QPR REPORT

Ex-QPR Update: Trevor Sinclair Set for Cardiff? ...Ian Evatt Talks re Blackpool

Western Mail - Bluebirds swoop for Sinclair Jul 10 2007
Steve Tucker

CARDIFF CITY manager Dave Jones is shifting his emphasis to experience as he looks to tie up a deal to bring former England international Trevor Sinclair to Ninian Park for a season.
The 34-year-old is out of contract at Manchester City and is the latest in a line of free transfers the Bluebirds have swooped to sign.
The arrival of Sinclair coincides with City’s ambitious efforts to capture Anfield-legend, and former team-mate of Sinclair’s in Manchester, Robbie Fowler.
The arrival of 32-year-oldFowler would be a major coup for Cardiff ahead of the start of the Championship season next month.
Bluebirds’ chairman Peter Ridsdale has spoken with Fowler’s representative and is about to offer a financial package to try to capture the marksman from under the noses of seven other clubs here and overseas who are said to be interested...
Sinclair meanwhile is a recognised wide-man, who can operate on either flank, but is primarily thought of as right-sided and has been brought in to try to provide the ammunition for City hitman Michael Chopra.
Ironically it was on the left side Sinclair probably enjoyed the high-point of his career when then England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson called him into his squad in 2002 for the World Cup in Japan.
.... He earned 12 international caps in total, but failed to find the net for his country.
He started his career as a trainee at Blackpool where he became the Tangerines youngest ever league player.
He moved to QPR in 1993 for £600,000, where he spent five years and won the BBC’s Match of the Day goal of the season competition with an overhead scissors-kick in an FA Cup match against Barnsley in 1997.
He was signed for £230,000 by West Ham in January 1998, before moving to Manchester City in July 2003 for a fee of £250,000.
At the beginning of his career with the Blues, he played on the left-wing, where he had impressed for England, but the departure of Shaun Wright-Phillips presented the opportunity for Sinclair to play on his preferred right-wing.
In total he has made 574 appearances over his career grabbing 81 goals in total.
Sinclair has been hampered by injury in recent seasons including ligament damage to his knee and a groin problem last season for Manchester City.
Ahead of completing any move to Ninian Park he will need to pass a stringent medical. If he does sign for Cardiff it will be at the expense of Stoke, who have also expressed an interest in securing his services.
Jones recently revealed a desire to add more experience to his relatively young Bluebirds squad, emphasising the fact he wanted more depth and more players with knowledge of maintaining a promotion push.
He cited a lack of vital experience during the business end of last season as one of the reasons why City’s campaign fizzled out resulting in an ultimately disappointing 13th-placed finish....
. Western Mail

BLACKPOOL - IAN EVATT
Pool defender Ian Evatt on a change of shirt and all things pre-season

This season will mark a number of changes for many of the Blackpool players, none more so than for Ian Evatt, with the Pool defender set to start the Championship campaign as the squads new number six.

The shirt was previously held by last season's on loan Barnsley defender Robbie Williams but with the club still awaiting developments on that move, the manager has decided to award it to the previous number twenty-nine.

The change is not something the player is too concerned about but hopes to repay the faith shown in him by the manager: "The gaffer's put his faith in me being number 6 and hopefully that shows that I'm very much in his plans still this season, and I feel like I can produce the goods for him."

As the first team squad return for pre-season training, Evatt is only too aware of how important this part of the year is: "Pre-season is very important to all of us, we need to get ourselves super fit! We might not be the most talented team in this league this season but I'll guarantee you we'll work our socks off and be one of the fittest. I think come the first game of the season we'll be raring to go and if we can produce what we did last season we'll be fine."...
Blackpool Official Site