Duff fighting back? Michael answers some of the criticisms aimed at him

[swansnews]

It is interesting on occasions taking time to listen to all the questions being put towards Michael Duff when he answers questions ahead of any particular fixture and that was certainly the case yesterday when he took questions ahead of Saturday’s clash at Millwall. The early part of the questions...

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[monmouth]

I hope he doesn't confuse 'hard work' with achieving something. He seems to say it a lot, as if it's all that is necessary.

Anyway, another win tomorrow and things will ease considerably for him. He needs the breathing space.

 

[SwansInTheLake]

Personally I would prefer we work a bit smarter at times rather than total hard work. Would help not being completely gung-ho and running our players in to the ground. Our injury record this season has been awful already, don't want to keep adding to it, there's a few boys in the squad injury prone anyway, I don't think we need more.

 

[cadleigh]

I may be in a minority of two here (Mrs Duff being the other one, probably) but I like him. Seems honest. I agree that sometimes he probably says things to the media that are best kept to his squad and his backroom staff, but I think he gets flak from people who are looking for any excuse to have a go at him.

 

[monmouth]

I may be in a minority of two here (Mrs Duff being the other one, probably) but I like him. Seems honest. I agree that sometimes he probably says things to the media that are best kept to his squad and his backroom staff, but I think he gets flak from people who are looking for any excuse to have a go at him.

Harsh

Put Mrs Duff and his dogs in the boot and drive them at 80 over Fairwood and see who's pleased to see you when you open the boot.

 

[JonTheJack]

I may be in a minority of two here (Mrs Duff being the other one, probably) but I like him. Seems honest. I agree that sometimes he probably says things to the media that are best kept to his squad and his backroom staff, but I think he gets flak from people who are looking for any excuse to have a go at him.

We should all want him to succeed. Would definitely make the kitchen of the Russy Cult busy making humble pie the way he's been written off so quickly.

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

I hope he doesn't confuse 'hard work' with achieving something. He seems to say it a lot, as if it's all that is necessary

There is nothing wrong with hard work, but in any walk of life, in any profession, the idea that 'hard work' can make up for fundamental deficiencies is for the birds.

As someone else on here has said, the magic sauce is to work smarter, not harder.

He can run them up as many sand dunes until they puke as he likes. But it won't make up for a lack of a plan of what to do when the players have the football at their feet.

It's not 'Sprint'-ball. Or 'Slog'-ball. That's why they call it 'foot'ball. The clue's in the name.

 

[waynekerr55]

We should all want him to succeed. Would definitely make the kitchen of the Russy Cult busy making humble pie the way he's been written off so quickly.

Fingers crossed he gets it right

 

[Cooperman]

It’s been an interesting week with regards to some Twitter contents surrounding Duff, some of it bordering on harassment. I’ve been left muttering unpleasantries on more than one occasion.

 

[monmouth]

It’s been an interesting week with regards to some Twitter contents surrounding Duff, some of it bordering on harassment. I’ve been left muttering unpleasantries on more than one occasion.

Twatter is full of wankers.

 

[monmouth]

There is nothing wrong with hard work, but in any walk of life, in any profession, the idea that 'hard work' can make up for fundamental deficiencies is for the birds.

As someone else on here has said, the magic sauce is to work smarter, not harder.

He can run them up as many sand dunes until they puke as he likes. But it won't make up for a lack of a plan of what to do when the players have the football at their feet.

It's not 'Sprint'-ball. Or 'Slog'-ball. That's why they call it 'foot'ball. The clue's in the name.

Does he really do that? Run them up sand dunes until they puke? Or is that received opinion/urban myth?

 

[rockinj]

There is nothing wrong with hard work, but in any walk of life, in any profession, the idea that 'hard work' can make up for fundamental deficiencies is for the birds.

As someone else on here has said, the magic sauce is to work smarter, not harder.

He can run them up as many sand dunes until they puke as he likes. But it won't make up for a lack of a plan of what to do when the players have the football at their feet.

It's not 'Sprint'-ball. Or 'Slog'-ball. That's why they call it 'foot'ball. The clue's in the name.

100% agree.

It’s part of the mix, if you have a free flowing team then you need stamina to make that work but just having either or doesn’t work.

A good example of work smart not harder is a goalkeeper like David Seaman back in the day. He didn’t make many worldie saves because his positional sense was first class. He therefore didn’t need to.

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

Does he really do that? Run them up sand dunes until they puke? Or is that received opinion/urban myth?

I can't 100% confirm sand dunes mate... but I can confirm the puking. By several accounts from people I've heard from who are close to the club, pre-season and the 2-week international break was tantamount to SAS training. Players have been worked to the bone fitness wise.

I offer no comment on the correlation between that and the unusually large number of injuries we've suffered so far this season

 

[cadleigh]

Yesterday the team looked fully fit. In extra time at the end Lowe was still chasing down Millwall players, looking as fresh as he did at the start. Cooper and Martin both struggled with player stamina, so it’s great to see that improve.

Duff didn’t give us a wave when we asked him to mid-game, didn’t come particularly close to the away end after the final whistle, and gave us one solitary fist pump when he was sure he wasn’t getting booed. I felt bad for him. But the replica kit/slacks combo is not a great look. Michael, if you are reading this please study Sousa and Martinez’s style.

Getting players (Cullen and Patino I think) to exit the pitch at the opposite side to the dig-out and walk past the Jack Army was brilliant. More of that please!

 

[LeonWasTheDog's]

Yesterday the team looked fully fit. In extra time at the end Lowe was still chasing down Millwall players, looking as fresh as he did at the start. Cooper and Martin both struggled with player stamina, so it’s great to see that improve.

Duff didn’t give us a wave when we asked him to mid-game, didn’t come particularly close to the away end after the final whistle, and gave us one solitary fist pump when he was sure he wasn’t getting booed. I felt bad for him. But the replica kit/slacks combo is not a great look. Michael, if you are reading this please study Sousa and Martinez’s style.

Getting players (Cullen and Patino I think) to exit the pitch at the opposite side to the dig-out and walk past the Jack Army was brilliant. More of that please!

He’s had a rough start, so I don’t blame him keeping his head down. I’m pleased we’ve managed to grab a couple of back to back wins, so credit for that. I couldn’t see yesterday’s match, so I’ve no idea how we played. OTJ on BBC Radio Wales seemed pretty impressed though, so sounds like a step in the right direction.