[Albion] "What the hell have we signed Duffy for?"

[Carrot Cruncher]

To me his signing made all the sense in the world, when the club backed it up with THE striker.

When that signing failed to materialize, spending all that money on SD began to not make sense.

That wasn't help by being bombarded by the default setting of some posters replying:-

'well we need to replace Greer'.

Which is all well and good, only Greer didn't leave the Albion as a £4m rated defender.
While the club is saying it can't make the money work for a striker.

So far everything has worked out considerably better than I (and I'm sure many others) expected, so fingers crossed the team gets through the next half a dozen games, ready to gear ourselves up for January.

Football finance is a funny thing that I, and I suspect you, don't fully understand. We did need to replace Greer and so the money spent doing that is irrelevant (if a bit of a surprise). The need for this is separate to the striker need and I don't understand the link.

 

[Stat Brother]

Football finance is a funny thing that I, and I suspect you, don't fully understand. We did need to replace Greer and so the money spent doing that is irrelevant (if a bit of a surprise). The need for this is separate to the striker need and I don't understand the link.

I don't understand my own finances.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Happy to admit, I was one of the ones questioning the purchase. Particularly with Goldson, Hunenmeier and Dunk all good CB's in their own right, and Dallison and White promising back-up's.

But goodness me, Duffy is a colossus, attacks everything and has made us more solid.

It feels like Uwe is the odd one out now and I wonder if he'll be off come January, as he is comfortably good enough to play in most championship teams.


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[Carrot Cruncher]

Whilst I didn't read too much into his comedy form at Blackburn, I have to admit to raising an eyebrow to breaking out transfer record on Duffy. Delighted to be shown that the club really know what they're doing and, as [MENTION=33834]DFL JCL[/MENTION] says, strengthened from a position of strength.

 

[dwayne]

Happy to admit, I was one of the ones questioning the purchase. Particularly with Goldson, Hunenmeier and Dunk all good CB's in their own right, and Dallison and White promising back-up's.

But goodness me, Duffy is a colossus, attacks everything and has made us more solid.

It feels like Uwe is the odd one out now and I wonder if he'll be off come January, as he is comfortably good enough to play in most championship teams.


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Really don't think we've seen enough of BFG to say that. To me he still seems too small physically to be a top class CB.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I saw the highlights of Duffy's two own goals and red card for Rovers vs Cardiff, and then I saw his debut vs Brentford, and I was not impressed. What has transpired in the 7 weeks since that Bees defeat has been a pleasant surprise and he looks rock solid.

That said, I still think our season will be defined by whether our forwards will score enough goals. I fully expect Norwich to get a new manager in and allow them to spend big in the next window. While Murray is fit we're OK but £4mill of our budget has been spent on Duffy and have we got enough left over to bring someone else in?

In no way is this a criticism of him, but in both the last two home games Murray has reached 70-75 mins and looked knackered and we're still only in October - we need to wrap him in cotton wool. I look at someone like Peter Crouch wasting away on the Stoke bench and think he could be a loan target and do a Zamora-style job, coming on for the last 20 mins and getting the occasional start as we give Glenn the odd rest. I reckon he'd be right up for a fresh challenge like this.

 

[Exile]

I fully expect Norwich to get a new manager in and allow them to spend big in the next window. .

A new manager MIGHT help, as Neill isn't very good. Spending MIGHT help, if they choose wisely.

Its absolutely no guarantee though - they spent £8m on Pritchard, and similar sums on Brady and Naismith. All three should be tearing up this league, yet the youth team graduate Jacob Murphy is ahead of all of them.

 

[WhingForPresident]

I was a bit puzzled with the logic of spending so much on a CB at the time as it seemed to be one of our strongest areas with Dunk, Goldson and Huene. Expected a cheap player to come in for cover so we could blow our wad on a striker, which obviously didn't transpire.

He has been excellent though, his performance on Saturday was sublime. With Bong regaining his form from early last season, I don't think there are many stronger back 5's than ours outside of the top half of the PL.

I'm confident of top two as it is, but if we snag a quality striker in January, I cannot see us failing this time barring a ridiculous spate of injuries.

Hemed looks off and though Baldock is playing well, he is never going to be our out and out goalscorer. Murray is quality as we all know, but it'd be very risky relying on just him all season.

 

[Albumen]

I never questioned it. He's ****ing huge.

 

[Mellotron]

Performed beyond all expectations. People talk about a "shaky" start but that was largely down to Bruno having his worst game in years vs Brentford - he left Duffy exposed time and again.

