Damien Duff

[tricky_colour]

Nice to see Mourihino giving Duff some praise.

Talanted manager, talanted player.

[ken foree]

duff was quiet against arse because he defends (more than robben it appears), i believe he's added more of that tracking to his game since mourinho came in there. mourinho's quote above cites both duff's attacking and defensive positioning when singling him out as chelsea's best player over the last six games. cole generally keeps duff quiet though and robben did on one occasion skin about 3 arse players including cole down their left in the 2nd half, he might be a bit better attacking but duffer is all-round?

[tricky_colour]

The goals against Chelsea suggests Mourihino is a defense minded manager,
he knows that if you don't conceed goals you won't get beat, which
is important in Europe.
He does seem to have shifted into a more attacking mode recently,
either because of critism about the low number of goals scored or
because he how has Robben who is not shy about putting the ball in the back
of the net!!.

I think Duff sees himself as a provider of goals, he seems very unselfish and
he will usually pass rather than have a shot himself.

It must be worrying for managers playing against Chelsea with a big threat
from both wings, it opens up the centre of the pitch for other players
to find space to score.

I have to admire Duff's sublime skills though, he is great when he has the
ball at his feets, his feet always seem to be just that split second faster
than the defenders feet, which often results in them being left for
dead!

He is a class above the rest of the Irish squad in that respect and probably
one of the best players in the world in doing what he does.

In terms of 'trickery' I would say he is the best in the world!!

[SaucyJack]

I didn't see it, is it on the net anywhere.?..I checked the Chelsea site and no luck

[KR's Post]

I didn't see it, is it on the net anywhere.?..I checked the Chelsea site and no luck

Don't remind me please. I was at the game and it sickened me.... You may get it on the united website.....

[Aldini98]

Its great, Rio ball watching, classic stuff !!!!!!!

[Stuttgart88]

(Apologies for the sloppy formatting)

KERR DELIGHTED WITH IN-FORM DUFF
By Ian Parkes, PA Sport
Republic of Ireland coach Brian Kerr has hailed Damien Duff as ``a special
talent'' after overcoming the fear factor of playing for Chelsea.
Duff will win his 50th cap tomorrow in less than seven years when the Republic face Portugal in a friendly at Lansdowne Road.
``For someone so young to get to 50 caps is remarkable when you consider the likes of Chris Hughton [current assistant manager] took 13 years to win 53 caps,'' Kerr said.
``His performances have been fantastic, while he has this consistency and
desire to play for the international team, a love for playing.
``There maybe a frustration he hasn't scored for a while, but when you see his work rate and honesty in both defending and attacking, and the fact he is
prepared to do whatever for the team then you cannot criticise that.
``For me, he is a special talent and it looks like he is right on top of his
game.''

Duff has become a pivotal figure for both Ireland and Chelsea in recent times,
more so at Stamford Bridge now he has won over Jose Mourinho.
Initially, the £17million price tag appeared to hang heavy round his neck
following his high-profile move from Blackburn in the summer of 2003.
But after overcoming that personal battle, Duff was then faced with another
when Mourinho arrived last summer to replace Claudio Ranieri.
Used only sparingly at the start of the season, the 25-year-old has played his way into Mourinho's affections, notably so when used in tandem on the wings withArjen Robben.

Kerr, who described Duff's contribution to Ireland over the years as
``immense'', added: ``I think when he first signed for Chelsea there was a huge challenge for him. I remember he had a feeling it might be hard for him to be inthe team.

``There was fear as he looked around at the type of players they were signing, although I personally I had no doubts.

``But he has risen to the challenge. He has met it head-on and shown he has the mental strength and the physical and technical ability to survive and be a top player.''

Given a licence to roam, rather than shackled to the left, Kerr feels Duff has
grown in ability, stature and composure since his move to Stamford Bridge.

``There have been obvious improvements in his game,'' added Kerr.
``He has got stronger, become more mobile and there is more of an acceptance from people he can play on either side of the pitch, which has not always been the case.
``Some people say he has to play wide left and hug the touchline, but I've
always felt he should have a bit of leeway in some games to move about, show hismobility and ability to get on the ball and get in more threatening, central positions.

