Former Azkal Neil Etheridge searching for new club team

Naveen Ganglani

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Despite receiving feelers after becoming a free agent, former Azkals goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has yet to sign with a new team

Neil Etheridge is looking for a new club team. File photo courtesy of Fulham FC official website

MANILA, Philippines – After spending the last eight years of his career playing for Fulham, goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is searching for a new club to suit up for.

Despite receiving feelers after becoming a free agent, Etheridge, 24, has yet to sign with a new team.

The long process has been hard to muster for the former Philippine national football team player, but he remains determined to open the next chapter of his playing career with a new team. 

“I spent the last two weeks training at Wolves and thought I had done enough to earn myself a chance, but in the end it wasn’t to be,” Etheridge told Skysports.

“But that’s football and you just have to pick yourself up and get on with it.”

Etheridge was offered a contract with Fulham to play in Championship side, but instead seized an opportunity over the summer to try out for the Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League side.

However, his tryout didn’t go as well as he had hoped and left him without a club.

“It was tough because I feel a close affinity to Charlton – It was the first club I was ever loaned to and I know a lot of the people there, so it was a great place to be training and playing,” said Etheridge, a former student at the Chelsea Academy. “But I also have confidence in my ability to play in a Premier League set-up. So when I was offered a trial at QPR, I seized it.”

“I had the belief that I could earn a contract,” he said. “I felt that I had done my best, but I’ve discovered that sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do.”

However, Etheridge is keeping his head up and keeping positive that he will get to find a new home soon.

Etheridge’s tenure with the Philippine Azkals hit a roadblock after he lashed out on social media after being left off the Philippine Peace Cup roster by head coach Thomas Dooley. 

(RELATED: Why the Azkals are upset with team management)

“Football can have a habit of kicking you when you’re down and I suppose I’ve been very fortunate in my career up to now. I think what makes you as a professional is how you react to the challenges that football presents,” Etheridge said. – Rappler.com

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