Damien Duff interview

[Bigdoggsteel]

Great interview with the Duffer and for once with an ex-Rover, they actually speak about the club a lot! This is the youtube version, but it is on podcast also.

 Great lad the Duffer. His interview reminded me of wingers who actually took players on. 

[Amo]

Have we forgiven him for kissing the Chelsea badge at Ewood? What was that all about?

[Bigdoggsteel]

I never held it against him in the first place. Contributed far too much good for the club. 

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, Amo said:

Have we forgiven him for kissing the Chelsea badge at Ewood? What was that all about?

And the jesture at Fulham.

[Scotland1]

1 hour ago, Amo said:

Have we forgiven him for kissing the Chelsea badge at Ewood? What was that all about?

Didn’t he get bood by a select few? He didn’t actually want to leave apparently but we needed the cash

[oldjamfan1]

His 'leaving letter to Rovers fans' is still one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Looked like it was written by an 8 year old.

[roversfan99]

Just listening to the podcast now @Bigdoggsteel and it is a very good listen. Quite a funny guy, thanks for the link.

Agree with you on what he did for the club too. Extreme example but I don't get people holding grudges and disliking Shearer either, before my time sadly in terms of his Rovers career unlike Duff but impossible not to look with fondness.

[Bigdoggsteel]

2 hours ago, Scotland1 said:

Didn’t he get bood by a select few? He didn’t actually want to leave apparently but we needed the cash

We turned down a few offers for him, but the final Chelsea one was too tempting. I read we turned down 15 mil from Liverpool 

[MarkBRFC]

I think Chelsea were the only one's to hit Duff's release clause at the time.

[LeftWinger]

I'm sure at the time I remember hearing Duff wanted us to match the wages Chelsea were offering and he would have stayed, but Souness wanted the woman to strengthen the squad.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

44 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

I'm sure at the time I remember hearing Duff wanted us to match the wages Chelsea were offering and he would have stayed, but Souness wanted the woman to strengthen the squad.

Which woman was that ? Wasn't Dwight Yorke already here ?

[LeftWinger]

5 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Which woman was that ? Wasn't Dwight Yorke already here ?

Money not woman ???

[MarkBRFC]

19 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

I'm sure at the time I remember hearing Duff wanted us to match the wages Chelsea were offering and he would have stayed, but Souness wanted the woman to strengthen the squad.

Yeah I vaguely recall something similar (about the money not the woman).

He then went and spent most of it on Barry Ferguson.

[LeftWinger]

1 minute ago, MarkBRFC said:

Yeah I vaguely recall something similar (about the money not the woman).

He then went and spent most of it on Barry Ferguson.

Just had a look and we got 22.5m for Dunn and Duff that summer (I'd forgotten they both left the same summer).

Brought in:

Emerton 2.5m - Great success

Amoruso 1.4m - Did OK

Reid 2.5m - Good signing eventually

Gresko 1.2m - Did OK

Yeldell FREE - Was never intended as a first team signing and proved as much

Ferguson 7.5m - Flop

 

So in summary, we would have been better keeping hold of Dunn and Duff.

[MarkBRFC]

No wonder we went from 6th to 15th the season after.

[CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber]

Still don't expect to see a player as good as him, in that position, again in my lifetime at Ewood. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

52 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

Just had a look and we got 22.5m for Dunn and Duff that summer (I'd forgotten they both left the same summer).

Brought in:

Emerton 2.5m - Great success

Amoruso 1.4m - Did OK

Reid 2.5m - Good signing eventually

Gresko 1.2m - Did OK

Yeldell FREE - Was never intended as a first team signing and proved as much

Ferguson 7.5m - Flop

 

So in summary, we would have been better keeping hold of Dunn and Duff.

Small margins. If Reid wasn't so injury prone, we could have gotten 10 million for him. 

Ferguson really disappointed me. I had high hopes. 

[Leonard Venkhater]

On 15/07/2020 at 13:24, tomphil said:

And the jesture at Fulham.

Never heard that one. What happened?

