Optimistic Nut Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 It's funny... if you turn it on it's head and we'd lost, you wouldn't be allowed to slate the team cos it's the first game of pre-season (and rightly so, it'd be very knee-jerk). But if it's the other way round, and Duff's scored a hat-trick, all of a sudden he's a new player and we were wrong for writing him off? Very good result today and good on him for getting a hat-trick against Hartlepool, but i'll still be pleased if he goes in the summer. But sometimes it can work like that. Remember the grief Butt got when he came off the bench against Villarreal in his first game back from the loan spell at Birmingham. A decent performance and two goals, and he helped turn it around and had a good season in 2005-6. Of course Duff has a long way to go, but it's a start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatwax Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 West Ham, Aston Villa etc. all lost their first friendlies, one of them against a non-league side. It doesn't really mean much but it makes me feel a bit better. The fact that we were a goal down too & away from home. Matches like this always help the manager see where needs improving aswell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 But anyway, i'm letting my loathesomeness of Duff make me sound like a doom-monger here. Very, very good start to pre-season regardless of the opposition. They're not total non-entities and it wasn't their first game of pre-season so it's a good result for us. Chuffed about Guthrie. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Hat-trick, class I've been critical along with everyone else of his performance so far, he's been dog shit but as someone said earlier, he used to be an absolutely class player. Hopefully we can get something out of him this season. Obviously this is just a pre-season friendly but it brings a bit of positivity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
midds Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Performance > Result. In pre-season anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I would have rated Duff as the best left sided player in the world at one point. A player of that quality never looses their spark. I think he has been unlucky with injuries and it is a fool who writes him off. Duff's f***ing s*** man. bit harsh, considering nobody was saying Shearer was s**** when he came back from injury in 1998 and wasn't the same player for a good 18 months Sorry, Duff hasn't been f***ing s*** for the last two and a bit seasons then. Daft comparison imo. They play two totally different roles for one thing. yes, but both were hindered by injuries affecting a key aspect of their game Duff has been very poor, but it just seems a lot people actually want the guy to fail Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
olliemort Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Good man Duffer!!!No clean sheet though..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatwax Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 But anyway, i'm letting my loathesomeness of Duff make me sound like a doom-monger here. Very, very good start to pre-season regardless of the opposition. They're not total non-entities and it wasn't their first game of pre-season so it's a good result for us. Chuffed about Guthrie. This is a massive bonus for me too. It sounds like he stood out of our midfield at times. Aways a good sign. Like I said earlier, this'll be Duffs first full pre-season with us too. Things like that will always help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrette Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 These matches are as much about getting the players match-fit as anything else really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Performance > Result. In pre-season anyway. Aye, the result should do wonders for morale though too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brendan_Rice Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I have been a fan of Duff for a long time. I can remember him and Robbie Keane taking Ireland to the world cup, in his day Duff was class. I would have rated Duff as the best left sided player in the world at one point. A player of that quality never looses their spark. I think he has been unlucky with injuries and it is a fool who writes him off. Duff's f***ing s*** man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I would have rated Duff as the best left sided player in the world at one point. A player of that quality never looses their spark. I think he has been unlucky with injuries and it is a fool who writes him off. Duff's f***ing s*** man. bit harsh, considering nobody was saying Shearer was s**** when he came back from injury in 1998 and wasn't the same player for a good 18 months Sorry, Duff hasn't been f***ing s*** for the last two and a bit seasons then. Daft comparison imo. They play two totally different roles for one thing. yes, but both were hindered by injuries affecting a key aspect of the game Duff has been very poor, but it just seems a lot people actually want to guy to fail *raises hand* Only at another club though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
midds Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Performance > Result. In pre-season anyway. Aye, the result should do wonders for morale though too. Aye, fair point. The final score means nowt ultimately but it's something to build on I suppose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I would have rated Duff as the best left sided player in the world at one point. A player of that quality never looses their spark. I think he has been unlucky with injuries and it is a fool who writes him off. Duff's f***ing s*** man. bit harsh, considering nobody was saying Shearer was s**** when he came back from injury in 1998 and wasn't the same player for a good 18 months Sorry, Duff hasn't been f***ing s*** for the last two and a bit seasons then. Daft comparison imo. They play two totally different roles for one thing. yes, but both were hindered by injuries affecting a key aspect of the game Duff has been very poor, but it just seems a lot people actually want to guy to fail *raises hand* Only at another club though. you think your funny dont you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=1&language=en-US&family=editorial&p=newcastle%20vs%20hartlepool&src=quick# Not many shots so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Darth Toon Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Maybe, just maybe, the Duffmeister isn't as completely shot as most of us thought...... I like to call it the Keegan effect! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heneage Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Might pay the 99p just to see these. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 What the haters forget about Duff is the injury he has come back from. His foot injury was three times worse than a broken foot, and it takes players with a broken metertarsal months to find form. For me, Duff's problems have all been mental and physical, not technical, and if a preseason under KK can sort this out, we could yet have a very good player in our hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sez Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Damien Duff could be the new Nicky Butt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatwax Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 What the haters forget about Duff is the injury he has come back from. His foot injury was three times worse than a broken foot, and it takes players with a broken metertarsal months to find form. For me, Duff's problems have all been mental and physical, not technical, and if a preseason under KK can sort this out, we could yet have a very good player in our hands. "It'll be like a new signing". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 What the haters forget about Duff is the injury he has come back from. His foot injury was three times worse than a broken foot, and it takes players with a broken metertarsal months to find form. For me, Duff's problems have all been mental and physical, not technical, and if a preseason under KK can sort this out, we could yet have a very good player in our hands. It's a fair point, but he was crap before the foot injury aswell... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I would have rated Duff as the best left sided player in the world at one point. A player of that quality never looses their spark. I think he has been unlucky with injuries and it is a fool who writes him off. Duff's f***ing s*** man. bit harsh, considering nobody was saying Shearer was s**** when he came back from injury in 1998 and wasn't the same player for a good 18 months Sorry, Duff hasn't been f***ing s*** for the last two and a bit seasons then. Daft comparison imo. They play two totally different roles for one thing. yes, but both were hindered by injuries affecting a key aspect of their game Duff has been very poor, but it just seems a lot people actually want the guy to fail I would love it if Duff has a storming season, scoring a few goals along the way. At the moment though, he just seems to be a rabbit killer - great in meaningless friendlies, goes missing when the heat is on at the top level. If he does it when it counts fair play to him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElDiablo Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 4-1. Cool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sez Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 What the haters forget about Duff is the injury he has come back from. His foot injury was three times worse than a broken foot, and it takes players with a broken metertarsal months to find form. For me, Duff's problems have all been mental and physical, not technical, and if a preseason under KK can sort this out, we could yet have a very good player in our hands. Sorry, but that's such a silly statement. You could apply the same to Viana, Luque, Bassedas, Kluivert, Marcelino, etc, etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brendan_Rice Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Well said James. I have stood in the stands at Lansdowne Road watching Duff work his magic. It might have been a good few years ago but I can remember people writing off Shearer when Gullit was here, look how that turned out. What the haters forget about Duff is the injury he has come back from. His foot injury was three times worse than a broken foot, and it takes players with a broken metertarsal months to find form. For me, Duff's problems have all been mental and physical, not technical, and if a preseason under KK can sort this out, we could yet have a very good player in our hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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