Duffy Replacement

[robbiez666]

Now calm down, I'm not saying that we should replace Duffy just yet.

As illustrated yesterday, the way he plays is vital to the team playing well as a unit. He's the glue which holds everything together. Unfortunately, he's only got 60 minutes in his locker.

Whilst both Carruthers and Brooks are talented players, they don't really play in the same way and I'm not sure they are the kind of players who can.

In a perfect world, we'd be able to bring someone in who would be able to perform the same function to a similar level as Duffy. He would be on the bench to begin with but will gradually have more and more of an influence as the season goes on. Eventually taking over from Duffy at the end of the season.

The huge difficulty will be in finding a player in the same vein. One who buzzes around, constantly making himself available, finding space and linking everything up. As well as pressing the opposition.

I can't think of any similar players in terms of style or quality from the lower leagues. Any suggestions?

 

[sheffielder]

Judging by your first sentance, you don't want to hear my suggestion

 

[Benny and the Blades]

I can think of several but we would need a bank loan to buy one....

 

[Tyler Durden]

I am calm.

 

[georgebernardshaw]

I am calm.

That's a first......

 

[Ricky]

Yeah, let's try and sign someone identical to Duffy because the outstanding prospect we've got isn't quite identical enough....... while Duffy himself is still well capable of contributing.

That wouldn't be wasteful at all would it.

 

[robbiez666]

Yeah, let's try and sign someone identical to Duffy because the outstanding prospect we've got isn't quite identical enough....... while Duffy himself is still well capable of contributing.

That wouldn't be wasteful at all would it.

For 60 minutes.

The point I'm making is that we play better as a team when Duffy is on the pitch. There's going to be a fair amount of time when he's not on the pitch. Would it not be sensible to look at bringing someone similar in?

 

[Tunstall Fred]

I noticed robbiez666 was not starting thread after thread like he did after the defeats at Boro and Cardiff,now we get this pathetic attempt,some are just unhappy when we win,and win convincingly

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

We've already got two other extravagantly talented number tens. Best not to put obstacles in their way & impede their first team chances or their development.

Duffy's been great the last 2 games, & he's a fine player, but even now he's got no guarantee of that shirt. We've got healthy competition in that area. Same with for Coutts's position. More pressing is back up/competition for Fleck, a dynamic type.

 

[Ricky]

For 60 minutes.

The point I'm making is that we play better as a team when Duffy is on the pitch. There's going to be a fair amount of time when he's not on the pitch. Would it not be sensible to look at bringing someone similar in?

No it would not.

Players as similar as you seem to want are in short supply, and would likely be expensive.

Are you forgetting Carruthers and Duffy? How about focusing on what we've already got rather than what we (arguably) haven't? Suggesting we need something slightly different in that position seems to be nit picking in the extreme.

Can't you see the plan is for Brooks to feature prominently as the season progresses? Can't you see the huge potential he has? Would it be worth blocking his path just for the sake of getting someone a bit 'more identical' to Duffy?

We've not even had the chance to see whether we might actually be better with Brooks starting.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Fuck me. Do you ever post anything positive??

Think you need to seek professional help.

We're on the biggest wave we've had in years, and there's still some who want to focus on negatives and doomsday scenarios!!

Last time I checked we were in the play off places, just beaten Derby and playing some cracking football...

 

[JJBlade]

Every player on the pitch should be improved on
It's what the best teams do, never resting on their laurels

Every player bought from now on should be somebody that is potentially going to kick his rival player out of the team, not cover for him and play second fiddle to him

How can you ever improve if that is the transfer policy ?

 

[BushBlade]

I get where you're coming from but one of the reasons why Duffy is so important is his experience and nous. You only get that with age so it's going to almost impossible to find a 'young Duffy'.

Bear in mind he had a disrupted pre season and was taken off yesterday because it was 'job done', to make sure he didn't pick up any strains (he needs to keep training in the next fortnight to catch up).

Short term will be about Brooks and him learning from Duffy. Long term, we'll be building up a list of potential replacements and monitoring them over the next year or so, because that's the proper way to do it and Wilder does things properly.

