Damien Duff

[Stuttgart88]

And regardless of how his general play is the quality of Duff's crossing hasn't dropped. Whether Drogba would have exploited it is another story though. And Lampard's corners and wide frees were well short of Duff's standard.

I wouldn't be too critical of the drop in Duff's goal output as a big goal return isn't what ypou expect from him anyway.

I think Duff would definitely have made a difference.

[onenilgameover]

Duff not in the Chelsea squad that play at home to Charlton today where they will recieve the Premiership on completion of the match. Anyone know for sure if this fella is gonna makre it June 4th? I sincerely hope so...

[mountie]

any news on seriousness of Duffs injury?

[boysingreen]

www.rte.ie/sport

The Chelsea winger hobbled off just after the hour with a twisted knee which now makes him doubtful for Wednesday, with Kerr confirming: "He is quite sore. It's early yet, but he has to be very doubtful at this stage."

That's all I've seen so far.

[thejollyrodger]

cant see duffer making it for wednesday. he looked like a cripple at the airport. Oh well, he was a passenger of late anyway in all fairness.

[ilpostino]

he looked like a cripple most of his 61' also

on current international form he is no loss

looks completely ****ed off and not enjoying his football

[thejollyrodger]

i think things at chelski are too much. the club is playing so many games and he has to be at such a high level for so long. Its hard being a winger and i think he is in a bit of a low ebb at the moment.

[wallis]

For goodness sake Duff , take your medals at the end of the season and get out of there before Mourinho strangles all the talent out of you. Used to be one of the most exciting players in european football and there was always a roar of anticipation in Japan everytime he picked up the ball- but now its all gone. Every time I see you play for Chelsea its trap ball , move forward 5 yards , stop , pass ball back ten yards - repeat for 90 minutes to ensure being picked for every game (Cole and Robben wont do it so they never get the full 90).

Get a video of yourself from two years ago , look at yourself now and be honest, which of the two do you want to be ?

[thejollyrodger]

i totally agree wallis... i said time and again the anglo saxon mentality is killing duffer at chelsea

[Tram_14]

For goodness sake Duff , take your medals at the end of the season and get out of there before Mourinho strangles all the talent out of you. Used to be one of the most exciting players in european football and there was always a roar of anticipation in Japan everytime he picked up the ball- but now its all gone. Every time I see you play for Chelsea its trap ball , move forward 5 yards , stop , pass ball back ten yards - repeat for 90 minutes to ensure being picked for every game (Cole and Robben wont do it so they never get the full 90).

Get a video of yourself from two years ago , look at yourself now and be honest, which of the two do you want to be ?

It's true, its makes depressing viewing, Chelsea, by rounding the edges off Duff have seemed to have taken something away from his game, but on a positive? note he comes back to defend alot more & ironically recently he's made a couple of really important defensive tackles but its quite a poor trade off for what we used to have. Maybe it's just a phase but the fear that Duff instilled at the WC 2002 isn't there at the moment, I'd love to see it back again.

[thejollyrodger]

a move to barca would be excellent IMO. lots of attacking football. but i dont think they like wingers in la liga

[Tram_14]

I was in the other room but I think I just heard on the 9.00 RTE headlines that Duff is out.

[Tram_14]

Yeah Duff ruled out.

[Tram_14]

AH!!! But Gary Breen is back:D Watch out KC

[thejollyrodger]

AH!!! But Gary Breen is back:D Watch out KC
Brilliant news!!!!. I felt immidately reassured about victory once i got the bad news about duffer.

/scarcasim

we will be lucky if we can get a draw on wednesday and thats no joke

[Tram_14]

Yeah, well if we don't win, half of the team should be sold as horsemeat & i'm not joking either.

[razor]

Not too bothered really. He hasn't done a whole lot for us recently anyway.
The main concern for me is the defence, I feel if we can keep it tight that we may nick one and Andy Reid should come in as a straight swap.

[thejollyrodger]

thats a good point razor. we can score goals one way or another but if we can just battle for defence.

the arrogrant swiss on tv were reminding themselves how they beat us in euro 2004. my blood boils sometimes.

[Tram_14]

Not too bothered really. He hasn't done a whole lot for us recently anyway.
The main concern for me is the defence, I feel if we can keep it tight that we may nick one and Andy Reid should come in as a straight swap.

Yeah, its more about a team effort than one player on Wednesday, very happy Reid is available though.

[wallis]

Bad news about duff , but to be honest I wonder how much we actually lose ?

Give me a nice 1-0 ground out of sheer boredom as we did against Cyprus. Looks like we will be lining up a standard no frills 4-4-2 and then its on with Dohery / another with 25 mins to go if we need a goal.

Despite everything thats happened over the campaign its just about 90 minutes now and our defence has been very solid so far (barring Israel). We arent conceeding many and if we can just find a goal somewhere....you never know

[davey]

Be interesting to see Reid in his natural position on the left too. On current form for Ireland, Duff isn't a major loss.

