Left wing

[FourLaneBlue]

When Scott Sellars was at Newcastle, an England call up could not have been far away.

Sellars actually was called up once into the squad but had to pull out through injury. Like Jansen later...he never got called up again. Was never quite the same player. Sellars is an example of a player whose skills were slowly kicked out of him. It's a worry for Duff in case the same happens to him.

By the way...last time I saw Sellars was outside the Millenium Stadium in 2002, so I presume he'd been inside cheering on the Rovers that day!

Edited December 1, 2004 by FourLaneBlue

[Paul]

Scott Sellars and Damien Duff - are we talking club legends or greatest players? Even if we answer the question it's still difficult to chose between the two.

Thinking about Sellars, he comes from an age when football was different, maybe better. My over-riding memory of Sellars is of him on the far side of the pitch, the pitch was crap, facing the Darwen End, head down and looking disinterested. Very often Simon Barker would swing a ball out from the right and Sellars would be off. Skinny and light-weight in appearance he used to look too frail to be a footballer, common-sense said the right-back just had to whack him and that would be Scotty done for the game. He did get whacked a few times but more often than not he left defenders looking pretty stupid.

Scotty scored in the second most memorable game I've seen at Ewood. Two nil down in what, ten minutes, to Derby County, the season lay in tatters and from somewhere the team found four goals to send the Ewood crowd wild with delight. The rest is history, without Sellars we might not be here today? The only game I can recall to match that one is Newcastle in 95 - VE Day.

Damien Duff - Scotty has said it all in an excellent post. I would only add that Duff is fabulous, fabulous player and, importantly, a true role model for the young fans of today.

How can we decide between the two? Personally I would argue Scott Sellars playing in the PL would be every bit as good as Duff. Give Sellars the pitch, the training facilities, fitness regimes etc. and his talent would have developed even further than it did.

I suspect my vote will be as much for football past than for the player himself. I can't see much else to chose between the two finest left-wingers to grace Ewood in my time.

[Manchester Blue]

Give Sellars the pitch, the training facilities, fitness regimes etc. and his talent would have developed even further than it did.

If you believe that then you miss the point of just ho good Duf really is. It has little to do with facilities, fitness regimes etc it's god given talent and Duff has it by the sackful. Sellars was one of my favourite players when I first started coming to Ewood but that can't hide the fact that Duff is just just a class above. As the old guy who used to sit next to me used to say about him, 'Barcelona'. He meant he was too good to be playing at Blackburn, as much as it used to annoy me, deep down I knew it was true.

[den]

Some great posts up to now, well done guys, especially Brownie and Scotty for putting their players forward.

Hopefully someone else will put a case forward for one or two of the others? Brotherston or Langton may be worth a shout.

Then we can go ahead with the poll.

[Al]

Up to now I have written the praises of some of the great players of yesteryear, Eckersley, Newton, Douglas, England and Clayton, some successfully and some not, however in spite of having seen all of the nominees for left winger play, all of them memorable and most of them great, I have never seen one that exited me as much as our Duffer.

I say 'our' because I still consider him ours even though he now plays for another team.

The man has everything, super first touch, speed, ball control, finishing and a football brain that tells him when to pass and when to go it alone.

I am not so steeped in nostalgia to not appreciate a current player and my vote will definately go to Damien.

Come on you fellow old timers, you know deep down that in 20 years time he will still be talked about because he is simply the best left winger in living memory.

Vote Duff

[nottsrover]

Although he only scored one league goal during our promotion season it was a vital one - securing victory away against promotion rivals Birmingham.

I remember that game. Duff picked the ball up around the half way on the left and ghosted past 3 Birmingham Defenders before knocking it home from just inside the area. One of the best goals that I have ever seen. I am sure that had the game been played at Ewood, it would have been goal of the season for that year.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Give Sellars the pitch, the training facilities, fitness regimes etc. and his talent would have developed even further than it did.

If you believe that then you miss the point of just ho good Duf really is. It has little to do with facilities, fitness regimes etc it's god given talent and Duff has it by the sackful. Sellars was one of my favourite players when I first started coming to Ewood but that can't hide the fact that Duff is just just a class above. As the old guy who used to sit next to me used to say about him, 'Barcelona'. He meant he was too good to be playing at Blackburn, as much as it used to annoy me, deep down I knew it was true.