 

[robbiez666]

Fuck me. Do you ever post anything positive??

Think you need to seek professional help.

We're on the biggest wave we've had in years, and there's still some who want to focus on negatives and doomsday scenarios!!

Last time I checked we were in the play off places, just beaten Derby and playing some cracking football...

How is saying "we play our best with Duffy in the team, but he's not longer got the legs to play 90 minutes. Let's look at signing someone similar who will gradually and eventually replace him when he retires." negative?

 

[Sheffsteel]

Every player on the pitch should be improved on
It's what the best teams do, never resting on their laurels

Every player bought from now on should be somebody that is potentially going to kick his rival player out of the team, not cover for him and play second fiddle to him

How can you ever improve if that is the transfer policy ?

Agree.

Before the season started I was confident with the midfield but had doubts about our defence and attack.

In the early matches, surprisingly it was the midfield that was the most concern as they seemed too lightweight and off the pace. Fleck looked particularly ineffective. Defence has been great, attack looks below par for the Championship with only Sharp scoring.

Duffy has rejoined the team against Barnsley and Derby and all of a sudden our midfield is playing the same as it did last season.
Coutts and Fleck NOW seem comfortable at Champiomship level and our midfield looks class handing out lessons to Barnsley and Derby.

I'd say our weakness is now definitely up front.
Sharp is slow but a great finisher when the ball is passesd to his feet.
Lavery doesn't quite look up to standard but still deserves patience.
Ched doesn't seem fit enough and Leon is an all rounder who is decent but we should be aiming for better.

 

[Ricky]

How is saying "we play our best with Duffy in the team, but he's not longer got the legs to play 90 minutes. Let's look at signing someone similar who will gradually and eventually replace him when he retires." negative?

Because it dismisses what we've got right under our nose?

If you think that signing someone identical to Duffy would automatically be more beneficial to us than playing Brooks just because the signing's more like Duffy then that's stupid logic.

Do you suggest a club like us should choose to waste a prospect like Brooks just because he isn't Duffy's clone?

Replacements don't have to be the same in every aspect. Teams constantly change and evolve.

 

[robbiez666]

Because it dismisses what we've got right under our nose?

If you think that signing someone identical to Duffy would automatically be more beneficial to us than playing Brooks just because the signing's more like Duffy then that's stupid logic.

Do you suggest a club like us should choose to waste a prospect like Brooks just because he isn't Duffy's clone?

Replacements don't have to be the same in every aspect. Teams constantly change and evolve.

We play better with Duffy in the team. Brooks and Carruthers are not the same kind of players, although they could become similar in time.

How is that stupid logic if we play better as a team with a player like Duffy in it. The work he does and the role he plays. Surely it would be beneficial to have another player who plays the same way. Ergo, we'll play better as a team?

I'm not saying for one minute that Brooks or Carruthers will not play huge parts. In fact, away from home, they may well be better options than Duffy as we'll have a lot less of the ball.

 

[Kevincarterversion2.0]

So far Duffy has taken his chance at this level (once he came into the side), so it's his shirt to keep. It's no suprise Duffy, Coutts and Fleck are working well together, given the amount of games they have played as a three now.

Of course we should always look to sign players better than what we have got. But Duffy deserves a run in the side (he already did, based on how well he played last year).

 

[robbiez666]

I get where you're coming from but one of the reasons why Duffy is so important is his experience and nous. You only get that with age so it's going to almost impossible to find a 'young Duffy'.

Bear in mind he had a disrupted pre season and was taken off yesterday because it was 'job done', to make sure he didn't pick up any strains (he needs to keep training in the next fortnight to catch up).

Short term will be about Brooks and him learning from Duffy. Long term, we'll be building up a list of potential replacements and monitoring them over the next year or so, because that's the proper way to do it and Wilder does things properly.

Agreed, a 'young Duffy' would cost much more than we could afford. I was thinking more of a 'young potential Duffy' who we could bring in and give a few chances coming off the bench with the intention of him eventually fulfilling the same role next season. The alternative is to try and get Brooks and Carruthers playing the same way, although it doesn't seem to be their natural games.

 

[Davalon]

Everybody chill.

