Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon has said that even though he would love to stay at the stadium of light, it is difficult to foresee what the future holds for him at the moment. Craig Gordon has just returned from a long-term injury and will be out of contract soon.
There have been suggestions that Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill is preparing for a new contract for the goalkeeper. However, Craig Gordon has said that it all depends upon the length of the contract and also the various clauses. He also suggested that he would be ready to move on if the various situations did not come together.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper is out of contract in the summer. He is now free to talk with other clubs over a potential transfer, but Martin O’Neill recently said that he would love to keep the Scotland international at the stadium of light. Sunderland have been one of the inform teams since the arrival of Martin O’Neill.
Hence, there has been suggestions that Martin O’Neill will be looking to get Craig Gordon off the wage bill and seeks ways to improve the squad elsewhere. The form of James McLean has been so impressive that he could be awarded a bumper contract shortly.
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Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has said that he is extremely pleased to have Craig Gordon back into the squad after a long-term injury. Despite being a competitor, Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet reckons that the presence of Craig Gordon will help both the players, as it will push them to the limits.
Craig Gordon has not played for Sunderland for a long time now due to an injury problem. This has not been the first time Craig Gordon has suffered a long-term injury after his arrival at Sunderland for £ 9 million. It has also been rumoured recently that Craig Gordon could be sold in the summer, with a return to Scotland being mooted as the favourite destination for the Scotland international.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper is yet to play a game for Sunderland this season. It has almost been a year till date since he last played for Sunderland. However, Martin O’Neill has said that the return of Craig Gordon is a major boost for Sunderland because everyone is aware of the quality that he is capable of delivering to the team. Craig Gordon is also out of contract in the summer, and signs are that Sunderland will not be interested in renewing the contract.
“Craig coming back is a good incentive for us to stay focused and keep the right attitude in training and the games. Competition can only be a good thing for everyone in the team. You don’t like to see anyone be injured and be out for a long time. It’s the most difficult period in your career when you’re injured,” Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet said in an interview just ahead of the match with Arsenal in the FA Cup. Sunderland were defeated by Arsenal 2-1 in the Premier league only recently, but Simon Mignolet hopes to progress to the quarterfinals with a victory.
Craig Gordon has finally overcome his injury nightmare at Sunderland by returning to first-team action after the appointment of manager Martin O’Neill.
Steve Bruce has largely looked upon Craig Gordon as someone who does not have the potential to be the first choice for Sunderland. However, with Steve Bruce gone, Craig Gordon can finally hope to reclaim the top spot at the Stadium of light. He was a £ 9 million signing during the Roy Keane days and is widely regarded to be the best Scotland goalkeeper. However, injury problems have limited the number of appearances the Scotland international has made in recent seasons, but he recently came back from the injury to make an appearance for the Sunderland reserve team.
Sunderland reserves recently beat Arsenal reserves 2-0, and it was a match that finally saw Craig Gordon back in action. He has been out with an injury for more than 11 months. He has to suffer the knee injury back in February and has not made an appearance since then. His final appearance for Sunderland came on February 12 against Tottenham. Martin O’Neill will be hugely boosted by the news that he is best goalkeeper has returned from the spell on the sidelines.
During this time, Craig Gordon has seen a number of other players keen to take over his position as the Scotland No. 1. This includes Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who is currently the number 1 for Scotland. He will be facing intense competition from Craig Gordon once again given that he is on the road to recovery. Martin O’Neill confirmed that the Scotland international is not far from making into the first-team. So far, Craig Gordon has made 40 international appearances for Scotland, and his international experience will certainly boost Sunderland in the fight against relegation.
Craig Gordon has had quite a lot of bad luck when it comes to injuries and he has not been able to represent Sunderland since the defeat at the last game which ended in the score of 2-1. However Sunderland coach Martin O’Neill still has hopes that Craig will manage to make it to the number one position once he fully recovers from his injuries.
However he also made sure that he mentioned that Craig definitely has a lot of effort to put in to make sure that he manages to make it to the first team of the Sunderland’s and finally manage to hold a position in the Scotland squad.
The knee injury of Craig Gordon will probably be recovered within the end of this year, but there might still be some time before he finally recovers from the arm injury he obtained during the clash with Jermain Defoe of Tottenham way back in 2009.
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The man credited with discovering Craig Gordon has been appointed as the director of football at Hearts.
