If Ewood Park's undersoil heating hadn't broken, my Premier League appearance record wouldn't exist' Brad Friedel recalls how Dirk Kuyt and faulty electrics both played roles in his astonishing record of 310 consecutive top-flight matches

"Some Premier League records are destined to be broken. Barely a week goes by, for instance, when someone doesn't mention Alan Shearer's goals record of 260 and how much longer that can possibly stand. There are others, however, which seem to remain set in stone for all time. One such statistic is Brad Friedel's consecutive appearance record of 310 games exactly 100 more than fellow American Tim Howard (210) and over 150 more than Frank Lampard (164), who holds the outfield record."

"I remember once, when I was racking up games at Blackburn, we played Liverpool and I went up to challenge Dirk Kuyt for an aerial ball. I came down with a serious dead leg right at the end of the game. I was struggling massively. This was around the Christmas period and we had a game just a few days later. I could barely bend my leg and couldn't train properly."

Brad Friedel set the Premier League consecutive appearance record at 310 matches. The streak lasted from 14 August 2004 to 29 September 2012. The total is exactly 100 more than Tim Howard's 210 and over 150 more than Frank Lampard's outfield record of 164. The sequence spanned spells at Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur under multiple managers. Every record can be broken, and such feats are decided on fine margins. A notable near-miss involved a serious dead leg after challenging Dirk Kuyt that left Friedel barely able to bend his leg before a following fixture, and an undersoil heating failure at Ewood Park.

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