Newcastle captain Geremi is very much looking forward to seeing former Chelsea team-mate Damien Duff back in action for the team.
Damien Duff – on his way back for Newcastle
Duff and Geremi are still to play in the same Newcastle side, although they played many times together for Chelsea. As we know Damien has been out since last April with a foot injury but the really good news is that he’s fit again, and trying to get some match practice. Sam has arranged a game behind closed doors this week to give the likes of Cacapa, Faye, Ameobi and Duff some match practice.
We have a feeling that Duff, when he finally returns, will be able to recapture his old form under new manager Sam Allardyce. Duff has yet to show the Newcastle fans the form he showed at both Blackburn and Chelsea, and we are certainly looking forward to seeing him back again in a black and white shirt.
Geremi talked about Duffer today to the Evening Chronicle:
“Everybody wants to play and fight for the team, especially Duffer,” “He’s come back from a bad injury and it’ll be great to see him back on the field.â€
“It was great to see him back in training for the first time. We hope he’ll be back in the team soon.â€
“We need everybody, because it’s a long month and we don’t have easy matches. We’ve got some big games coming over the Christmas period.â€
“There are some tough games and we want everybody available. It won’t be easy this month.”
“Newcastle is a massive club and the expectations are high,” “The fans are everywhere in the city and you know you have to deliver for them, which is what we are trying to do.”
Well, it was really good to get all 3 points on Saturday, even if the winner came very late in the game. We need the same again in the next two games against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday (5:15 pm KO), and then Derby County at home, the following Sunday (2:00 pm KO). Then we can start climbing the league table, and hopefully, can still finish up in a reasonable position this season.
Comments always welcome.
20 comments so far
ObaFan2
Dec 11, 2007 at 3:45 PM
Comment #1With Duff n Zog on the left, Milner n Beye on the right I think would be very balanced and then Emre n Barton in midfield?
Nobby!
Dec 11, 2007 at 3:52 PM
Comment #2I’m looking forward to his return, more than that fragile Owen…
yh
Dec 11, 2007 at 4:15 PM
Comment #3Yes obafan2 would love to see that kinda balance! sure sounds great and we can have viable attacking options down BOTH flanks instead of just one!!
Geordie
Dec 11, 2007 at 4:33 PM
Comment #4I think Duff man is a class act, but he and Zog will now have to compete for a position unless we continue to “rest” our £6 million left-back Jose Enrique. It will give us more options from the bench though which can only help.
Lets just keep them all fit now.
Stamford Toon
Dec 11, 2007 at 4:39 PM
Comment #5Duff back will give BSam options on the left and he will be able to rotate players when they are under pressure with lots of games close together.
Sounds great but I wonder will be the best pair out of the three?
Leo
Dec 11, 2007 at 4:41 PM
Comment #6i hope duff can be as good as he was when at blackburn and chelsea, would give us a huge boost.
scott 9
Dec 11, 2007 at 6:24 PM
Comment #7GREAT TO HAVE HIM ABCK MUCH BETTER DELIVEY TO STRIKERS AND SKILLFULL i agree obafan i would love to see zog and duff on left milner and beye on right and i would love to see emre and barton in the middle even more however i dont think sam would ever play them t2 together as he likes to play a holding midfield player like butt or geremi however i think barton and emre in midfield we would score lots more goals as the strikers would get exellent delivery
Cockney Magpie
Dec 11, 2007 at 9:11 PM
Comment #8its quite clear that havin zog at left back is working alot better than Enrique at this moment in time there fore it should stay like that until Enrique proves Sam wrong so having Duff LM and Nzog LB sounds great to me! i cant wait to c it tbh and with Milner and Beye on the other side we are finally starting to find our best eleven at last! Especially now Barton is starting to show his worth. Does anyblody know is Owen is back before Oba is off to the African Nations?
ObaFan2
Dec 11, 2007 at 10:20 PM
Comment #9Duff n Zog could rotate positions and Duff n Milner could rotate well and just to add that Zog’s done very well at lb, accumulated most of actim points there and might be a blessing in disguise or part of BSA’s plans from the start?
Ryan
Dec 12, 2007 at 4:52 AM
Comment #10Cockney Magpie, Owen will be back against derby match.