John Murray was the man who discovered Craig Gordon as an youngster. He has gone on to feature for both Scotland and Sunderland, and is regarded as one of the best young goalkeepers in world football. It is hoped that John Murray will provide his vast experience in the bringing many more players like Craig Gordon to Hearts.
He was previously the academy director, but this promotion does not come as a major surprise. However, it may be surprising for a few who are hard of the financial difficulties that Hearts have been facing in the last few years.
Hearts have debts that have been estimated to be around £ 30 million, which can only be brought on with the presence of high quality youngsters, who can then be sold on for a high transfer fee. This is the business model that many clubs in England have been following. Hearts will become another major club to adopt the policy of appointing a director of football to oversee the transfer business.
Usually, managers undertake this role when it comes to British football, but it has been proven in the Continental football that the managers role has become expensive these days that it would be highly unproductive for him to oversee the transfer situation as well.
“Having been so closely involved in everything going on at Hearts for so long, it is obviously an amazing honour to be appointed director of football. I look forwards to the massive challenges ahead of us. The club in transition at the moment – some of our brightest prospects in the youth academy will be moving into the first-team squad very soon,” John Murray said after being appointed as the director of football at Hearts.
Sunderland’s goalkeeping woes continue. With Craig Gordon still out with a long-term knee injury, the lack Cats were already under-strength.
But now the reserve goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has been ruled out (after an operation on his broken nose), leaving the club with just one recognised goalkeeper in Keiran Westwood.
Steve Bruce was hopeful that Mignolet will make a comeback for Sunderland, but we’ll have to wait and see. “He will have scans and we will see what they reveal. I would have thought he would be a doubt for next Saturday’s game.”
“Craig is nowhere near and Trevor Carson hurt his back at Bury, so we will have to see how bad he is.”
Craig Gordon is the Scottish international who currently plays for Sunderland in the Premier League. He is regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers to hail from Scotland in recent years. His excellence in the goalkeeping department has led him to be nominated in the Greatest Ever Football Team for Scotland.
Craig Gordon supported Hearts of Midlothian when he was an youngster and it was not surprising that he decided to start his career with the Scottish team. He signed for Hearts of Midlothian in 2000 and it did not take long for his talent to get noticed within the ranks. He made his debut in 2002 against Livingston. The impressive performances soon led him to get the PFA Young Player of the Year award a year later.
He became an instrumental part of the Hearts side that came second in the Scottish Premier League and won the Scottish Cup. It was at this time that Craig Gordon became a first team regular for Hearts of Midlothian. The success in the 2005 season was followed by a number of performances, which drew attention from major clubs in Europe.
During the final part of the 2005-06 season, Craig Gordon was linked with a number of clubs mainly from England. The incredible performance in the 1-0 win over France also played a major role in making Craig Gordon one of the transfer targets for major clubs across Europe. The intensive transfer speculation mounted upon Craig Gordon after he was left out of the squad that was set to face Rangers. However, the transfer at the end of the January transfer window did not materialise and Craig Gordon continued to represent Hearts.
However, his departure was becoming inevitable after many clubs including Arsenal were interested in signing him, which led to Craig Gordon making a statement that he would like to play for Arsenal. But, it was Sunderland who finally managed to agree a fee with Hearts for the young goalkeeper. Sunderland agreed a fee of around £ 7 million, with further £ 3 million coming in incentives. It was at that time, one of the highest transfer fees paid for a goalkeeper.
Craig Gordon’s debut match for Sunderland came in the 1-0 win over Tottenham on the opening day of the 2007-08 Premier League season. However, poor form in the subsequent matches meant that Craig Gordon was dropped from the squad briefly. A groin injury kept him out for most of the 2009-10 season, but he returned to first team action in the following season.
Craig Gordon suffered another major injury during the end of the 2010-11 season, which led to rumours linking him with a return to Scotland. Craig Gordon made his international debut for Scotland in 2004. Since then, he has played 40 matches for Scotland.
Throughout his career, Craig Gordon has managed to lift one major trophy – Scottish Cup with Hearts in 2006. Some of the greatest goalkeepers like Buffon have praised the ability of Craig Gordon.
Allan McGregor – taking pleasure in feelgood factor. Allan McGregor is determined to see Scotland maintain the feelgood aspect with a constructive consequence against Brazil following fearing Craig Levein’s men had been published off just six months in the past.
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February 21, 2012 3:13 am | 
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