With Frei, the striker's instinct has to be to make a run across the box to pick up a clever pass. Bobby doesn't like to do that.
i hope not, he gets the other players going as well. Now that danny is too tired to focus on anything but his own game we lack a player that keeps everyone focused (keane mould). duff has developed a bit of an angry psycho streak about him which has a good influence on the others. jol brought him on at the perfect time
There certainly were rumours of Villa coming in for Duff, and with Frei emerging and Ruiz finding his feet, there doesn't seem to be much room for the likes of Duff and Davies, a shame really but both will likely be on hefty wages and are the wrong side of 30.
Duff coming on brought a new dimension and dynamic to the game in general and Bobby in particular. I really hope that wasn't his last game. It hadn't crossed my mind til now although I did think when he scored he didn't look that excited about it but put that down to it being a less than crucial goal. I am a big fan of Frei (and Ruiz for that matter) but they (especially Frei) can only benefit from having older hands (feet?!) like duff and Davies around for longer.
The problem is we already have too many old hands. These old hands will likely also be on high wages.
Bandit's right. I love Duffer as much as the next guy but he deserves regular football and we can't give it to him, same goes for Davies. The fact that if they both leave it'll free up a good sum of money is a bonus. To be fair, Davies hasn't been fortunate with injuries so there's less of a case for hanging on to him.
Personally, I hope both Davies and Duff stay in January, although things may be different in the summer. I think Duff is now at an age where he can't sustain his level of performance for 90 mins a week, 38+ games a season. For each of the last couple of years, he's had spells where he has been consistently one of our best players, and other spells where he has been consistently less effective. I think he benefits from having runs in the team, followed by runs out of the team to recharge his batteries. If that's the case, then he's best off precisely where he is rather than going somewhere where he will be needed week in week out. I don't think he's going to be left out by Ireland for not playing every week, so Euro Championship selection doesn't have to be an issue for him. In fact, if I'm right about his energy/performance levels, not playing every week will put him in a better place for the finals. As for Davies, it will be good to see what the second half of the season brings for him. He may be able to reinvent himself as a Murphy-esque central midfielder for us, and he may have a job to do as a stand-in Amigo in Jol's brave new tactical world. He's played at right back before now, and may yet be needed there on occassion. Again, I think it will be better for all concerned for him to see out the season here, and then see how the land lies.
Too right. There is absolutely no way Duff will be left out of the team, barring injury of course. He's been one of our top performers over the past 5-10 years. He gives his all in every game and if he plays week in, week out, he could well be physically drained come the summer time. I think maybe in the summer he should move on as he owes it to himself to get as much games as possible coming to the end of his career. I don't think he will get many games with us. Same applies for Davies.