Duffy
Dunk
Goodson
Huenemeier

Is there a better set of 4 centre backs at any other club in our League? I really doubt it.

 

[whitelion]

I saw the highlights of Duffy's two own goals and red card for Rovers vs Cardiff, and then I saw his debut vs Brentford, and I was not impressed. What has transpired in the 7 weeks since that Bees defeat has been a pleasant surprise and he looks rock solid.

That said, I still think our season will be defined by whether our forwards will score enough goals. I fully expect Norwich to get a new manager in and allow them to spend big in the next window. While Murray is fit we're OK but £4mill of our budget has been spent on Duffy and have we got enough left over to bring someone else in?

In no way is this a criticism of him, but in both the last two home games Murray has reached 70-75 mins and looked knackered and we're still only in October - we need to wrap him in cotton wool. I look at someone like Peter Crouch wasting away on the Stoke bench and think he could be a loan target and do a Zamora-style job, coming on for the last 20 mins and getting the occasional start as we give Glenn the odd rest. I reckon he'd be right up for a fresh challenge like this.

We were going to spend on Pritchard c£5-£7m

 

[perseus]

Although since we got to the Championship I saw a covering central defender as number one requirement, the signing of Duffy slightly surprised me as he was the dominant centre half type and i thought that was Dunk's role, not realising that Dunk would seamlessly (almost) fit into the covering defender role.

Dominant centre half and covering central defender is a bit old hat nowadays. Thinking of the late seventies, with Foster heading he balls away and Lawrenson reading the game and generally playing more of a covering role.

 

[Spicy]

Particularly funny that a number of Blackburn fans thought we had been mugged on the transfer fee and offered to drive him down themselves.

They probably wanted to get him as far away from Blackburn as quickly as they could.

 

[perseus]

Performed beyond all expectations. People talk about a "shaky" start but that was largely down to Bruno having his worst game in years vs Brentford - he left Duffy exposed time and again.

Duffy
Dunk
Goodson
Huenemeier

Is there a better set of 4 centre backs at any other club in our League? I really doubt it.

Lascelles
Clark
Hanley
Mbemba

are the nearest. On there home ground Lascelles & Mbemba lapped up all eight set pieces we threw at them w/o trouble. I think we have better full backs and Knockaert though.

Hogan and Burke both left Dunk for dead this season. So with the faster players we still have to watch out.

 

[NooBHA]

Just like some of our fans offered to drive Dunk to Fulham. Yet these fans still claim to know about football.

I have to hold my hands up to that one. I was one of them that would have dropped him off there a year or so ago; however, I have openly retracted that and duly admit that he is better than what I first thought, although in my defense, I think Dunk himself has improved in the last 12 months.

As for Duffy just think, he is so much more vocal than Goldson, whom I like a lot as well and his defence of free kicks to the right hand side of our defense, he attacks them as opposed to waiting their arrival so that allows him to get up higher. He even just looks the part of a central defender who is going to intimidate you.

 

[el punal]

strengthen from a position of strength. Obviously Murray was always going to get MoM on Saturday, but Duffy was absolutely outstanding.

I thought that too. Had Murray not got his hat-trick, he was bloody impressive regardless, I would have gone for Duffy as MOM.

 

[ManOfSussex]

I saw the highlights of Duffy's two own goals and red card for Rovers vs Cardiff, and then I saw his debut vs Brentford, and I was not impressed. What has transpired in the 7 weeks since that Bees defeat has been a pleasant surprise and he looks rock solid.

I agree, but I would say a revelation and an absolute superb signing rather than pleasantly surprised.

We need good fortune with injuries and suspensions between now and January, among other things and in January, if indeed required and identified, we need to add to the squad sensibly and as required not for the sake of it, but after Saturday and what we're doing defensively as well at up top, we can finish in the top two.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Strikers seem to absolutely hate being manhandled by Duffy, which is nice.

 

[el punal]

I haven't looked at all the posts regarding this thread, so apologies if I have duplicated.

The thing that stood out for me about Duffy was his reaction to us conceding the injury time goal to Sheffield Wednesday. The game was won, we had the three points, all done and dusted. But no, he was furious that a clean sheet had been snatched away at the death. Now, to me, that shows pride, professionalism, commitment, right to the final whistle. Great attitude.

 

[Machiavelli]

I never argued with the decision unlike many. You need strength in depth in all positions. Yes it was quite a steep price but it was our defence that let us down last season ultimately. Especially our defending of set pieces that Duffy has improved no end.

As Iggle Piggle mentions, Murray has helped with defending set pieces too. And it's led me to wonder, have we conceded any headed goals from set-pieces this season?