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Why this goalkeeper is the right man to be Aston Villa’s next No. 1

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When Alex McLeish took the vacant manager’s spot at Villa Park the first position he would have wanted to fill was that of the goalkeeper department.

Brad Friedel had been an amazing servant to the Villa during his three years with the club, helping them reach the League Cup final, playing every single Premier League fixture over the three seasons and becoming the oldest player ever to compete for Aston Villa at the age of 40.

However that is very old for any footballer let alone a goalkeeper, to consistently give a 100% at the highest level in between the posts at that age, so it was inevitable that he would not be offered a new contract when his ended in May. But I’m sure every Villa fan would wish him well at Tottenham Hotspur where he will be back up to Heurelho Gomes and Carlo Cudicini.

A name that immediately sprang to mind at the start of the summer transfer window to replace Friedel was Shay Given. The Republic of Ireland international had lost his place to Joe Hart at Manchester City last season and for such a distinguished and top player such as Given to be left on the bench but for the occasional cup appearance meant that he was never going to stick around in Eastlands.

So it was brilliant to see McLeish seal the signing of the former Newcastle United player on a five-year contract. Fans will no doubt be excited by this transfer as Given has proven to be a world-class goalkeeper who has always been one of the best goalkeeper in the Premiership.

Shay Given is very similar to Friedel in the sense that he has massive amount of experience in the top division making over 400 appearances for Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle and Manchester City. At St James’ Park he was their number one for eight seasons. And though he never won anything whilst with the Magpies, he did help them reach two F.A Cup finals and numerous European campaigns including helping them reach the last 16 of the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) in 2006-07.

Given has also had a long international career with the Republic of Ireland, gaining over 100 caps and becoming the most capped goalkeeper for them. With that amount of experience in club and country, Aston Villa really do have a top quality goalkeeper to lead the team.

The long contract means the club will get five of Given’s best years and if he can stay free of injury, which has troubled him in parts during his career, then he can help them team really push on to be better and be a top ten team again, possibly with the chance of winning something which has been over due at the club for many years.

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