A bit contradictory there in your point MB - Sellars didn't exactly have the training facilities/nutritionists/better playing surfaces that the graceful Duff certainly has nowadays so I would say that they where probably of the same cloth - both of natural talent.

I'm with Paul and find it very difficult to decide on this as my memory does not serve me well on Waggy, and Brotherston as good as he was not quite at the level of the Duff and Sellars - and was still more of a right sided player than a left one to me.

Anyway certainly good posts from Scotty and Brownie and would appreciate anbody's reflection for Waggy and Harrison.

Edited December 1, 2004 by CAPT KAYOS

[Manchester Blue]

There is no contradiction, the point I'm making is there is a whole world of difference between Duff & Sellars and training facilities and the like is just a minute part of that difference. If Sellars was playing now he would be a good player, no doubt but definitely not great, Duff is world class simple as that.

[CAPT KAYOS]

There is no contradiction, the point I'm making is there is a whole world of difference between Duff & Sellars and training facilities and the like is just a minute part of that difference. If Sellars was playing now he would be a good player, no doubt but definitely not great, Duff is world class simple as that.

Fair do's but they both had natural talent, and given the facilities and training regimes of today's game who is to say that Sellars would not have made it to a 'higher' level and proved to be world class

I can see your point but questions could be asked of whether Duff could have shown his class in similar fashion to Sellars on the quagmires that we saw in the past, so you can't just disregard Sellars on that matter.

Duff has world class and will probably get better, Sellars certainly had class but unfortunately the opportunity to me never arrrived for him to fulfill it to its potential.

[LeChuck]

Duff has world class and will probably get better, Sellars certainly had class but unfortunately the opportunity to me never arrrived for him to fulfill it to its potential.

I can't understand this argument, Sellars had the same facilities available as everyone else at that time and never proved himself to be world class whereas Duff has. They were both operating an equal level to other players around at the time so I can't understand how it would make a difference which generation Sellars played in.

It's all relative, this argument is nothing like the Forrest v Sherwood one because Forrest clearly was one of the best players around at that time whereas Sellars wasn't.

Edited December 1, 2004 by LeChuck

[The Producer]

I can't understand this argument, Sellars had the same facilities available as everyone else at that time and never proved himself to be world class whereas Duff has. They were both operating an equal level to other players around at the time so I can't understand how it would make a difference which generation Sellars played in.

I was going to say the same thing. The defenders he played against would be a lot fitter nowadays, plus I think it's more difficult for attacking wingers these days as opposing/managers and defenders are also armed with video tapes of their strengths and weaknesses.

That said, it'll still be a tough decision for me between Sellars and Duff.

[Biddy]

There is no contradiction, the point I'm making is there is a whole world of difference between Duff & Sellars and training facilities and the like is just a minute part of that difference. If Sellars was playing now he would be a good player, no doubt but definitely not great, Duff is world class simple as that.

DUff??? I thought you'd have been in the pro Wilcox camp. Your dad will be dissapointed.

[bob fleming]

Brotherston, Sellars, Wilcox, Duff - we've not done bad have we? and that's just in my time.

Noel would beat a man and then beat him again. Then he'd beat him again and get a cross in. Very skilful and on his day would give many a full back a torrid time, I only remember him as a left winger though (Windy Miller on the right). Scooter was a great player, as others have said it's a shame he didn't play in the Premier League for us -"The silky skills of Scott Sellars" as Jack Holden would often say on Radio Lancashire. Wilcox - the crowds favourite. . Would run all day for the team and would deliver cracking early crosses which Shearer invariably found himself on the end of. Duffer - magnificent. I used to watch him for the youth team and he and Damian Johnson would terrorise defences. The bloke has it all. His tricks include turning the right full back in an anti-clockwise run with the ball glued to his left foot and also dummying the ball completely whilst running around the bemused full back before he knew where the ball and the player have gone. He was worth the entrance fee alone. Damn that Russian bloke.

I don't know how much Noel cost the club but I think Sellars was only £25,000, Duff and Wilcox came through the Youth team. Four cracking players for next to nothing.

For me it's just got to be Duffer though. Sublime.

