SOCCER:MICHAEL KENNEDY, the solicitor who represents Shay Given, took the highly unusual step of releasing a statement last night that throws doubt over Given's career at Newcastle United. Confirming rumoured interest from Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal in the 32-year-old goalkeeper, Kennedy said Given "feels compelled to consider his position" after last Sunday's humiliating 5-1 home defeat by Liverpool.
Kennedy described the Liverpool game as "the lowest point" of Given's career and it would seem that after 11½ years on Tyneside, the hugely popular goalkeeper from Donegal has reached the end of his tether with the notoriously volatile club.
For Kennedy to venture into the public arena is an expression in itself of the seriousness of Given's dismay - Kennedy strives to stay behind the scenes even in representing Roy Keane and Niall Quinn.
"Shay is very despondent following the very poor performance of the team against Liverpool last weekend," Kennedy said. "It was the lowest point of his football career and a performance that he would not wish to be repeated.
"When he signed a new five-year contract in 2006 it was on the basis that the club would challenge for major honours, but on the present evidence all that he can see ahead with the turmoil on and off the pitch is a battle for survival.
"Having served the club loyally for over 11 years, Shay feels compelled to consider his position in the light of the interest being expressed in him by Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham."
The statement is likely to shake Newcastle. The current owner, Mike Ashley, is already unpopular due to the perceived treatment of former manager Kevin Keegan and felt forced to put the club up for sale in the acrimonious aftermath of Keegan's September exit.
Unable to sell, Ashley has only just taken Newcastle off the market but has seen Michael Owen decline to sign a new contract and now faces a much larger issue in Given.
No Newcastle player is as regarded as Given among supporters. Sunday's appearance against Liverpool was Given's 459th for the club, taking him to third in the club's all-time list of appearances.
Fans see him as a connection to a better time in the club's recent history.
Once Alan Shearer retired in 2006, Given took on the mantle of talisman. He is a hugely popular public figure locally and fans will know that Given must be massively dejected for Kennedy to release such a statement.
How Newcastle respond remains to be seen but if they place an unrealistic price tag on Given then that risks further alienating a player the Tyneside public will fall in behind.
Given cost €1.5 million from Blackburn Rovers when then manager Kenny Dalglish bought him for Newcastle in August 1997.
There was speculation on Tuesday that Arsenal had offered €8.2 million for Given but those close to Given are far from certain about the accuracy of such reports. Given has long been linked with Arsenal without anything ever coming of it.
Newcastle could react by offering Given a coherent vision of the future but Ashley's 2008 was erratic even by St James' standards.
Kennedy referred to "turmoil". The present manager, Joe Kinnear, became the third in nine months when he succeeded Kevin Keegan at the end of September. Last year (2008) had begun with Sam Allardyce in charge.
Continuity is a key ingredient in success at a football club - Given's best times at Newcastle came during the five-year tenure of Bobby Robson - so last year's disruption caused concern among Given and other senior players at the club.
Chief amongst this was the departure of Keegan. Given and other Newcastle players felt that a team was coming together under Keegan after the season's opening day draw at champions Manchester United. There was an air of optimism for the first time in a long while. But three weeks later Keegan was gone and it is understood the players felt they never received a satisfactory explanation as to why.
Now Newcastle's long-suffering fans face the prospect of losing another cherished individual in Given, whose appearance or not at Hull City in the FA Cup tomorrow will be an indication of where he stands at Newcastle United.