We're signing Shaqiri from Stoke once promotion is confirmed.

 

[robbiez666]

Everybody chill.

We're signing Shaqiri from Stoke once promotion is confirmed.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

How is saying "we play our best with Duffy in the team, but he's not longer got the legs to play 90 minutes. Let's look at signing someone similar who will gradually and eventually replace him when he retires." negative?

As is normal with these types of post, I'd suggest you look closely at anything with follows the words "but", "however", or "unfortunately".
Anything before these words can also be tend to be ignored too as it's not really that genuine, and is normally just an attempt to seem balanced.
Happy hunting!

 

[Ricky]

We play better with Duffy in the team. Brooks and Carruthers are not the same kind of players, although they could become similar in time.

How is that stupid logic if we play better as a team with a player like Duffy in it. The work he does and the role he plays. Surely it would be beneficial to have another player who plays the same way. Ergo, we'll play better as a team?

I'm not saying for one minute that Brooks or Carruthers will not play huge parts. In fact, away from home, they may well be better options than Duffy as we'll have a lot less of the ball.

You've not even seen whether we play better with Brooks starting yet.

Stupid logic is suggesting that anyone identical in style to Duffy will bring us better results, even if he's nowhere near as good a player as Brooks. It's about ability too you know, not just style.

Even more stupid is suggesting we sign another attacking midfielder to develop when we've already got at least two other promising ones in the squad. Not practical at all.

I don't know just how similar you'd expect this signing to be?

Brooks and Duffy do have a number of similarities - certainly enough to suggest that developing Brooks in the way you talk about, if we wanted to do that, would make far more sense than signing a new player to do it with - before you even consider Brooks' extra ability.

Both are brave, never hide and always want the ball. Both work hard and tackle back. Both drift all across the pitch to get on the ball. Both can dribble and link things up.

 

[Davalon]

Removing Duffy religiously after a hour or so is interesting. It's often seems irrelevant to how he's playing or the team.

Makes you wonder if it's something that the fitness staff believe and have discussed with Wilder. He didn't seem tired against Barnsley, and he was visibly irked at being subbed yesterday.

 

[sheffielder]

For 60 minutes.

The point I'm making is that we play better as a team when Duffy is on the pitch. There's going to be a fair amount of time when he's not on the pitch. Would it not be sensible to look at bringing someone similar in?

He is coming back to fitness. For a few reasons he missed a lot of pre season and he's getting fitter. Last week when he came off he was fucked and walking on his heals. This week he was gutted. Instead of trying to think of ways to replace him, can we not try and imagine him getting better?

 

[sheffielder]

Removing Duffy religiously after a hour or so is interesting. It's often seems irrelevant to how he's playing or the team.

Makes you wonder if it's something that the fitness staff believe and have discussed with Wilder. He didn't seem tired against Barnsley, and he was visibly irked at being subbed yesterday.

You beat me to it

 

[mancunianblade]

Think Duffy has even surprised CW with his form. Im more than happy to hold my hands up and say I was wrong about him too. I thought he may struggle, I based that on Burtons promotion and them not taking him on plus the fact he's never seemed to do much in the Championship.

I know after Cardiff game Wilder was even talking about bringing in a new #10 but with Brooks being quick to settle and Duffy staking claim to the role I think he will be happy with the 3 options he has now

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Just as an aside I thought the McKay the Forest have signed has looked really good so far this year.

I was watching the highlights on C5 and was reminded of a quicker Duffy.

 

[Ricky]

Just as an aside I thought the McKay the Forest have signed has looked really good so far this year.

I was watching the highlights on C5 and was reminded of a quicker Duffy.

Looks like a good punt by them to spend £1.5m combined on McKay and Cummings.

 

[sheffielder]

Think Duffy has even surprised CW with his form. Im more than happy to hold my hands up and say I was wrong about him too. I thought he may struggle, I based that on Burtons promotion and them not taking him on plus the fact he's never seemed to do much in the Championship.

I know after Cardiff game Wilder was even talking about bringing in a new #10 but with Brooks being quick to settle and Duffy staking claim to the role I think he will be happy with the 3 options he has now

He turned down a new contract at Burton