simyid
Active Member
- Jul 31, 2006
- 767
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Jonathan Woodgate's luckless problems with injuries have brought his career at Tottenham Hotspur to an almost inevitable conclusion, with the former England defender released from his contract at White Hart Lane.
Woodgate is on the 123 names submitted to the Premier League as released players or free agents, a list that also includes Matthew Upson at West Ham United and Manchester City's Patrick Vieira, a development that could bring to an end the British career of one of the outstanding midfielders of the Premier League years.
Sol Campbell, Vieira's former Arsenal colleague, also faces an uncertain future after being included in a list that demonstrates in particular how the relegated clubs react to the drop by drastically reducing their squad numbers. Birmingham City have decided against offering new contracts to 12 of their players, the highest number of all last season's 20 clubs, with Sebastian Larsson and Lee Bowyer among those now looking for new employers. Blackpool have the next highest number, with 11, while West Ham have released eight.
In Woodgate's case it brings to an end a largely peripheral role at Spurs in which his recurring injuries restricted him to only one appearance last season and, in total, a mere 65 spread over the three and a half years since he signed from Middlesbrough for £8m. Woodgate's CV also includes spells at Leeds United, Real Madrid and Newcastle United but there must now be questions about where the 31-year-old goes from here.
Vieira's case is not entirely straightforward, with the former France international due to have further discussions with City later in the summer. Roberto Mancini may offer him another deal depending on the extent of his other transfer business or, failing that, a coaching role in recognition of the way the club's expensively assembled squad looks up to him.
At 34, however, Vieira has reservations about whether he is yet ready to move into coaching. Offers have come in from across Europe, as well as the United States and Qatar, and Vieira's early thoughts are geared around prolonging his playing career rather than retiring at the end of a season in which he was fully fit, reaching his best physical condition for several years, but unable to command regular, top-flight football, with just four Premier League starts.
Woodgate is on the 123 names submitted to the Premier League as released players or free agents, a list that also includes Matthew Upson at West Ham United and Manchester City's Patrick Vieira, a development that could bring to an end the British career of one of the outstanding midfielders of the Premier League years.
Sol Campbell, Vieira's former Arsenal colleague, also faces an uncertain future after being included in a list that demonstrates in particular how the relegated clubs react to the drop by drastically reducing their squad numbers. Birmingham City have decided against offering new contracts to 12 of their players, the highest number of all last season's 20 clubs, with Sebastian Larsson and Lee Bowyer among those now looking for new employers. Blackpool have the next highest number, with 11, while West Ham have released eight.
In Woodgate's case it brings to an end a largely peripheral role at Spurs in which his recurring injuries restricted him to only one appearance last season and, in total, a mere 65 spread over the three and a half years since he signed from Middlesbrough for £8m. Woodgate's CV also includes spells at Leeds United, Real Madrid and Newcastle United but there must now be questions about where the 31-year-old goes from here.
Vieira's case is not entirely straightforward, with the former France international due to have further discussions with City later in the summer. Roberto Mancini may offer him another deal depending on the extent of his other transfer business or, failing that, a coaching role in recognition of the way the club's expensively assembled squad looks up to him.
At 34, however, Vieira has reservations about whether he is yet ready to move into coaching. Offers have come in from across Europe, as well as the United States and Qatar, and Vieira's early thoughts are geared around prolonging his playing career rather than retiring at the end of a season in which he was fully fit, reaching his best physical condition for several years, but unable to command regular, top-flight football, with just four Premier League starts.
