Damien Duff

**tetsujin1979** · 08/03/2006, 9:46 AM

Originally Posted by NeilMcD

Robert Huth up front ha ha.

Like they said on Newstalk 106 "Robert Huth - Chelsea's answer to Gary Doherty!"

**livehead1** · 08/03/2006, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by Roverstillidie

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

can you please locate me to where i said that english football is the best league in the world, if not i expect you to withdraw your comments.

However, on a side issue, a critic may argue that the current holders of the premier club competition in certainly european, and possible world football, is indeed an english side, liverpool.

**elroy** · 08/03/2006, 12:57 PM

Absolute shocker of a game and I was really expecting a top notch game. Chelsea made look very ordinary, Duff was very poor. Question marks over Mourinho too, why take off Drogba for Crespo, what not go with two up front, they needed goals.

**Roverstillidie** · 08/03/2006, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by livehead1

can you please locate me to where i said that english football is the best league in the world, if not i expect you to withdraw your comments.

However, on a side issue, a critic may argue that the current holders of the premier club competition in certainly european, and possible world football, is indeed an english side, liverpool.

well done livehead, poxed the heysel killers well and good.

remember your 'i noticed graham kavanagh when he transfered to the premiership' 'too many foreigners in england keeping the irish out' and 'who is this dicker lad charlton are after' show me enough about your football view.

you are obsessed with the english premier league and it woudnt surprise any regular readers here if you came out with 'ronaldihinio is ok, but he hsnt proved himself in engerland yet'

back in the real world:

duffers probem at chelski is that jose plays such a rigid system he has to stifle his natural game just to fit in to a side where he is just another great player, wheras v sweden he just went out and ran amock.

would a move suit his game, if not his wallet?

**livehead1** · 09/03/2006, 9:02 AM

Originally Posted by Roverstillidie

well done livehead, poxed the heysel killers well and good.

remember your 'i noticed graham kavanagh when he transfered to the premiership' 'too many foreigners in england keeping the irish out' and 'who is this dicker lad charlton are after' show me enough about your football view.

you are obsessed with the english premier league and it woudnt surprise any regular readers here if you came out with 'ronaldihinio is ok, but he hsnt proved himself in engerland yet'

back in the real world:

duffers probem at chelski is that jose plays such a rigid system he has to stifle his natural game just to fit in to a side where he is just another great player, wheras v sweden he just went out and ran amock.

would a move suit his game, if not his wallet?

so what you are saying is that you can't find anywhere where i said that it was the best league in the world, but because i take a keen interest in it, i must believe it to be the case. Lets try and stick to the facts here, i never said that, instead of trying to slate me at every oppurtunity on every thread, and on matters which aren't even true.

**gustavo** · 09/03/2006, 9:33 AM

Originally Posted by Roverstillidie

'too many foreigners in england keeping the irish out'

Ah come Livehead dont tell me you really said that!

**livehead1** · 09/03/2006, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by gustavo

Ah come Livehead dont tell me you really said that!

didn't use the term foreigners, but i don't think its any great shock to anyone that the case is that for example, a spanish import such as Nunez for liverpool last season, without him there, we could have seen Potter get more games. Or Kleberson and manutd, maybe Miller could have had a few more games. These players are seen as better as they come from other parts of the world, when in all truth they are no better, yet the hamper the progress of young irish players at english clubs.

**gustavo** · 09/03/2006, 10:22 AM

Irish people come from another part of the world too...

**livehead1** · 09/03/2006, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by gustavo

Irish people come from another part of the world too...

lol!! dont be so precise, you know exactly what i meant, but i will clarify for you. What was meant as in a different part of the world, e.g. spain, brazil, different areas of europe, or different continents. we're very close to england in proximity, its hardly another part of the world,

**klein4** · 09/03/2006, 10:54 AM

the question you should be askin is what divine right do irish players have to play at english clubs over players from other nations?