 

[tomphil]

3 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

Just had a look and we got 22.5m for Dunn and Duff that summer (I'd forgotten they both left the same summer).

Brought in:

Emerton 2.5m - Great success

Amoruso 1.4m - Did OK

Reid 2.5m - Good signing eventually

Gresko 1.2m - Did OK

Yeldell FREE - Was never intended as a first team signing and proved as much

Ferguson 7.5m - Flop

 

So in summary, we would have been better keeping hold of Dunn and Duff.

Amoruso - I'd call him a flop but i don't think a great deal was expected of him and Souness was a know critic previously.  Some odd deals between us and Rangers.  He was good at getting his head to it in the oppo penalty box and was committed for sure but a very poor reader of the game it was a level too high for him.

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

Never heard that one. What happened?

 

Just a salute in the direction of the Rovers fans tucked in the corner after scoring at that end at the Cottage. No idea what it was all about but no need for it.

Think it was when we were suffering as well around king rats era or thereabouts.

[LeftWinger]

Just now, tomphil said:

Amoruso - I'd call him a flop but i don't think a great deal was expected of him and Souness was a know critic previously.  Some odd deals between us and Rangers.  He was good at getting his head to it in the oppo penalty box and was committed for sure but a very poor reader of the game it was a level too high for him.

I always remember thinking the oddest Rangers/Souness deal was Jean-Alain Boumsong.

Signed for Rangers on a free whilst Souness was Rovers manager - and we seemingly showed no interest.

A few months later - Souness is at Newcastle and pays £8m for him.

 

[tomphil]

14 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

I always remember thinking the oddest Rangers/Souness deal was Jean-Alain Boumsong.

Signed for Rangers on a free whilst Souness was Rovers manager - and we seemingly showed no interest.

A few months later - Souness is at Newcastle and pays £8m for him.

 

Basically he helped his old mates out a few times and no doubt had a nice glass of wine out of it.

Or even a vineyard....?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Small margins. If Reid wasn't so injury prone, we could have gotten 10 million for him. 

Ferguson really disappointed me. I had high hopes. 

Me too regarding Ferguson. He looked to have it all, in fact he reminded me of Souness himself at times. I've seen him play internationals for Scotland and be the best player on the pitch. It's inexplicable why he didn't make the grade at Rovers, maybe his heart wasn't in it ? Not every transfer works out. I remember Fergie signing Juan Veron. I thought it was a master stroke, he'd been awesome in Italy. He never made the grade either. Podborsky was another that looked to be a brilliant player until he signed for Utd.

[BlackburnEnd75]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Me too regarding Ferguson. He looked to have it all, in fact he reminded me of Souness himself at times. I've seen him play internationals for Scotland and be the best player on the pitch. It's inexplicable why he didn't make the grade at Rovers, maybe his heart wasn't in it ? Not every transfer works out. I remember Fergie signing Juan Veron. I thought it was a master stroke, he'd been awesome in Italy. He never made the grade either. Podborsky was another that looked to be a brilliant player until he signed for Utd.

Veron was a wonderful player who just didn't suit english football. Saw him playing in Argentina well into his late 30's and he was such an incredible technician.

Ferguson if memory serves me was starting to come good a bit but got a bad injury (Fractured Knee?) up at Newcastle which ended his season and by the start of the new season he forced his move back to Rangers. 

[bluebruce]

On 16/07/2020 at 12:46, CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber said:

Still don't expect to see a player as good as him, in that position, again in my lifetime at Ewood. 

Almost impossible that we will unless he's playing for the opposition. Duff was the best left winger in the world for me, after the 2002 World Cup. Just most didn't know it because he still only played for 'little' Blackburn Rovers. He actually wasn't quite as good at Chelsea as with us after his injury issues there (even though he'd had some before with us) but he was playing in a much better side and was certainly still lethal as. Him and Robben swapping sides was terrifying. There was a reason that when Ranieri was given all the money in the world, the first player he bid for was Damien Duff. He got Glen Johnson over the line first, but only because Duff took longer to finalise.