Duff's worrying loss of form

allybhoy · 19-05-2008 02:09AM

Listen dude I hate the FAI as much as the next fella but at the end of the day IMO they have pulled off a minor miracle with appointing Trap and Tardelli and sometimes you just have to say fair play.

You say he's only here for the money, I seriously doubt it, He's 69, what does he want with a load of money? Is he going to buy a Ferrari, no. At the end of the day, the man lives for football, he's the most successful club coach in the history of Italy. Its not like he's short of a few quid, and he is on nowhere near the money that the likes of Capello is on. He lives for success, he has been successful (with maybe the odd exception) at every club he has managed. If you dont want Trap who did u want? EL TEL? John Aldridge? Billy Davies?

Finnan and Ireland will return, I have no doubt about that. I mean Dean Kiely came back and he swore he would never play for us again, and he probably knows that he will be lucky to get another couple of caps with Givo and possibly even Paddy Kenny ahead of him, In a recent interview he said "When I was asked before about Giovanni's appointment, I said that as a player, I would be buzzing if I turned up for traiining and he was there. Thats the status of the man, That's his legend"

I also take exception at the fact that you say "No self-respecting manager would take this job" What do you mean by this? Our preferred starting 11 would compromise of all premiership players, apart from the Reading boys. And not just premiership players, Given,Dunne,Keane,Ireland,Stephen Reid, Mcgeady would get into most teams. We also have up and coming exciting players, James Mccarthy, Andy Keogh etc.

But the players aside, I believe Trappatoni will bring cohesion\structure and ressiliance to the side, every man will be sure of his importance and his task when he walks across the line. And its the sum of the parts that will hopefully make us into a hard to beat team. I dont have to mention Greece, ah but i will!

Another thing, I wouldnt single out Keano during our last campaign. Does the fact that he was on fire for Spurs but brutal for Ireland not point to the manager and the team setup. We were like headless chickens under Stan, I also think (as im sure most supporters do) that Dunne should be made captain. I doubt Robbie would mind too much because theyre good mates, and I believe it would be benificial to both the Honey Monster and Keane. It would help Robbie concentrate on his own game and maybe stop him drifting back to try and help out when were not doing so great

LuckyLloyd · 19-05-2008 02:29AM

tdv wrote: »

Finnan can't get into the Liverpool team at the moment

Have a check of how many games and minutes he played this year. Compare it to how many games and minutes Javier Mascherano played. Then consider that he struggled with a few injuries after the break. Then try to post things that are factually correct going forward.

_blank_ · 19-05-2008 08:29AM

Duff has been shíte for Ireland since WC02, that's six years ago.

This isn't a "loss of form" in any shape of form.

Predhead · 19-05-2008 08:34AM

tdv wrote: »

I'm not trying to have a go I'm being realistic. Sure keane was in great form for Spurs through out the Euro 2008 campaing. But when was the last time he put in a real solid performance when it mattered for Ireland?

Finnan can't get into the Liverpool team at the moment & announced his retirment from International football a while ago anyway.

I think Steven Ireland is our best player & he might not even play for us. Which would be a real shame if he didnt because he could be a legend for us. But the state the FAI has us in at the moment I could understand him not wanting to play.

And as for Trapattoni there's only one reason he's here & thats money. No self-respecting manager would take this job unless he was being paid some ridiculous amount of money.

The whole thing is just a freak show.

Sorry if I bummed anyone out. But we deserve better than what were getting.

Better than the Trapp?! I don't think so. Or better performances from the team? That'll come with Trappatoni. First things first is to shore up the defence, if we can be hard to beat again then we can/will go from there.

iregk · 19-05-2008 09:00AM

Ok at the fear of being torn apart again I said this about a year ago now and got battered from one end of boards to the other.

Its always been my opinion that Duff was the most over rated player to possibly ever play for Ireland. He was at best average who had a couple of good months nothing more and is now not off form. He is where he should be.

Even Darren Huckerbe had a good season or two.

Predhead · 19-05-2008 09:04AM

iregk wrote: »

Ok at the fear of being torn apart again I said this about a year ago now and got battered from one end of boards to the other.

Its always been my opinion that Duff was the most over rated player to possibly ever play for Ireland. He was at best average who had a couple of good months nothing more and is now not off form. He is where he should be.

Even Darren Huckerbe had a good season or two.

I agree to a certain extent. Always thought he was overrated.

But c'mon he's better than Darren Huckerby!!! :eek:

gosplan · 19-05-2008 01:55PM

tdv wrote: »

Your only worried about his form now? He's been **** for the last 3 years.

And I'm the only who thinks we don't have a hope in hell of making it to South Africa? Can anyone name 3 decent outfield players we have & who have performed well for us in the last few years?

Nobody's performed well for Ireland in the last three years - that's why we've spent a load on a good manager.

However:

Birmingham, player of the year - Kelly
Man City, player of the year - Dunne
Spurs, player of the year - Keane
Reading, player of the year - Hunt
Celtic, player of the year - McEddie(arf!)
Man U, player of the year - O'Shea*

Add to that the fact that Andy Reid was probably the best for Sunderland behind Jones(even though he only got a few games), and we've got the players that have been performing well at a high level. They didn't perfrom well for Stan because, well, no-one could.

I mean we only need to finish second in the group. Beating Bulgaria is possible.

*NOT!

Slash/ED · 19-05-2008 09:36PM

Whatever about Duff now, there's no denying the man was a genius for two seasons. He had the potential to do it all, people forget how good he actually was.

eirebhoy · 21-05-2008 04:23PM

DesF wrote: »

Duff has been shíte for Ireland since WC02, that's six years ago..

You're more stubborn than I am. I already told you the games he has been fantastic in since 2002. Loads of games. We had this debate before but it still surprises me how you ignore the truth so much when it suits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY0y5IEL_pE

Not many of the above clips are pre-2002 and he was consistently superb at his best. For a few years he didn't know what a bad game was. Pre-2002 he wasn't great for Ireland. Since then he's been very, very good overall. 02-05 were his best years and if he lost possession he must have won a foul because it was almost impossible to get the ball off him. His close control in those clips is unbelievable. Messi would be proud of that run against Italy, the ball was stuck to his feet.

Charlie · 21-05-2008 04:31PM

Word around the Toon is that Duff is to be sold and replaced by Turkish Ace Arda Turan. He's supposedly already sold his Northumberland home, so maybe a move to the Mackems is off the cards.

I could see him moving back to Blackburn tbh.

sharkDawg · 21-05-2008 05:31PM

charlie mchugh wrote: »

I could see him moving back to Blackburn tbh.

Unfortunately I don't think he is near good enough for Blackburn anymore, I'd say he'll be lucky to get one of the promoted sides.

estebancambias · 22-05-2008 08:50PM

I don't care if Duff is playing for Fash FC. As long as he plays like he did in his last game against Slovakia then he is still a pivotal point of our team, and perhaps not world class(like he has been), but a very good player.

Where is this he hasn't played well for Ireland since 2002 coming from?

Duff's worrying loss of form

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