Rovers to a Worthington Cup. He followed this up in June by leading the US to a quarterfinal berth, and if not for a missed call, semifinal berth. In the World Cup in Japan/Korea. During the group stages he saved 2 penalties (I believe a record).

Back at Rovers, he kept up his spectacular play. In one match against Arsenal he almost singlehandedly won the match, making over 20 saves.

[cn_barlow]

Quite possibly one of the best players rovers have ever had.....quite an acheivement for a goalkeeper!

[rover6]

Was a surprise signing as Rovers appeared well stocked in decent goalkeepers at the time but it wasn't long before even the most ardent John Filan supporters were won over by Brad.

[grizfoot]

Don't forget that goal against Charlton

[AlanSheppard]

Is Brad the only goalkeeper to score a goal in Blackburn's history? Sadly any mention of the goal against Charlton must include Cluas Jensen getting the winner thirty seconds later. Quite possibly the quickest amount of time I've come from complete delirium to utterly devestated.

[den]

Listen folks, what CN 174 is looking for is a couple of posts that argue the reason why Brad is the greatest ever rovers 'keeper. In the original topic there were virtually no real posts as to why he should have won it.

Someone should be able to make out a case for him - he did actually win the vote.

CN 174 wants the posts to include in her tribute to the greatest ever team.

C'mon guys.

[Blue blood]

Ok here goes.

Despite the fact that the vast majority of Rovers fans saw Friedel as a superfluous signing when he joined, Brad has managed to become a Rovers legend winning over both the crowd and pundits. This is no mean feat considering the shadow cast by former championship winning keeper Tim Flowers, and more recently the former player of the year John Filan.

With two quality keepers, including Filan, at the club many were wondering what Brad could bring to the team. The first things Brad gave Rovers were consistency and dependability. At the beginning of the promotion season rovers were having no problem scoring but were letting in goals with alarming regularity. Brad slotted in immediately and proved to be the final piece of the defensive jigsaw. Whilst Matty and Dunn and the like got most of the credit, Rovers tight defence including Brad played no small part in grinding out the wins and our promotion success.

Friedel carried this consistency into the premiership, rarely if ever making a mistake and never looking out of his depth. Even Flowers would struggle to match Brad in terms of continual reliability. No howlers, few fumbles, and within his first full season Brad had firmly established a well earned reputation amongst the fans for always being on top of his game. It was during this season that Brad showed that he could impersonate superman, pulling off some fantastic saves, especially during the Worthington Cup Final. Brad was deservedly man of the match as Rovers lifted the cup. Granted it was a team effort which won it for Rovers, but Brad did that little bit more than everyone else; from an early one on one with Ferdinand to the near point blank header late on Friedel was supurb. Cole's goal might have been the decider but it was Friedel's saves that won Blackburn the cup.

The following season was probably the highlight of Brad's Rovers carear. Just like it seemed impossible that Shearer in his hayday bearing down on goal would miss, it seemed impossible that Brad would not save. Time after time Brad demonstrated astounding reflexes which must have added 20 points onto Rovers tally for the season. Once again Friedel proved the difference in Rovers securing European football for the second season running. Recognition came from outside the club being named in the players premiership team of the year, and Arsene Wenger's desire for Brad to replace the departing Arsenal legend Seaman.

Like other Rovers greats Brad also performed well on an international level during his time at Rovers. To play at three world cups shows Brad's international credentials, Arguably his best World Cup came during his time with Rovers again showing his class with some fine performances and several penalty saves.

Since then Friedel has not reproduced this near legendary form, but then he has had the challenge of Rovers defence to contend with. And despite this Brad has still remained one of the most consistent performers at the club. His desire and determination for the club to succeed are epitomised by his goal against Charlton, a truely classic Rovers moment. And those who think he's lost it remember performances like the Manure home game this season.

Like Duff and Shearer before in Brad we have witnessed the best player in the premiership in that position whilst wearing a Rovers shirt, and saw a display of talent which few players possess. Rovers may have lost a team which they can identify with but Superman still exists.

[speeeeeeedie]

Have we done the greatest strikers yet?

[nottsrover]

Have we done the greatest strikers yet?

Yes, Alan Shearer won the first vote by a mile. In the second, Grabbi snuck it by 2 votes ahead of Garner.

[skip24]

between roger jones who saved 3 pens in 1 match or the american superstar!

hard decision!

[den]

Final result:

BRFCS .com members have decided on the goalkeeper to be the first nomination for the "best ever team" The outright winner is:

Brad Friedel

Final figures:

Brad Friedel 65 votes [40.88%]

Tim Flowers 45 votes [28.3%]

Terry Gennoe 24 votes [15.09%]

Roger Jones 16 votes [10.06%]

Fred Else 5 votes [3.14%]

Harry Leylans 3 votes [1.89%]

Jim Arnold 1 vote [0.63%]