Duff to left back?

[kingdom hoop]

we all know the left back spot has been a problem area for us, but surely playing duff there is going a step too far, robbing peter to pay paul kind of thing?

or should stan take a leaf out of glenn roeder's book and move the duffster to left back. i only saw the highlights of newcastle's game yesterday but according to sky sports duff did make some marauding runs forward and was pretty solid in defence. its probably only a stop-gap measure for the magpies but huntington(who has played quite well in a good few games at LB this season) was left on the bench yesterday.

what will the upshot of this be?

duff's confidence further eroded, the find of the season, newcastle to concede ten goals in their next two games, the end of ian harte's ireland days, or damn all, once off, this is a stupid thread?

[drummerboy]

Duff doesn't seem to have the legs to go past defenders any more, hence the experiment of Newcastle playing him at left back.

[stojkovic]

We have a left-back playing regularly in the Premiership, Geary at Sheff. Utd. But he's not in the squad :eek:

[NeilMcD]

Geary is rubbish to be honest. Any time I see him i see he is at fault for goals. Just because Neil Warnock thinks he can do a job at Sheff Utd does not mean he should be in the squad. I dont rate him at all and Staunton doesnt either.

[gilberto_eire]

Geary is rubbish to be honest. Any time I see him i see he is at fault for goals. Just because Neil Warnock thinks he can do a job at Sheff Utd does not mean he should be in the squad. I dont rate him at all and Staunton doesnt either.

would you rather ian harte there cause he's about the worst player to wear the green in good knows how long!

[noby]

Wow. Four replies, and no 'Yeah, left back in Newcastle' joke.

[Dr. Ogba]

We have a left-back playing regularly in the Premiership, Geary at Sheff. Utd. But he's not in the squad :eek:


Geary is playing right-full for sheff utd at the moment. he was only used as a left-full as cover for yer man Armstrong who was injured. From what I've seen of him he looks pretty average....

[livehead1]

Geary is playing right-full for sheff utd at the moment. he was only used as a left-full as cover for yer man Armstrong who was injured. From what I've seen of him he looks pretty average....

Yeh, i think he's pretty average to, but being pretty average would entitle you to a place in the ireland squad at the moment.

[NeilMcD]

I would have Stephen Kelly at left back ahead of anybody at the moment.

[galwayhoop]

what a freefall the poor duffer has suffered since WC02!! now he is being touted for LB!! he has been marked out of games too easily against any half-decent opposotion for a while now and now is being shunted into LB at his club. he seems to lack any real pace or guile out wide anymore. a pity but it does happen to wingers and pacy strikers when they push on. what age is he now, i know he is not old by any means by he is 26/27. unfortunately mr. duff may have seen his best days and only enjoy the odd glimmer of the old duffer from time to time. ryan giggs is a total one off for his staying at the top of his game for so long. if it is the end of duffer at the top it is not totally unusual. how many wingers have come and gone in the last 10 years? defenders tend to stick around much longer but as alex ferguson said very recently wingers come and go very frequently.

[JimmyP]

He recently turned 28. From some of the things himself and Roeder have said about his form, it sounds like more of a psychological hinderance, so I'd hope he can come through that and find a bit of quality still.

[elroy]

How many players when having a terrible time at their clubs, have come in and put in big performances for Ireland - come on duffer, sat is your chance!

[Torn-Ado]

Duffs tracking back is excellent. Especially when he was at Chelsea but putting him into left back would damage his confidence. He would realise that having him as an attacking threat isn't a priority anymore.

Duff has been fairly dissapointing over the last couple of years and hopefully he will find some form. We need the young Duff from the WC2002 to return badly.

[lionelhutz]

we all know the left back spot has been a problem area for us, but surely playing duff there is going a step too far, robbing peter to pay paul kind of thing?

or should stan take a leaf out of glenn roeder's book and move the duffster to left back. i only saw the highlights of newcastle's game yesterday but according to sky sports duff did make some marauding runs forward and was pretty solid in defence. its probably only a stop-gap measure for the magpies but huntington(who has played quite well in a good few games at LB this season) was left on the bench yesterday.

what will the upshot of this be?

duff's confidence further eroded, the find of the season, newcastle to concede ten goals in their next two games, the end of ian harte's ireland days, or damn all, once off, this is a stupid thread?


This is a very stupid thread. He's a left winger, and an excellent one when on form. He's not, and never will be, a left back

[John83]

Mourinho used him at left back a couple of times. He certainly seems capable there (something I really hesitate to say about our other options there) but I don't think we're so blessed with wingers that we can drop him back without consequence.

[Ordinary Fan]

He is the only attacking option in the Irish team and has been for the last few years. Just get him out on the left wing and get the our left full back to go past him to take one of the two markers off him and he will do the goods from Ireland.

I never understood why he went to Newcastle, that club have constant injury problems because of terrible training methods that have ruined players in the past. He should get away from there and go to somewhere like Spurs where thay use attacking players properly!

[kingdom hoop]

This is a very stupid thread. He's a left winger, and an excellent one when on form. He's not, and never will be, a left back

oi you, no need for that:)

if you want to be smart, then he was in fact a left back just two days ago! which i'm sure a good few people weren't aware of so its good someone brought it up. the club form/positions of our players are always important.

while its v.unlikely he'll play left back in a 442 maybe he could do a good job as a left wing-back in a 532.

[geysir]

Am i the only person who saw stephen kelly playing out of position at left back for ireland and playing superbly

I wouldn't go as far as superb, many have already said he did quite well.
He was adequate to good at LB with the bonus of having Finnan at RB where he belongs.

[NeilMcD]

Yeah I thought Stephen Kelly was very good at left back and should start and so shoudl Mc Shane and Carsley and Douglas. They should all be rewarded for their performances V Czech Rep.

