Sport | Football
Phil Gartside visit to Muscat
Phil Gartside, the Chairman of English Premier club Bolton Wanderers, started a visit to Muscat to watch his club's custodian Ali Al Habsi, of Oman, in action in the 19th Gulf Cup confirming that his team will hold a training camp in Dubai soon.
- By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:33 January 14, 2009
Muscat: Phil Gartside, the Chairman of English Premier club Bolton Wanderers, started a visit to Muscat to watch his club's custodian Ali Al Habsi, of Oman, in action in the 19th Gulf Cup confirming that his team will hold a training camp in Dubai soon.
Al Habsi, the only player in the region who plays professional football in the English Premier League, has successfully renewed his contract with the club this month for four more years following news of offers from other clubs in England including Westham United.
"I was invited to attend part of the Gulf Cup and I am really thankful for the organizers who provided me with this chance to watch the cream of football in the region." Gartside told reporters yesterday.
Gartside disclosed that his team will hold a training camp in Dubai, the UAE, in the next few days. " Dubai is the best choice for this time of year to hold a training camp." Gartside said.
Regarding the poor results of Bolton this season, Gartside said " In the past two seasons 18 players left us while we brought in only 9 and that have bad effects on the results. It is not true that we do not spend upon our players. This season we have spend about 30 million pounds which is a lot of money for us after all we are not Manchester United or Chelsea."
Gartside says about Al Habsi " The manager believes he is good so we renewed his contract for four years and he will be given the chance to play in the first line up soon because renewing his contract for four years will give him a sense of settlement and stability and he will have no worries about his future so he will dedicate all his time for training and playing and that will be good for the player and the club."
Why has the club renewed the contracts of both custodians, the first choice Jussi Jaaskelainen(from Finland) and the reserve Al Habsi?
" Both goalkeepers are good and Al Habsi has a good future with the club. It might be a surprise for many to know that it was Jussi who actually convinced Ali (Al Habsi) to renew his contract with us. They are close friends." Gartside added.
Jaaskelainen was born in 1975, six years elder than Al Habsi.
"We have an agreement with Oman FA to have some youngsters in our juniors academy during this summer and if we saw any promising talent then we might include him in our future plans.
"Ali(Al Habsi) is a dedicated man in work and leisure. He performs all his obligations with concentration and he joins in social activities in the part of the city where he lives and he has a lot of fans." Gartside concluded.
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