Damien Duff

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Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

I tell ya one thing . . . if Duff was English Joe Cole would have the sum total of 0 international caps.
Furthermore, if Duff was English can you imagine a midfield like this:
DUFF, GERARD, LAMPARD, WRIGHT-PHILLIPS

with OWEN and ROONEY up front. I reckon that sort of attacking potency could win a World Cup.

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If the world cup was on this June they'd have a great chance as so many English players are playing out of their skins at the moment, and their players have pretty much all won things or come close at club level.

However, whereas Chelsea are a beautifully balanced side at the moment with little pairs and partnerships working really well throughout the side - Makelele & Tiago complementing Lampard for example - England's 4-4-2 has no balance about it. For the same reason as Eirebhoy points out, I just don't understand why Chelsea would want Gerrard. Nor Ferdinand for that matter as Carvalho is class.

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Originally Posted by DolansWaistcoat

Duff vs Finnan on that side of the field!Another Irish player in a Champions league final this year which is the job.The first since Denis Irwin in 99.

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Well Stevie Finnan is on a yellow card, and seeing as Liverpool are going all the way to the final, lets hope he doesn't pick up a silly booking in the second leg ;)

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Originally Posted by DolansWaistcoat

Will Duff start on the left wing for Chelski tomorrow night or is Robben supposed to start?

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It was reported on RTE news today that Duff didn't train today with a tight hamstring. Haven't seen anything on the internet about it though.

Appparently Duff didn't take part in the first training session but did
take part in a later training session at which there were no cameras/press
allowed (forget exact phrase used), thats what I heard on Sky Sports
news.
There is also a really funny press conference with Mourinho where he talks
about how he arrived at in England with a really big ego after winning the
Champions League, and now it's even bigger, made me laugh.

Also just see a headline in the Guarduan shown on SSN "Duff Doubt's not enough to put Mourinho off his stride", not sure what that is about
so I will have a look on googe.

"If he has a worry, apart from a hamstring injury that could rule out Damien Duff and force him to gamble on Arjen Robben’s fitness"

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...587205,00.html

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

It was reported on RTE news today that Duff didn't train today with a tight hamstring. Haven't seen anything on the internet about it though.

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Pity,Hope he gets the nod ahead of Robben so he can show what he can do in front of a huge tv audience. :cool:

Still hope Finnan can keep him under wraps. :o

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Originally Posted by 4tothefloor

Well Stevie Finnan is on a yellow card, and seeing as Liverpool are going all the way to the final, lets hope he doesn't pick up a silly booking in the second leg ;)

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Feck I forgot about that one...really would be disappointed if Finnan were to miss out on the final.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

For the same reason as Eirebhoy points out, I just don't understand why Chelsea would want Gerrard. Nor Ferdinand for that matter as Carvalho is class.

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agree on both there, they'd f*ck up their team by adding them players

Gerrard would replace Tiago and would play alongside Lampard and Makelele, so they'd still have their holding mid fielder if they bought him. I think they'd be better off getting Gerrards team mate Alonso though, someone who can pull the strings from in mid field would work better alongside Makelele and Lampard.

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Originally Posted by DolansWaistcoat

Duff vs Finnan on that side of the field!Another Irish player in a Champions league final this year which is the job.The first since Denis Irwin in 99.

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decent pic of the two here:
http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/...GLANDSCAPE.jpg

Fair play to Finnan if he's still on his feet 2 seconds after that picture was taken. :)

Apparently Duff will not start and neither will Robben but Cole will.

Correction Duff failed his fitness test and will not play, Robben starts on the bench.

Was just on the radio that duff failed his fitness test and wont play

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Originally Posted by tricky_colour

Correction Duff failed his fitness test and will not play, Robben starts on the bench.

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Just beat me to it!!

Robben is on bench Cole starts, I guess Duff is not fit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...xt/default.stm
Mught be worth a bet on Liverpool, I wonder what the price is?

Hmmm 2-1 Liverpool, 2-1 Draw, 6-5 Chelsea.

Hmm Chelsea are the value bet, they win more away than at home,
however they don't need to win, so I will save my money :cool:

Apparently this game is being shown live in 250 odd countries, more than
world cup final (or something lilke that)!!!

(I guess Duff is not fit)

What an inspired guess!!!

Well I knew he was injured but I thought he might make the bench.

How badly injured is Duff? Will he be ok for June that's the main concern.

Hamstring problem, should be fine for June.
I hope!

Well he was badly missed over those two legs. Duff playing well or not Chelsea would have scored if he was playing. That is 2 finals in a row they could have made if he was fit.