Karl
Dec 12, 2007 at 5:24 AM
Comment #11some nice optimisim here but a few doubts really: will Duff stay fit or can he retain even just 80% of his peak? will BSA even try out 442? any pair-up of our midfielders at the moment fails to give us any edge in PL – Butt or Geremi just aren’t good enough, Emre can only produce 45mins of good football at his best, and Barton yet to fulfill his potential here so someone in Gerrard or Keita (Seville) mould will be key to our success, not more unknown defenders or unproven teen striker
SGToon
Dec 12, 2007 at 6:05 AM
Comment #12Hey Karl,
But are there any Gerrard od Keita mould’s around? I would love a quick fix too but now it seems ideal to play what we’ve got. It would be a hell of scouting to be done catch such players and pulling players like that would be tough becuase…..let’s face it…we’re not up the par with the clubs that they are currently at. Maybe in 2 or 3 seasons.
I think duff will come good and Zoggy will in the future turn into our good ol’ Nobby…very versatile….
as for Enrique, I think Big Sam is just seeping him in…slowly so as not to turn into a ‘luque’ flop….I see Big Sam is doing a Wenger…seeping in Enrique as how Fabregas is done…maybe that’s how Spanish players are to be handled??? ahhahaha…….
Bucks1985
Dec 12, 2007 at 7:49 AM
Comment #13Although this is not my first choice eleven, I think Big Sam will be licking his lips when he sees this starting XI:
GK: Given
RB: Beye
LB: N’Zogbia
CB: Cacapa
CB: Faye
DM: Geremi
CM: Smith
CM: Barton
LW: Duff
ST: Viduka
ST: Owen
Again, I have to say that, this would not be my first eleven although if we are to continue with the same formation as we have been, it doesn’t look half bad at all.
Bill F
Dec 12, 2007 at 10:12 AM
Comment #14As I keep saying Duff is a decent defender and could easily play left side behind Zog. His injury and lack of match practise would make him a better bet in that position, at least till he is fully up to speed. Unless he is dead unlucky I can’t see him becoming another sicknote player.
ObaFan2
Dec 12, 2007 at 1:21 PM
Comment #15Bucks1985
ObaFan2
Dec 12, 2007 at 1:22 PM
Comment #16Bucks1985 lol no Milner? no Taylor?no Oba?
Bucks1985
Dec 12, 2007 at 7:15 PM
Comment #17That’s why I said Big Sam’s first XI! I thought I would get ridiculed for putting a first XI that was other than my own… glad to see you can read ObaFan. Well to save face I’ll put my own… I still think Big Sam’s first XI would give most a run for their money.
GK: Given
RB: Beye
CB: Faye
CB: Cacapa
LB: N’Zogbia
RM: Milner
LM: Duff
CM: Barton
CM: Geremi
ST: Viduka
ST: Martins/Owen
gallowgate chris
Dec 13, 2007 at 12:43 AM
Comment #18charlie is only playing lb because enrique is being blooded into the side. his 180 in the last 9 months and lightning acceleration earned him the right to play left wing when enrique is up to speed and there’s no way an ageing duff, who didnt take it past a player last season, could take position off him.
Barton is a box-to-box so he’d play well with anyone in midfield his opta stats last season were better than all newcastles midfield combined. but like gerrard a defensive mid would give him more attacking freedom. and emre’s firness means he’s still more of a super-sub.
THE PROBLEM sam was a defender as a player an as manager thinks defense first (thats why we’ve actually started with a 4-5-1 at home (which is shockingly negative)) so although we have the eleven we want to see start, and a team that could play the ENTERTAINERS style we love.. will we ever see it?
Hopefully he’ll progress into attractive football!!
Aussie dave
Dec 13, 2007 at 2:43 AM
Comment #19Really looking forward to Duff coming back. He will really suit the 433 system that Sam likes to adopt. Chelsea has not been the same team since Duff and Robben left.
One thing that Duff does that Milner is yet to learn is taking players on at speed. Duff also has the quality to create a lot more goals with his passing.
Milner has great technique but never runs at players with speed. All the top teams have players that fly past defenders giving the rest of the defence no time to filter in behind, this is where we break down by attacking too slow. The teams that win have wingers that run past defenders quickly eg MU-Ronaldo.
Anyway we have good run of fixtures coming up hopefully a winning run and a push into the top six.
Got to love Viewers choice pay tv, necer miss a game.
Len
Dec 13, 2007 at 3:41 AM
Comment #20I seem to remember that Duffer did very little of note before he was injured. What makes you lot think he is going to be back to his Blackburn best when he comes back? Personally I would sell him the Roy Keane and move on.