Originally published at: Duffy finally gets a Celtic boost; Lennon acknowledges Sunday performance - 67 Hail Hail
Shane Duffy has finally been given something at Celtic from Neil Lennon that he’s had little of – praise. Duffy’s time in Scotland has been a total disaster. The Ireland international came up north from Brighton on a season-long loan deal with a reputation of being able to handle physical centre-forwards. In reality, the Premier…
I think this means that he’ll start the next game over Welsh.
I wish the boy a speedy recovery.
Strange that Shane Duffy was Brighton player of the year a couple of years ago in the Premiership and was twice player of the year for Ireland so he was a top player. He started full of confidence for Celtic also and scored in a couple of his early games.
Maybe he lost form or maybe he was overrated but my opinion is that he completely lost confidence due to the level of abuse he received in Glasgow . He was slated over minor things such as playing a player inside in his old firm debut and any tiny misjudgment was placed under the microscope until he became a bag of nerves and became error prone.
Just my opinion but I couldn’t believe the abuse and I know he deleted his twitter account .
Celtic a great place to go for an Irish player in theory but if you are having a hard time don’t count on the fans to support you , maybe the same at every club but I hope not
Criticism isn’t unique to Celtic, it’s the same for every player at every club around the world, weather you’re a fans favourite or not. When any player makes a move to a new club, they arrive with a certain level of expectation wrapped around them and if they fail to live up to those expectations, the fans (who pay your wages) will naturally turn on you and rip you to pieces, until you up your game, some players can cope with it and it brings out the best in them, while others fall to pieces. Nowadays, the modern game is so demanding for various reasons (the expectations of the fans, the owners of the club, the players personal sponsorship deals etc) you have to represent all of them to the best of your ability, you have to be mentally strong as well as physically, with Duffy though a LOT of blame has to be laid at the feet of The Republic of Ireland coaches as well as Lennon
Q: Should Duffy been recruited over Omar Colly in the first place?
A: NO, Duffy was the easy option, because he was Irish and the Republic of Ireland Captain as well as a Celtic fan. A £2million pound loan over a £9 million pound Omar Colly price tag, it was obvious that the penny pitcher Lawwell was chose the latter.
Q: Should Duffy’s Well-being (metal and physical state) Have been Taken into Consideration Before Opting For Him?
A: YES, Celtic should have taken into consideration that the young man had just lost his father and naturally he was going through the process of grieving (its believed that he and his father were very close), so his mental state wouldn’t be right. This should have been a major concern for Lennon and Lawwell, that should have been highlighted, before deciding to bring him in and throw him into the deep end in such a vital and historic season where the pressure, the expectation levels to win the 10IAR was astronomical, would he be able to cope, by the looks of it, NO.
Q: Is Duffy’s All-Round Game And Ability Questionable?
A: Yes, I blame that on the coaching he’s received with the Republic of Ireland ( and my GOD what a boring team to watch, badly coached with too many bang average players) and the current coaching he’s receiving and not receiving under Lennon and Kennedy. In the modern game, the modern CB is expected (as we’ve seen with Ajer) and many other good CB’s, to be able to
- Calmly bring the ball down to their feet and control it.
- Pick out a good short to long-range passes.
- Make big runs from through the middle of the park.
- Make clean tackles
- Organise the defence around him.
Starting with the ‘Dead Firm’ derby and into the Sparta Prague game, Duffy (for an international player with years of experience) has shown to
- Panics and is nervous on the ball
- Panics when the ball is in the air coming towards him
- Panics when a player is coming at him
- His positional sense is awful
- He gets too close to the player he’s marking
- he can’t tackle without nearly killing a player
- Appears limited to heading the ball from corners or to clear it out of his half
Q: Should Duffy Be Given Another Chance?
A: I believe, that under a good modern manager and coaching staff, with a good defensive coach that believe in and practice and implementation of ‘In-Depth Match Analysis/Data’ for the sole purpose of improving a player’s game and helping to eliminate the bad aspects of a player’s game, that with Duffy, we could have a decent player there but it will take time, patience and work, will the Celtic fans be up for that, in the immortal lyrics of Michael Bolton 'When They Put You Through The Fire, It Will Take Time Love and Tenderness?
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SD suffers from lack of pace. In modern football defenders have to be quick or intelligent with their positional game. SD has neither. Ireland and Brighton(until their new manager GP came) played a compact defense sitting deep and facing the attackers otherwise boring football. SD game was never going to suit celtics game unless at corners free kicks or hail Mary balls into the box. SD signing sums up the mess created by our current management team and Lawells interference in team recruitment. SD would have made a top centre half 30/40 years ago but football today is based on pace which SD does not have.
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100% spot on fello Celt, it’s going to take some creative imagination from the new ‘CEO’ and ‘Director Of Football’ to find the ways and the means to get the cash to build an entirely new defence from scratch.
@TheBhoys88 Welsh and Julien are a good start.
@StrangeAttractions Welsh is showing a lot of maturity and promises but he’ll need another year or two playing alongside an experienced proven centre-back to get up to full speed. Julien is great in the air as he proved with the goals he’s scored from corners and set-pieces but for a defender at 6.4inch’s he’s very lightweight and easily pushed off the ball. Next season the centre-back position is an area of the park Celtic will have to properly invest in.
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Deja-vu all over again.
It’s the same problem year after year.
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@StrangeAttractions It is fellow, Deja-va galore when it comes to Celtic and the p£%s poor day to day mismanagement of the footballing department. What’s staggering is the fact that we the fans can spot exactly what the problems are but the supposed professionals at our club, with all their UEFA coaching badges combined with years of experience cant see the issues. As Warren Buffett once stated and it’s true of Celtic
“I always invest in companies that an idiot could run, because one day, one will”
Liked the Warren Buffet quote. However Duffy had big problems due to Lenny playing three at the back at the start of the season . The Celtic team was encouraged to attack and leave the centre backs exposed. One on one is not defending. No wonder Barkas lost it. Who would be a defender at Celtic ? Duffy is not Liam Brady but he is a hell of a good centre half. You have to defend as a team and not just leave it to the big bloke in the middle. I am afraid that Neil Lennon and his coaching staff are responsible for our defenders problems.
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Aye the system isn’t ideal for Duffy but he’s made many big mistakes on the basics.
welcome to the forum
many opinions , with differing views , but united over our club
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Shane Duffy summed up in a sentence
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Well said. Our players are good players. Players capable of beating any team anywhere. However we are not a team of geniuses. We need to play as a team and that means defending as a team. When we do not have the ball the centre forward should be our first defender. I believe that we get caught out in Europe because of our tactics not the players.
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