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Damien Duff


Harrison
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He was sucking some big ones in after every run in the first half.  Fortunately a cool change arrived because I thought he wouldn't last to half time.  Thats a concern in a summer league with 3 pm kick offs.

Luckily our earliest kick off from here on in is 5pm then.

 

Edited by imonyarraside
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I think Duff is going to find it very tough as we move into summer. On the evidence yesterday he's not going to be able to last a full game when it's 30+.

I always forget the effect of our weather on the blokes.

Maybe after a few games in warmer weather his fitness will increase? Or is that just wishful thinking?

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The hot weather is a massive factor for us given players like Koren and Duff would not have played many games in the heat.

 

I've mentioned it earlier but if we persist in playing a  high tempo pressing game without the ball, then we either have to time those moments or kill off games in the first half, because I can see us running out of steam by 65 minute mark, and have teams steal win like Sydney and the Jest nearly did.

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So am loving the way Duff is going, but have to report looks like we've lost the newly arrived Geordie at my work.  Let's just say Duff is not his favourite footballer and when he sees how well he's playing, he's likely to be even less happy!

 

(In other news my years of chipping away seems to have worked in regards my Iranian mate and even the Euro-snob German mate, who are both chomping at the bit for our first home derby). 

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  • 4 weeks later...

RAMSAY LEARNING FROM 'TOP PROFESSIONAL' DUFF

 

By Greg Prichard

 

14 NOV 2014

 

 

Melbourne City midfielder Iain Ramsay says veteran import Damien Duff is an inspiration who is having an extraordinary effect on the rest of the squad.

 

Duff's enormous experience will become even more important for City in Sunday's game against Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park, with playmaker Aaron Mooy out of the squad on international duty.

 

That follows the departure a week earlier of Spain superstar David Villa.

 

Ramsay admitted it wouldn't be easy to replace Mooy, who has taken charge of the attacking build-up in recent weeks, but said the club had significantly improved its depth since last season and would now trust that to take effect.

 

"Aaron is so influential in the way that we play," Ramsay said. "He definitely likes to pull the strings in midfield and he's a player who is growing in confidence week by week.

 

"But we've definitely got some depth in our squad, so whoever comes in to fill that role will add something positive to the side and try to dictate the game as much as they can and help the side get the three points.

 

"The depth we've got means it's a headache for the coach to have so many players to pick from, but it's a good headache."

 

City this week signed former Brisbane Roar and Perth Glory playmaker Liam Miller on a short-term contract under the national team replacement player rule and coach John van't Schip has named him in the squad to meet the Mariners.

 

It will be interesting to see how Van't Schip uses Miller, who recently exited Roar after a disagreement with coach Mike Mulvey.

 

Miller, at 33, is vastly experienced, but he still can't match the 35-year-old Duff in that area. Not many players can. Duff hasn't come to the A-League to cruise - every week he is one of the hardest-working players in the competition.

 

"He certainly hasn't come here for a holiday," Ramsay said.

 

"One of the biggest things I see about Damien is that he's an absolute top professional. He's one of those players who likes to come in early and leave late from training. That might sound cliche, but it's true, he's a great professional.

 

"His leadership skills, as he shows in the games and we see at training, are fantastic. He's a major asset to our side. His work-rate is second to none and at the age of 35 he still gets up and down that touchline, so he's an inspiration to every player coming through at the club, that's for sure."

 

Ramsay, 26, said it was a personal pleasure for him to be able to play alongside Duff because the former Chelsea man was one of the players he watched the most as a junior.

 

"Yeah, through my younger days I watched a lot of wingers and Damien Duff was definitely one of those I watched a lot," Ramsay said.

 

"So it's been great to have him here and he's definitely helped me a lot, that's for sure. I'm always asking him questions, I've never been shy of that, trying to get as much information as possible out of him about how I can help my game.

 

"He's been a great help to the younger boys here as well. He's not shy to give them advice. It's great to have him at the club.

 

"He does a lot of one-on-one talking with guys at training and he's very vocal during games. He likes to get everyone wound up and we're very fortunate to have a player of his calibre playing for Melbourne City.

 

"He's an inspiration to everyone at the club with the way he goes about his business."

 

Ramsay said beating Brisbane 3-1 last weekend to register what was City's first win of the season had boosted the team's confidence.

 

"At training the intensity is up and boys are happy. We're looking forward to Sunday," he said.

 

Central Coast is struggling, with three straight losses in the A-League and elimination from the FFA Cup by Adelaide United in a semi-final on Wednesday, after Mariners had not had to face any A-League opponents in the earlier rounds of the knockout tournament.

 

But Ramsay said Central Coast had a history of being resilient and that City wouldn't be selling its opponent short.

 

"I think the Mariners right through the years have always been a consistent team," he said. "They're very compact and very good defensively and they try to counter against teams with a bit of pace up front. We expect them to be the same on Sunday.

 

"We know what to expect and the attributes they have, but we're more concerned about ourselves and the style of game we're playing and another three points would definitely set us up well."

