As the elite clubs scrambled to complete their line-ups
with new signings, 65 players who were with Premiership clubs last
season were left with feelings of uncertainty as July 1 marked the
start of their free agency. Nine of those players, including
Manchester City's Michael Ball and Sheffield United's Keith
Gillespie, are mulling over offers of new contracts from their
clubs. The other 56 have less than six weeks to find another team
before the new season kicks off.
The experience of those released ranges from 19-year-old Daniel
Rose, who was unable to break into the Manchester United first
team, to the 41-year-old Teddy Sheringham, who has been released by
West Ham after last season becoming the oldest outfield player ever
to kick a ball in the Premiership.
Boudewijn Zenden can be picked up on a free only 40 days after
starting for Liverpool in the Champions League final. Jerzy Dudek
and Robbie Fowler have also been shown the door at Anfield and are
targets for Real Madrid and Rangers respectively. Relegated
Charlton have shed the most - eight - from their wage bill.
Thank you all, you may go now
Arsenal Ryan Garry, Joseph O'Cearuill
Aston Villa Mark Delaney, Lee Hendrie, Chris
Sutton
Blackburn Rovers Keith Barker, Michael Gray
Bolton Wanderers Quinton Fortune, Henrik Pedersen,
David Thompson
Charlton Athletic Nathan Ashton, Rurik Gislason,
Jimmy-Floyd Haselbaink, Talal El Karkouri, Kevin Lisbie, Thomas
Mhyre, Alistair John, Myles Weston (Offered contract) James
Walker
Chelsea Magnus Hedman, Juan Sebastian Veron
Everton Alan Kearney, Scott Phelan, Alessandro
Pistone, Richard Wright
Fulham Claus Jensen, Mark Pembridge, Tomasz
Radzinski
Liverpool Jerzy Dudek, Robbie Fowler, Boudewijn
Zenden
Manchester City Stephen Jordan, Trevor Sinclair,
Hatem Trabelsi (Offered contract) Michael Ball, Nicky Weaver
Manchester United Phil Marsh, Florent Ngalula,
Daniel Rose
Middlesbrough Malcolm Christie
Newcastle United Olivier Bernard, Kris Gate, Craig
Moore, Pavel Srnicek
Portsmouth Daryl Fordyce, Nwankwo Kanu (Offered
contract) Svetoslav Todorov
Reading Jonathan Hayes (Offered contract) Aaron
Brown, Simon Cox
Sheffield United Paul Gerrard, Rob Kozluk, Craig
Short, Alan Wright (Offered contract) James Ashmore, Keith
Gillespie, Chris Lucketti
Tottenham Hotspur Robert Burch
Watford Joel Grant, Albert Jarrett, Chris
Powell
West Ham United Shaun Newton, Teddy
Sheringham
Wigan Athletic John Filan, David
Unsworth
