Newcastle ace wants to stay the rest of his career

Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given has indicated that he'd like to stay at Tyneside for the rest of his professional career.

"My contract is up next year, and it would be good to get something sorted out," Given said.

"We've had a meeting on the contract talks and I want to stay here for most of the rest of my career.

"As long as the club want me, the new contract will be signed."

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002

Answers

Saw an article on icDP a few days ago where he admitted he nearly made the biggest mistake of his career by asking for a transfer last season.

The downside is that Harper will almost certainly leave now.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002

I think this is footballer-speak for "My contract is due soon and I'm looking for a massive increase in wages". :-)

Anyway, it's nice to hear this from Shay and I'm sure the club will come to a decent arrangement with him. He's a class act.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002

Does anyone know if Harper has actually expressed a desire to leave? I'd prefer Karelse to go 1st, and get Brain and Bell more involved (the latter narrowly missing out on the reserves bench for ManU - picked up a knee injury).

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002

I think Harper and Bobby have said that they will look at things in the summer.

I'll be sad to see Steve go but his showings in the Worthington were such as to persuade me that it's time for him to start developing his skills elsewhere. Having said that, our luck suggests that Shay will get crocked in the World Cup.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002

That's the danger, of course. I seem to remember the only reason Harper signed a new contract a year or so ago was because he thought he'd have a real shot a regular starting spot. Which he did at the time. Now that Given has staked his claim, Harper really must move on if he wants a chance to play regularly.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002