[jbyrne]

On current form for Ireland, Duff isn't a major loss.

never thought i'd be agreeing with a statement saying duff is no loss to us but its true. cant remember the last time he played well for us. he's a differant player now than what chelsea bought two years back. please please give us back the duffer of ire v spain wc '02!

[brine3]

i preferred him back when he was on the happy meals

[GalwayFrancis]

from fai.ie::

Damien Duff is ruled out with cartilage problem

Damien Duff was ruled out of Wednesday’s World Cup tie against Switzerland when medical examination of his injured knee revealed damage to a cartilage.

Duff left the Irish World Cup party after the results of a scan in a Dublin hospital confirmed the fears of the Irish medical team. He returned to Chelsea for treatment and an assessment of how long the injury will keep him out of the game.

Ireland’s manager, Brian Kerr, said: "Damien Duff had a scan this evening on the knee injury which forced him to retire from the match against Cyprus.

“The scan revealed knee cartilage damage which will certainly keep him out of Wednesday's game against Switzerland. He has returned to Chelsea for further assessment and treatment.”

There is also a level of concern about the fitness of Kevin Kilbane who suffered a ‘dead leg’ in the World Cup qualifying tie which produced a 1-0 win for Ireland. He will undergo further medical examination on Monday.

There was more encouraging news about full-back Stephen Carr, however. He received a knock on a knee and had a precautionary scan which proved to be clear. He is expected to be fit and ready for training on Monday.

All other players in the squad are fit for Wednesday's game.

Ireland’s squad was strengthened by the addition of three players on their return to Dublin. Gary Breen returned after recovering from an injury that kept him out of the squad for Cyprus while Clinton Morrison and Andy Reid rejoined following suspension.

Said Kerr: “Following Saturday’s results the situation is very clear - we need to win on Wednesday and if we win there is no doubt we will at least reach the play offs.

“I am confident that if the players play to their full potential and with the kind of support we have had in recent games and the full backing of all those with the interest of Irish football at heart we can achieve the required result.”

[elroy]

On current form he isnt a huge loss and I would fancy Reid to play a better game on the left than Duff.
I think Giles has it spot on when he said that Duff no longer runs into space and runs onto the ball. With Chelsea and now Ireland he seems to play deep, comes and collect the ball with his back to goal and most of the time doesnt create anything worthwhile. We need him back running into spaces, chasing balls down and scaring the sh*** outta defenders.

[thejollyrodger]

I think Duff wont change to what he was before. Wingers are always converted to play in the centre and the days of Duff and his maisey runs are gone for good.

[tricky_colour]

Duff will be playing tommorow, he is fit apparantly, well fit enough
to recieve a ball from the defence, advance 5 yards and pass it back :D

[tricky_colour]

I would add that Chelsea won all their games when he played?
And that without him it was won one, drawn one, lost one?

[thejollyrodger]

i wonder if his attacking days are gone... most top defenders have figured out what makes him tick. Still, all the tracking back he does should get in on the starting 11.

[tricky_colour]

Well regarding Duff (or anyone) playing for Ireland in the near future I think you can forget it. It looks like they are shutting down the national team for
six months or so.

[tricky_colour]

Incidently I think you can see the Chelsea match in the UK on ITV4 (freeview) tomorrow.
Don't want to miss those back passes do we.;)

[Kevin77]

Yeah, you are all right. Duff is finished. Let's hound him into retirement like everyone did with Stephen Carr. There are a plethora of decent alternatives. My choice would be Premier League winner and Champions League superstar Mark Kennedy to take Duff's spot. If not, we could move the mercurial Kevin Kilbane back to the left...my only problem with this is who will then boss the midfield and set the tempo and protect the back four. Maybe not he's too valuable there. Or Andy Reid. Thankfully he's getting lots of time at Spurs and setting the Premiership on fire. Those 7 or 8 minutes against Arsenal were world class. Unlike Duff who hasn't got a look in at Chelsea for the past few weeks. Or maybe Alan Quinn? Everyone has been clamouring for his inclusion.

Let's start the campaign in earnest to get rid of Duff now. At 26, his best days are behind him, he will never ever play well for Ireland again and we are in a position of such amazing strength and depth that we wont miss him at all.

Yours sincerely

Jose...I mean Kevin

[eirebhoy]

i wonder if his attacking days are gone... most top defenders have figured out what makes him tick. Still, all the tracking back he does should get in on the starting 11.
No defender would figure out what made Duff tick :). He was unstoppable 2 or 3 years ago. He's still regarded as Chelsea's best winger by their fans so he's doing something right.

[eirebhoy]

Mourinho also revealed that Irish winger Damien Duff has made a quick recovery from knee surgery and will play some part in Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League clash against Real Betis.