[geysir]

I just think he might be ever so slightly better than Harte Duff or O'Shea but as you say what do i know
That's the you plural of course :) I wouldn't say such a thing.

Thinking about it more, considering Kelly for a RB playing at LB (in his 2nd start?) some time after his terrible debut, performed very well, beyond most peoples expectations. I would have him in pole position for LB with O'Shea as deputy. I like Harte but even his prize asset, his crossing and dead ball ability, is letting him down now.

[DRDoc]

Is macshane playing left back for wba?

[tetsujin1979]

he's been playing right back, or at the right side of a back 3

[dr_peepee]

Stan won't drop O'Shea so expect to see him at left back..

A bigger pitch will suit Duffer too.. I expect him to do well on Sat.

[galwayhoop]

Stan won't drop O'Shea so expect to see him at left back..

A bigger pitch will suit Duffer too.. I expect him to do well on Sat.

but where will he play. i can't see staunton dropping kilbane (5,679 consectitive games :D ), carsley or ireland (the man who saved his bacon - fitness permitting of course).

will duffer be employed on the right with kilbane on the left, carsley and ireland in the middle. thats my prediction anyway. in fact this is how i see him putting out the team:

......................given
finnan.....dunne....mcshane.....kelly
duff........ireland.....carsley....kilbane
...............doyle......keane

[NeilMcD]

Stan won't drop O'Shea so expect to see him at left back..

A bigger pitch will suit Duffer too.. I expect him to do well on Sat.

Its a smaller pitch.

[Collyontour]

Stephen Kelly should get the nod, or else Darren O'Dea who has played there before

[Torn-Ado]

Darren O Dea should start at centre back. I'd let Harte play left back. I don't rate him but I think we could use him for his dead ball expertise (even if he couldn't cross his legs against the part timers).

We should go out with an ultra attack minded team because both Wales and Slovakia will not come out of the blocks in a hurry. I think both teams are looking for a draw regardless of Irelands latest form. No team team gets it easy at home for Ireland especially when there 70,000 home fans. They will sit back.

[lionelhutz]

Don't think either of them (especially Slovakia) will be afraid of coming at Ireland. Playing Harte would be disastrous I think. He's so slow, loses concentration easily and can't tackle. And he seems to have lost the magic in his set pieces.

I agree with you about odea though, definitely deserves a chance. Why wait?? I'd put mcshane left full then ( i know thats not his natural position but i think a player like him could easily adapt)

[Torn-Ado]

Don't think either of them (especially Slovakia) will be afraid of coming at Ireland. Playing Harte would be disastrous I think. He's so slow, loses concentration easily and can't tackle. And he seems to have lost the magic in his set pieces.

I agree with you about odea though, definitely deserves a chance. Why wait?? I'd put mcshane left full then ( i know thats not his natural position but i think a player like him could easily adapt)

Regardless of form, neither team will be going for full on attack. The Czechs played us a few days after our worst defeat ever with a depleted side and they didn't even risk it. Both the Slovaks and the Welsh will be delighted with a win but their main aim is not to lose. They will be cautious.

O Dea should play. He is comfortable on the ball and is competent with top strikers against him. But we all know he won't.

[dr_peepee]

Its a smaller pitch.

You're winding me up? Seriously.

If enything we've a reasonable strength in depth in out and out wingers and he reduces the pitch size!!!

Just to confirm... Are you saying smaller than a GAA pitch? Or smaller than the pitch at lansdowne?

[kev mcq]

You're winding me up? Seriously.

If enything we've a reasonable strength in depth in out and out wingers and he reduces the pitch size!!!

Just to confirm... Are you saying smaller than a GAA pitch? Or smaller than the pitch at lansdowne?

The pitch is smaller than lansdowne because they didn't want the 20metre line running through the box or somethin (may have been 30metre line). I htink it's pretty stupid too. need to open up the pitch to give the likes off duff some space to do some damage.

[eirebhoy]

Croke Park is 86 metres wide and 144 metres long (Source (http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2007/02/07/story24864.asp)). A football pitch can be 90m wide and 120m long (source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4200666.stm)).

Apparantly the football markings on Croke Park are 40 metres shorter in length and 20 metres less in width than a Gaelic pitch (Source (http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/?jp=MHAUCWSNQLGB)).

Also:

2.74
For stadia which will be used for a number of different codes of football, it is important that the sightlines be good for all codes. Where the pitches are of different width and the areas of greatest interests also different, some compromise on both will be necessary. The maximum pitch widths of the three major codes played in Ireland are :

Rugby Union: 70 metres
Association Football: 90 metres
Gaelic Games: 90 metres

The widths in general use for major matches in Ireland including internationals and All Ireland Finals are as follows:

Rugby Union: 70 metres
Association Football: 75 metres (International Matches)
Gaelic Games: 80 metres (Croke Park)

2.75
Therefore with a full width pitch of 90 metres (with good sightlines for Gaelic Football) spectators watching other codes will be at a distance from the touchlines of these narrower pitches. By adopting a width of 85 metres for Gaelic Football, a more balanced spectator environment with good sightlines can be achieved. The viewing standards adopted for the resulting 144 metres x 85 metres playing area are based on the following criteria:

a. All seated spectators will have a clear unobstructed view of the pitch area;
b. A minimum C value (C-value is defined as the extent to which you can see over the head of the person in the seat in front) of 90 mm will be provided at a point of focus based on the touchlines and goal lines of an area 150 metres x 88 metres except at the four corners where the minimum C-value may reduce to 60mm.
c. Highball view for all spectators to a minimum height of 30 metres above the centre of the field of play.
http://www.arts-sport-tourism.gov.ie/pdfs/feasibility/campus3.html