(I've approached all the other positions in the team with an open mind - I'll need something special to convince me not to vote Duff - I've seen nothing yet (and I doubt I will))

[CAPT KAYOS]

Duff has world class and will probably get better, Sellars certainly had class but unfortunately the opportunity to me never arrrived for him to fulfill it to its potential.

I can't understand this argument, Sellars had the same facilities available as everyone else at that time and never proved himself to be world class whereas Duff has. They were both operating an equal level to other players around at the time so I can't understand how it would make a difference which generation Sellars played in.

It's all relative, this argument is nothing like the Forrest v Sherwood one because Forrest clearly was one of the best players around at that time whereas Sellars wasn't.

Not quite Le Chuck - they where operating in different Enviroments - ie Sellars played all his with the Rovers on the Old Division 2, whereas Duff came to the fold in the Premiership where a better standard of Football is played.

As they say the field is a great leveller, and Sellars surely showed his worth at the time and was certainly the best left sided I can remember - as has been said he was on the verge of making into the England squad but due to a cruel twist of fate the chance went. The Producer also says the defenders are fitter nowadays - but then again isn't everybody - also consider the aspect of challenges being alot more physical in the good old days.

The only thing against this to me which is quite nagging (thought about this also when he was playing) is why nobody came in for him earlier.

As I said to MB I will find it hard to make a decision between the two- but given the chance Sellars might have been able to go on to prove his credentials. I know you can't go off what might have been but you can't just dismiss him either on a whim because the opportunity didn't arise.

Remember - it was only the Rovers fans that where cooing about Duff before the World Cup.

Being at Rovers in the eighties wasn't as glamorous as it has been for the last 10 years or publicised as much - which does play a part in certain aspects.

Something I heard on the radio last night which I found quite interesting - a caller mentioned about a poll from a Manchester summat or other that have just done their own 'Best Ever' combined Manchester team and surprisingly George Best didn't even get in it but Scholes did.

Edited December 1, 2004 by CAPT KAYOS

[speeeeeeedie]

I belong to the club that remembers Brotherston (just), Sellars, Wilcox, and Duff. They were all cracking players and did a great job for BRFC.

I only saw Brotherston play a couple of times, I was young, but I was impressed that he was an international, that is all I can remember about him. I used to wonder what he was doing playing for a poor (moneywise) Second Division side. I'll defer to the older posters to give better accounts of him.

Scott Sellars was the best player in the second division when he was there. Could go past players with ease, cross well and shoot. What I remember about our playoff teams of the late 80's was that we always used to score early goals, many times inside 5 minutes, most of them involed Sellars jinking around someone and firing it into the box. He was a great player and the plaudits on here sum him up; if he was playing for us 5 years later and without that nagging groin injury that hampered his later stay, he would have played for England. I was at a youth presentation one night, David Jones the fat DJ from Radio Lancashire was MC and Sellars was the guest of honour presenting the trophies. Jones got up beforehand to introduce Sellars and made a comment about John Salako getting into the England squad and "he couldn't shine this fella's boots" pointing at Sellars. He just bowed his head and got embarrassed, but it was true he was a far better player than Salako ever was.

Wilcox was one player who, like Atkins, made a name for himself under Dalglish. When he first came onto the scene it was out of necessity as Mackay had no other players. He'd signed Alan Irvine, but he got injured so Wilcox got to play right wing; he was pants. For the first few years the crowd would dog him constantly for giving the ball away, running up the wing then stopping and passing it backwards. He got progressively better and was an integral part of the Dalglish-Harford system, along with Ripley, to get balls in the box for Shearer. His torment of Mel Sterland when we battered Leeds (reigning champions) at Christmas time 1992 will stand forever. He ran him ragged. Also, I've mentioned on here before that when Wilcox got injured during our title run in it took the rails off our game. If he'd have been fit we would have won the title a week or two before Liverpool. He was different than the other three in that he didn't have the skill level but he had the work rate, determination and brain to know his role and do it well. He was good but the fact that he got dropped for, and eventually sold because of, a young Duff speaks voulmes about the Irishman.