**livehead1** · 09/03/2006, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by klein4

the question you should be askin is what divine right do irish players have to play at english clubs over players from other nations?

thats a very good comment, but was just saying that there blocking the way, not that our players have a divine right. Some managers seem to favour a spanish, french etc import, there have been so many flops, where we on this forum can see that there are irish players more than capable of doing a job for their clubs, who don't get a chance. Elliot and McCarthy never got a chance under keegan at City, and then when McCarthy left, keegan was quoted saying he had no doubt McCarthy would turn into a premiership defender. If so, why not give him a chance!

**Dodge** · 09/03/2006, 11:12 AM

Loads and loads of Irish flops too livehead.

**lopez** · 09/03/2006, 11:29 AM

The question we should ask is why are Irish players just concerned with playing in the Premiership (or that other league we're not allowed to mention unless it's on its own thread)?

**klein4** · 09/03/2006, 12:44 PM

...but it was a quality bit of geography all the same....

**livehead1** · 09/03/2006, 1:18 PM

Originally Posted by lopez

The question we should ask is why are Irish players just concerned with playing in the Premiership (or that other league we're not allowed to mention unless it's on its own thread)?

probably has something to do with speaking the same language. that said, i would love to see more irish players in france, spain, italy etc.

**NeilMcD** · 09/03/2006, 2:48 PM

Anothe reason is how many scouts are there in Ireland from non British scouts. Players can only decide to play for teams that are looking to sign them. If there are no scouts from Spanish French or Italian clubs willing to come to Ireland the players are only left with the possibility of playing in Ireland or for British clubs.

**lopez** · 09/03/2006, 2:48 PM

Originally Posted by livehead1

probably has something to do with speaking the same language. that said, i would love to see more irish players in france, spain, italy etc.

It is a factor, but it's also a cop out as obviously there are plenty of players in the Premiership who don't speak English as a first language (remember Cantona's almost two seasons without being able to converse in English) so why can't Irish players go abroad?

In fact the few who have, most have been successful. Brady of course, but what about Alan Campbell with Racing Santander and Liam Buckley with Waregem. Don't forget these players were on the fringe of the fringe during Hand's time with Eamonn O'Keefe of Port Vale ffs

getting a game at Wembley. Too mediocre for the FL of course.

Kevin Moran had a good spell at Gijon. Stapleton joined Ajax too late and Harte could have done better at Levante.

No. The real reason that Irish players end up in England is that everything is set up to send them one way over the channel. And when they get the chance to broaden their horizons, even some of the best are too insecure to take the plunge, and end up going to C*lt*c.

**Dodge** · 09/03/2006, 2:51 PM

Plus we generally don't have technically great players who would be able to cut it outside of the Brit leagues, where effort is more appreciated than skill

**tricky_colour** · 09/03/2006, 6:48 PM

Originally Posted by lopez

The question we should ask is why are Irish players just concerned with playing in the Premiership (or that other league we're not allowed to mention unless it's on its own thread)?

It does help if you can speak the language which is a big barrier
unless you are already an established player.

**lopez** · 09/03/2006, 9:55 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Plus we generally don't have technically great players who would be able to cut it outside of the Brit leagues, where effort is more appreciated than skill

Well players from Denmark, Sweden and Norway are far more of the hoofer variety than Keane, Duff or (on last Wednesday's performance) Miller could ever be, but they still manage to play outside the premiership (some in Italy and Spain).

Originally Posted by tricky_colour

It does help if you can speak the language which is a big barrier
unless you are already an established player.

They have this thing now called 'language lessons'. I believe there are a number of them in Ireland that are nowadays for foreigners entering the country and hoping to pick up a job in Abrakebabra. Anyway, don't they teach you a foreign language (apart from English) at Irish schools?

Originally Posted by NeilMcD

Anothe reason is how many scouts are there in Ireland from non British scouts. Players can only decide to play for teams that are looking to sign them. If there are no scouts from Spanish French or Italian clubs willing to come to Ireland the players are only left with the possibility of playing in Ireland or for British clubs.

That's more like it. Neo-colonialism at its best.