 

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2014/11/14/ramsay-learning-top-professional-duff

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tbh i've still expected more from him, still he deserves better than to play with our spastics 

Agree, he's not making nearly the contribution I expected. Runs out of oxygen very quickly. Also plays too narrow IMO, but then with Kisnorbo and Hoffman studiously ignoring you for most of the match that's not surprising...

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Needs to be played on the left for fucks sake. Gets shown the line very time and always has to cut back, letting the defence get themselves sorted. Yesterday Rambo managed to get in behind and deliver a pinpoint cross early for a goal.

 

Yet we have a premier league winning winger and we won't let him deliver on his natural foot. Bloke doesn't look like cutting in and scoring at any point, why the fuck are we persisting?

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tbh i've still expected more from him, still he deserves better than to play with our spastics 

Agree, he's not making nearly the contribution I expected. Runs out of oxygen very quickly. Also plays too narrow IMO, but then with Kisnorbo and Hoffman studiously ignoring you for most of the match that's not surprising...

 

 

Playing on the same side as Hoffman will be the death of him, I fear. He spends half the game abusing the defenders for going backwards constantly.

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I said it before he won't have played with so many tactically inept people since he was at school he is a left winger don't play him on the right you don't get best out of him, 2 great crosses yesterday in 2nd half when he was on left , when on the right fuck all apart from the corner , bet he is thinking of ways to get out of this mess , home sick is probably the best get out of city clause !

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He is being played on the wrong side.  He has probably made more passes with his right foot for us than he did his entire career.

 

He should be played on the left, as he showed when he was put there and a better striker than Marino could have had two goals from two of his crosses.

 or at least give Mate and him the freedom to switch sides regularly through out the game, that will make space that we seem to be struggling to find given the amount of back passing we are now starting to do again.

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He is being played on the wrong side.  He has probably made more passes with his right foot for us than he did his entire career.

 

He should be played on the left, as he showed when he was put there and a better striker than Marino could have had two goals from two of his crosses.

 or at least give Mate and him the freedom to switch sides regularly through out the game, that will make space that we seem to be struggling to find given the amount of back passing we are now starting to do again.

 

I think it is especially true when we get Kennedy- if JVS doesn't put Duff on the left for him to get to by-line/whip in crosses to Jesus then he is a moron. A more sure goal-scoring route in the A-League this year there ain't! ( maybe fickler/berisha)

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He is being played on the wrong side.  He has probably made more passes with his right foot for us than he did his entire career.

 

He should be played on the left, as he showed when he was put there and a better striker than Marino could have had two goals from two of his crosses.

 or at least give Mate and him the freedom to switch sides regularly through out the game, that will make space that we seem to be struggling to find given the amount of back passing we are now starting to do again.

I'm quite certain this happened a number of times already over the past two games

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He is being played on the wrong side. He has probably made more passes with his right foot for us than he did his entire career.

He should be played on the left, as he showed when he was put there and a better striker than Marino could have had two goals from two of his crosses.

or at least give Mate and him the freedom to switch sides regularly through out the game, that will make space that we seem to be struggling to find given the amount of back passing we are now starting to do again. I'm quite certain this happened a number of times already over the past two games

They may have done one or two actual switches but what I've witnessed mainly is Duff getting frustrated and roaming centrally to try and get on the ball, and in some cases he's ended up further over on the left side but not in a clear switch with Mate.

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I wanna see this bloke pull a Ronaldo chop and pelt one in with his left. Haven't really seen him come into a scoring position when he has the ball (which is perfect for playing on the opposite side to what your best foot is). He mostly just puts it on his left for a cross either on or damn near the line

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Duff actually has the most assists in the league, with 4. Another good ball in tonight for Paartalu's headed goal.

 

Agree that Duff's creating a fair bit, but other players aren't pulling their weight in attack.

 

 

BTW, I actually believe that Duff can play even better as well. But you can't really fault the level he's played at over the first 7 games when he leads the league in assists.

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Duff actually has the most assists in the league, with 4. Another good ball in tonight for Paartalu's headed goal.

 

Agree that Duff's creating a fair bit, but other players aren't pulling their weight in attack.

 

 

BTW, I actually believe that Duff can play even better as well. But you can't really fault the level he's played at over the first 7 games when he leads the league in assists.

2 have been from corners though haven't they?

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Duff actually has the most assists in the league, with 4. Another good ball in tonight for Paartalu's headed goal.

 

Agree that Duff's creating a fair bit, but other players aren't pulling their weight in attack.

 

 

BTW, I actually believe that Duff can play even better as well. But you can't really fault the level he's played at over the first 7 games when he leads the league in assists.

2 have been from corners though haven't they?

 

Well we could go back to Dugandzic whipping in his weak as piss corners that were lucky to elevate a metre above ground level.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well we could go back to Dugandzic whipping in his weak as piss corners that were lucky to elevate a metre above ground level.

Agreed, thank god the days of duga & ramsay taking our corners are gone. It was like a buffet for the near post defender, they kept feeding them repeatedly. I'm sure someone out there got off on it...

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