The former Blackburn star was expected to be out for a month after picking up the injury on international duty with Republic of Ireland, but after returning ahead of schedule Mourinho hailed the comeback of the star as an example for the rest of the squad.

"Damien is a great player and a special character," Mourinho continued.

"He is very important for us and a great example of how important it is to be a tough guy to recover from surgery like he did.

"The medical department is brilliant and worked incredibly well with him. It is a big award for them to have got him ready to play tomorrow and for sure he will play."

Duff himself was keen to brush aside notions that Chelsea's recent results represented a blip in form, but insisted that the players were unhappy at failing to maintain their 100 percent domestic record.

"Last week was disappointing," admitted Duff.

"I think many people were seeing it as a crisis, or a mini crisis, but we weren't.

"We didn't feel that way at all it was only two draws, it shows how strong we are to bounce back in the way we did against Blackburn last Saturday.

"We were still positive. We had worst points during last season. The way we looked at it was that they were only two draws."
http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=321503&cpid=8&CLID=8&lid=&title=Jose+calls+for+improvement&channel=champions_league

[BobbySands]

Damien seems like a nice enough fellow but I have to say I don't give a damn about his fitness. His recent displays for Ireland have been pitiful and he's part of the reason our national team is on hiatus.

[eirebhoy]

Damien seems like a nice enough fellow but I have to say I don't give a damn about his fitness. His recent displays for Ireland have been pitiful and he's part of the reason our national team is on hiatus.
He's not to blame tbh. A mixture of Jose Mourinho and being the only threat in the team (so being marked by 4 players) is. We seen how good he is when teams don't bother to man mark him (vs Italy).

[Littlest Hobo]

I couldn't care less how many games Chelsea win with Duff. I'm interested in how Duff performs for Ireland, and in the past year he has not done nearly as well as he should have. Those who suggest that this is because he has been re-trained by Mourinho as a defensive winger have probably got it right. Chelsea have other attacking options, Ireland are much more reliant on Duff.

Yep agree. Its been a while since we last saw him leave a few defenders standing in his wake.

[gustavo]

i would take eirebhoys point of view on this one , makelele had the french team warned about his threat for the french game and it showed.

[tricky_colour]

for Chelsea...should be interesting how he does, Chelsea need goals.

[tricky_colour]

Duff, Robin, Cole...looks like he is copying Stans tactics :D

[thejollyrodger]

is it on the internet anywheres ?

[tricky_colour]

Its on ITV1 in the UK, don't know about elsewhere.
I would think there is a good chance of it being on the internet
somewhere, it's a real big match.

[Roverstillidie]

duff is having, what can only politely described, as an absolute shocker. chelski arent playing like a team that need 2 goals. not even close.

[cavan_fan]

Usual thing for Duff, he needs to be at the centre of the game or else he tries to chase it too much, compare to Robben who doesnt seem too fussed what else hapens but whenever he gets the ball he keeps going until he shoots. Seems odd though for Mourinho to try a system like this for the first time here, it obviously doesnt work and he's wasted 2/3 of the game proving it.

[tricky_colour]

Thing is Chelsea need goals, anyway Duff subbed, Barc score, great
goal from Ronaldinho game over. Barcalona are obviously a great side.

[Kowalski]

duff is having, what can only politely described, as an absolute shocker. chelski arent playing like a team that need 2 goals. not even close.

He was playing near enough left back, only made one cross in the whole game, Gallas hardly got forward at all. Delighted for Chelsea, serves them right for spending all that money to play unattractive football. Super goal, its not often you see Terry knocked out of the way.

[Roverstillidie]

He was playing near enough left back, only made one cross in the whole game, Gallas hardly got forward at all. Delighted for Chelsea, serves them right for spending all that money to play unattractive football. Super goal, its not often you see Terry knocked out of the way.

barca threatened to spank chelskib ut never quite got motoring.

duff gave away a lot of silly fouls and got pegged back along with the rest of chelski's midfield. totally outplayed and outthought. the sulky head on mourihinio was suoer. a great day for football all round.

no doubt livehead will be on soon to tell us english football is still the worlds best :D

[eirebhoy]

I have to say, while Duff was poor going forward as he usually is for Chelsea, I thought he was one of the few players trying before he got subbed. The likes of Cole, Lampard and Robben didn't seem too bothered about losing. At least Duff was putting in the tackles and showed he actually cared. He shouldn't have been taken off, I said it at the time and it was all one way traffic when he was taken off.

I can imagine Larsson telling Ronnie and co how well Duff played last Wednesday. They must have thought they mistaked him for someone else last night because as soon as he puts that blue jersey on he looks like Kilbane when trying to go past someone. :)

[FarBeag]

You are right Duff did work his arse off but i think he tries too hard playing for Chelsea and just can't perform the way he usually can.I hope that he moves on and finds a manager that lets him play the football he is best at.

[NeilMcD]

Robert Huth up front ha ha.