Duff: he has the workrate of Wilcox, the skill of Sellars and better finishing ability than both of them. Quite simply class. Runs all day and terrorises defenders. Everyone who sees him knows how good he is in Chelsea's team, he was just like that for us, but without the supporting cast. Most people wish he would have stayed longer, but 17 million was too hard to pass up.

Who will I vote for? Probably Duff but I might get sentimental.

[Ianrally]

Mike Harrison- we bought him from Chelsea. We might have sold him to Plymouth.

Good shout 92er and many thanks for relieving my failing memory. Indeed we did buy Mike Harrison from Chelsea and sold him to the Pilgrims. As I said in my previous post I used to love watching Mike but still my vote just has to go to Duffer.

The best accolade I can give him is that he would go straight into any Brazilian side including the great team of 1970.

[ainscough99]

duff has absolutly everything, pace, skill,technique and that bit of magic that makes him the great player he is. this lad is going to light up the premier league and the world stage for many more years yet.

duffer it is for me!

[mhead]

Having seen Ali Macleoud to zero person now(Emerton is a right winger) the one that stands out as being worth a season ticket alone is our Damien...one of the 3 gems and the best of them. In order of skill and sheer excitement they would rank(in my humble opinion)

Duff

Sellars

Wilcox(because of Shearer)

Brotheston

Ali Mac

Harrison

To me Shearer,Duff and Friedel have been the only 'best in the world' whilst playing for us...though clearly Bob Crompton was and I personally think that Mike England was in 1965.

Aren't we lucky and unlike the Mancs more likely to be grateful.

[roversWASmylife]

Damien Duff.

Duff, originially spotted by Liverpool and later released. Liverpool released him as they didn't think that Duff was 'switched on' and had a lack of knowledge for the game.

Duff was proabably one of the best players Rovers have ever had to play in a Blue and White shirt. I was lucky enough to meet him once, the season before we got relegated and as a person he was quiet but pleasant.

Nothing surprised Rovers fans during the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, Duff particuarly played well against Germany and Spain in the Far East.

World Football knew who Duff was, Rovers managed to negotiate terms with an extended contract that summer.

A year later Chelski matched the release clause in Duff's contract. As a fan I can't blame Duff for leaving Rovers, no matter how dissapointed I was at the time.

We couldn't provide compared to Chelsea, as a place, money, ambitions and Champions League Football.

But considering we got a lot out of Duff, great memories for both the fans and himself a great player and £17M.

I wish him the best of luck and hope he achieves what he wants to in his promising career. I just think that most people who watch him will remember Duff playing for Chelsea and not Rovers.

Edited December 1, 2004 by roversismylife

[McClarky]

What a hard choice. Its funny how you alweays sem to get your best players in the same positions. In my time watching Rovers we have had 4 excellent left wingers in Brotherstone, Sellers, Wilcox & Duff. While I can see Duff going down as an all time great player I might well vote for Scotty because I think he gave me more special memories (although most of them are hazy).

Noel also deserves a place in the team though as the most skilful player ever to play for us. I can remember him beating people and then going back to do it again just because he could.

Pity we can only have 1 player in each position but perhaps we should have put Noel on the right after all although as far as I remember he played the vast majority of his games for us on the left.

[92er]

Sellars had the chance to make it with us but apparently had a falling out with Kenny.

He went to Leeds the season after they won the championship and then onto Newcastle.He didn't really do that well at either club-he also slagged us off too many times.He won't get my vote.

[jim mk2]

Mike Harrison- we bought him from Chelsea. We might have sold him to Plymouth.

Good shout 92er and many thanks for relieving my failing memory. Indeed we did buy Mike Harrison from Chelsea and sold him to the Pilgrims. As I said in my previous post I used to love watching Mike but still my vote just has to go to Duffer.

The best accolade I can give him is that he would go straight into any Brazilian side including the great team of 1970.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.

Duff in probably the greatest international team of all time ??? I don't think so matey !! Rivelino and Jairzino eat your heart out !

[Paul]

waggy by a mile

Speaking of waggy, which we weren't, but as an aside can anyone fill me in on where he went after Rovers? Certainly a name conjure memories from the past but I haven't a clue what happened to him after leaving Ewood. Bought a pub? Carried on playing?

[92er]

Did he go to Blackpool?

[92er]

Then he came back , was injured in his 2nd match and never played again.