[Archived] Duff Completes Switch

[Exiled_Rover]

A cheeky bid for N'Zogbia is in order methinks. Cracking player.

[chris]

One feels DDs career is on the downward slide now. His arrival at Newcastle just makes me want Rovers to finish above them even more than ever now. Then we can say to him that he should have had patience and stay at Rovers.

i just want to say thank you for making me laugh, he didn't win much lol

[Ozz]

Tongue in cheek.

i just want to say thank you for making me laugh, he didn't win much lol

Keep up Chris.

[rover6]

A cheeky bid for N'Zogbia is in order methinks. Cracking player.

In this context, 'cheeky' usually means futile.

[toonfan]

hate to burst your bubble lads, but we revealed yesterday that we only paid £5m for him.

hell of a deal.

we are expected to unveil our new forward on thursday, so watch this space.

and as for you finishing ahead of us next season

the only reason you did it last year took a huge pay cut in order to get out of your club, he couldnt (Please don't use that word again) off quick enough

all the best eh

A cheeky bid for N'Zogbia is in order methinks. Cracking player.

aye right, the lad has arsene wenger after him so bburn would have a chance.

wake up son

[broadsword]

Nice result in the intertoto mate.

Prestigious competition that. of course being about £90m in debt, any prize money would be welcome, eh?

Let's compare notes at the end of the season eh?

[Flopsy]

you have seen your managers record with clubs havent you?

Finish 7th get relegated - finsih 7th get relegated

Where did you finish last season??

[toonfan]

Nice result in the intertoto mate.

Prestigious competition that. of course being about £90m in debt, any prize money would be welcome, eh?

Let's compare notes at the end of the season eh?

yeah, lets. this argument could go on forever, but neither of us know what will happen.

as for the £90m debt, man utd have got £660m, i suppose they are going to 'do a leeds' as well???

its not the debt mate, its how it is financed and structured, but i wouldnt expect you to understand that.

hows bellamy doing??

you have seen your managers record with clubs havent you?

Finish 7th get relegated - finsih 7th get relegated

Where did you finish last season??

yeah, thats right, we will get relegated

p.s, who else did glenn finish 7th with and then take down??

[philipl]

I think it has been pretty well substantiated that Spuds had gone on to offer significantly more than £5m.

Somehow, I don't think Abramovich/Kenyon were running a Toon Philanthropic Society when it came to flogging off Duffer.

Anyway, Michael Owen won't even have his cruciate ligament operation until September as he has to wait for the cartilege operation swelling to go down and fully heal before he can go under the knife again.

[colin]

the only reason you did it last year took a huge pay cut in order to get out of your club, he couldnt (Please don't use that word again) off quick enough

Presume the words "is Bellamy" are missing from between "year" and "took". No doubt you'll understand, he did the same to you lot.

And as for Duff, £5m seems a decent price, looks like you've got a decent deal down to Abramovich. But if you are ever heading towards an injury crisis Duffers hamstrings will have their own treatment table reserved.

Can't see why you feel your lot will finish above Rovers this coming season. Got anything better than "because we will?"

Come on son, speak.

[toonfan]

we have paid £5m, and the rest is dependant on other things/performance etc, at least thats what we announced to the stock exchange when we exchanged contracts with the russian on friday, fact.

and why have you steamed in with your owen point????

remind me again, did bellamy have a clause or not?? im pretty sure it was you that gave me a load of grief swearing blind that he didnt? cant quite remember how that one turned out??

Presume the words "is Bellamy" are missing from between "year" and "took". No doubt you'll understand, he did the same to you lot.

And as for Duff, £5m seems a decent price, looks like you've got a decent deal down to Abramovich. But if you are ever heading towards an injury crisis Duffers hamstrings will have their own treatment table reserved.

Can't see why you feel your lot will finish above Rovers this coming season. Got anything better than "because we will?"

Come on son, speak.

for starters, he didnt do the same to us, we kicked him out, im confident he would still be playing for us now if we hadnt.

i just feel that we are stronger than you, or we will be when we finish our shopping.

we get loads of grief for our defence but im pretty sure our goals against column wasnt to dis-similar to yours???

you have replaced bellamy with franny jeffers/jason roberts. i do rate roberts but jeffers is a joke, and kuqi is ###### as well. however, i will reserve judgement on the forwards when we bring ours in, but with talk of klose/ ashton/ defoe, any one of them will mean that we have a stronger attack than you lot in my opinion.

i feel our goalkeeper is better than yours (although friedel is very good) and i also feel that we are stronger in the middle with duff, zoggy, emre, parker, milner and solano to choose from.

time will tell though, as i have said earlier we could argue this point all night, the fact is, neither of us know, but i am confident of finishing ahead of rovers, i feel you will struggle to live up to last year, just an opinion though.