``I'd like to think we were ahead of Chelsea in using him in a freer role, but
the fact he is playing on either side, and that there are also defensive demandson him at Chelsea, have helped him and he works hard on that.

``It is vital players understand they have responsibilities to the team when
they have not got the ball, as well as when they do have it, but then he has
always been a good team player.''

The only question mark to Duff's name at international level is the fact he
has scored just six goals in his 49 appearances to date, but Kerr remains
unconcerned as he said: ``His ratio has been decent enough since I came in.

``I have had thoughts about trying to accommodate him more on an inside
position, but the way the team has developed with other players coming through has meant we can still play him wide.

``It means the team is well balanced and it is still a threat. It is not that
important who scores the goals, and we've generally been getting enough to win matches.

``But he's doing fantastically well. Maybe if we had as many matches as
Chelsea over the season then his scoring rate would be higher.''

Kerr has confirmed he will start with a 4-4-2 formation, with Duff and new
Tottenham recruit Andy Reid on the wings, while Robbie Keane and Clinton
Morrison spearhead the attack.

However, there is no Roy Keane due to a knee injury, with Stephen Carr
training but requested not to play by Newcastle manager Graeme Souness as has hehas only recently returned from a knee ligament problem.
end

[Slash/ED]

Kerr has confirmed he will start with a 4-4-2 formation, with Duff and new
Tottenham recruit Andy Reid on the wings, while Robbie Keane and Clinton
Morrison spearhead the attack.

Why is it Kerr seems to like giving out the odd bit of info about whos starting before friendlys and not the whole thing? Ah well, I would have prefered to have seen a bit more experimentation with Elliot and McGeady but Kerr treats these high profile friendlys like competitive games so it's no suprise, all four players would easily start in a full strenght team.

[finlma]

Let's just try win it and get our FIFA ranking up.

Who really cares about our FIFA ranking? Its all about winning the qualifying games and qualifying for big tournaments. If we loose a freindly but one of the younger players shows a lot of promise then we have more to gain than winning a boring game with a lucky goal.

[onenilgameover]

To be honest I'm not really worried about the result at all. We have won alot of these friendlys and we must not get over confident on the back of these results...after all they are home games and not qualifiers. The match on the 26th v isreal is most important and I reckon we might need a kick up the backside before then. Portugal will be a tough side if there bothered to play.

[eirebhoy]

To be honest I'm not really worried about the result at all. We have won alot of these friendlys and we must not get over confident on the back of these results...after all they are home games and not qualifiers. The match on the 26th v isreal is most important and I reckon we might need a kick up the backside before then. Portugal will be a tough side if there bothered to play.

Well they've no real primadonna's in the team that I can think of, maybe Deco. I'm sure they'll be up for it.

[thecorner]

pulled up vs newcastle and still hobbling round the pitch. chelsea laready down to ten men after using 3 subs at half time and bridge got injured 2 minutes later

[onenilgameover]

Anyone got the aftermatch scoop on this? Hopefully its not too bad. I was listening to it on 5 live so didn't see it. No news straight away must mean he isn't that badly off. Might miss the Barca match.

[eirebhoy]

Doubt its anything serious. He hurt himself going in for a very good tackle on Carr is his own box. Both of them clashed with Cudicini.

[Eirambler]

On 5 Live tonight they just said he was a doubt for Wednesday.

So it doesnt sound too bad.

[AmenToThat]

Seemed like he was hobbling which weird as it seems I was glad to see.
When I ever see him grab his shoulder then Ill start to worry..............

[4tothefloor]

As long as he's not playing against Liverpool on Sunday, that's all i care about for the immediate future! Hopefully nothing too serious, minor knock i'd say

[Stuttgart88]

His knee injury means he can't run.

Hopefully nothing serious.

[Eire06]

That'll be a major blow for Chelsea....

Is it a very serious injury how long will he be out??

Bridge is out too

Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge has been ruled out of action for the rest of the season with a double ankle fracture.
The left-back picked up the injury in a challenge by Alan Shearer during Sunday's FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Newcastle.

The 24-year-old was stretchered off the pitch and underwent surgery yesterday before the club confirmed that he will be sidelined for the rest of the current campaign.

[Éanna]

big blow. they've no-one creative in the side now. can't see them beating barca at all