[tcj_jones]

Unless you bring in some quality defenders and at least two quality forwards, then I certainly think we will finish above you.

[Flopsy]

yeah, lets. this argument could go on forever, but neither of us know what will happen.

as for the £90m debt, man utd have got £660m, i suppose they are going to 'do a leeds' as well???

its not the debt mate, its how it is financed and structured, but i wouldnt expect you to understand that.

hows bellamy doing??

yeah, thats right, we will get relegated

p.s, who else did glenn finish 7th with and then take down??

West Ham

Gillingham and Watford

Good luck

[DudeAbides]

when was the last time you saw Duff score goals like MGP ???

i know who id rather have.

[AndyC]

from cfc:

A SAD GOODBYE TO DUFFA

Damien Anthony Duff, or ‘Duffa’ as he is affectionately known by the fans, was a local of Ballyboden, in the Republic of Ireland. The winger is a product of Blackburn Rovers’ youth system; with the ability to not only beat his man, but to deliver a more than useful cross. He is blessed with an abundance of pace and over the years has developed an eye for scoring spectacular goals. Although left footed, he can play on either wing to great effect, as well as playing through the middle as a second striker, where he has been used for the Republic of Ireland national team.

His dribbling skills are second to none, as Rovers keeper Brad Fridel pointed out, when he said that Duff was potentially better than Ryan Giggs. This interested Sir Alex Ferguson and Duff very nearly joined out northern rivals. Robbie Keane had this to say about his strike partner after the 2002 World Cup, “He is up there with Harry Kewell and Ryan Giggs for me as a left winger and is also a great crosser of the ball.”

He left Ballyboden to join Blackburn at the age of 17. He made his début in May 1997 during a 4-2 defeat against Leicester City, but he proceeded to tear apart the Premiership’s best defences in his first full season, 1997/1998. This was helped by the departure of England international Jason Wilcox, which allowed Duff to take his place in the midfield. His sparkling performances saw him hailed as the saviour of Irish football. By seasons end, he had scored 4 goals in 26 appearances.

Second season syndrome him the winger in the 1998/1999, as he struggled with his own poor form. Although he only managed one goal during the season, the potential was still there, Blackburn moving to keep him at Ewood Park for as long as possible. They had a star on their hands.

His lead up to the World Cup was perfect. He scored goals, played regularly, both for Blackburn and the Republic and he was instrumental in the Worthington Cup Final against Tottenham, helping Blackburn to victory and their first trophy since the 1994/1995 Premiership.

His profile rose higher still during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Republic of Ireland manager, Mick McCarthy, utilised Duff’s versatility, playing him in a central attacking role, just behind Robbie Keane. He was well and truly in the shop window and his performances did little to deter potential suitors, although he insisted that he was happy at Blackburn.

Despite a few niggling injuries, season 2002/2003 was largely successful, Duff enhancing his reputation as one of the most feared wingers in the Premiership. He scored 9 goals and made his European début, scoring one goal in three UEFA Cup games. Comparisons to the form wingers at the time- Harry Kewell and Ryan Giggs- followed, as did a £12m bid from Liverpool. Manchester United also submitted a bid, but they were put off by Blackburn’s £17m asking price. Roman Abramovich’s millions arrived at Chelsea, but Blackburn were undeterred in their attempts to keep Duff, the star of the Blackburn Rovers side. Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri didn’t give up and in July 2003, Blackburn accepted Chelsea’s fourth bid in a week. Damien Duff transferred to Chelsea for a club record fee of £17m.

In his first season at Stamford Bridge, Duff made over 30 appearances, but he was hindered by a recurring shoulder injury. His season was eventually ended by a dislocated shoulder, which required surgery. Duff was reportedly unhappy with Ranieri’s constant tinkering and reports linked him with a move away from Chelsea, but he eventually vowed to stay and fight for his place when fit. During the season he also established himself as Claudio Ranieri’s mum’s favourite player.

Duff, like everyone, had to prove himself to new manager José Mourinho. He was left out of the early squads, but when he proved that he was over his shoulder injury, he returned to the side, with devastating effect. He and Arjen Robben proved to be the most elusive double act in the Premiership and terrorised many a defence throughout the Premiership and Carling Cup winning season. Duff also developed a knack for scoring opening goals. He played 42 games, scoring a career best 10 goals including the winner in the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final, against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

His third season at the Bridge wasn’t quite as successful for the Ballyboden Wizard. He started off as part of the starting XI, winning the Charity Shield and scoring against Tottenham and Liverpool, but an Achilles injury in December ruined his season. He only scored 3 league goals and was more often than not on the bench, with Arjen Robben and Joe Cole preferred when fit.

With the additions of Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou to the squad, Duffa’s position seemed to be under even more of a threat. José stated that he is a player Chelsea would like to keep, but that he could not guarantee him games. Damien Duff spurned the chance to move to Tottenham, because he is so much of a Chelsea fan. His eventual destination is Newcastle United, where he will join ex-Chelsea teammates Scott Parker- now Newcastle captain- and Celestine Babayaro. The fee was in the region of £10m.

Damien Duff is a very special player. His boundless energy, high work rate and passion for the club endeared him to the Stamford Bridge fans. His partnership with Robben was the stuff of champions and we will be proud to say that we witnessed it in full flight, as they tore Premiership opposition to pieces. He was high on entertainment and was anything but boring. In that marvelous season with Robben, he scored the opening goal in 6 out of 9 games. Chelsea scored four goals in a game, six times in less than two months.

It is with sadness that Duff departs the Blues, having won four trophies at Stamford Bridge. In his three seasons at Chelsea, he made 125 appearances, 30 as a substitute and scored 19 goals. Damien Duff is truly one of Chelsea’s great champions and will be fondly remembered by all at the club. CFCnet wishes Duffa the best of luck with Newcastle and success in the future.

Contribution by Matt Connellan - 23 July 2006 - Talk about his article in the CFCnet forum

http://www.cfcnet.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18122

some interesting comments from the chelsea faithfull....

..seems he was a firm fans favourite & many of them wishing they had sold others instead.

& I have a mate who actually knows him very well, so I'll be finding out in the next week or 2 the reason why he chose the barcodes....

[broadsword]

Where did I say Newcastle were going to "do a Leeds"?

The niceties of corporate finance are lost on me I admit, but I'm pretty much certain that if you weren't up to your necks in debt then the Intertonto wouldn't be necessary. Perhaps they're desperate to keep the income up in order just to service the debt?

"How's Bellamy going?" - goodness, a little bit childish, eh?

[FourLaneBlue]

Damien Duff spurned the chance to move to Tottenham, because he is so much of a Chelsea fan.

Hey! What about us?

Bryan was right...what a badge-whore!

[rover6]

when was the last time you saw Duff score goals like MGP ???

i know who id rather have.

Come on fellow Rovers, I am a MGP fan but even I would admit that a fit Damien Duff is in a different league to MGP - even to a Newcastle fan.

Newcastle have thrown unbelievable amounts of money at their squad, a thing we can only dream of doing these days. Some of the fees paid have been silly, to say the least. To pay the amount they did for Michael OWen when they were more or less the only genuine bidders was highly reckless.

I have a suspicion that Roeder will have a decent season with Newcastle (despite his past record with teams that have finished 7th). Steven Taylor is a superb player and will improve their defence no-end. But I don't see why Rovers, under the charge of a superior manager, can't out-perform them again.

If I was a Newcastle fan, I'd be very worried about the financial side of things. It seems Shepherd, ever the demagogue, is sucking the club dry to purchase players to improve his popularity amongst the fans.

[Hughesy]

Newcastle’s midfield is looking very good now.

Duff, Parker, Emre, Solano, Butt, Milner, Dyer

They need to sign 1 top class striker and possibly 2 defenders and they could have a very strong starting line up.

As for Duff or MGP – id rather we stuck with MGP & Peter than pay £10 million for Duff + £70k a week in wages

[cn174]

SSN have just announced that Duff only costs £5million.

[BuckyRover]

and 70k p/w

[Presty On Tour]

SSN have just announced that Duff only costs £5million.

and 70k p/w

With those figures, i don't know what out transfer kitty is but i would of certainly been in for him if we had the money.

put duff up front like he has done for ireland and us in the past, him and mgp could have been deadly down the left side.

[BigDom]

Duff signing for £5 million = crazy

I read that there could be other payments in the future but how can he be worth just £5 million ?

To me this just proves that Roman Abramovich has so much money that he does not even care how much it will take for Chelski to become the biggest and best team in the world.

It is obvious that Mr Abramovich is not happy unless his beloved team wins the Champions League. Therefore, one can only presume that Mr Mourinho has been told to get rid of the surplus, free up the wage bill and sign better players (Ballack, Shevchenko etc).

But what does this do to the transfer market ?

It makes the £6 million we got for Bellamy look like a decent figure, but we all know he was worth much more

How bizarre !

[G Somerset Rover]

He did only have a year left on his deal though guys.

[steven]

It was 5M, but I'm sure there were other fees based on number of appearances etc. There's no way (even with only 1 year left of his contract) that he would go for so little.