Up the Duff

Damien Duff moving to Newcastle is great news for not only The Toon Army, but also Steve Staunton. The Ireland manager needs Damien to be playing week-in, week-out, if he’s to turn it on for Ireland in the European qualifiers.
His days of jinking past full-backs at will are probably behind him – but Duffer’s still very effective and he’s also eager to prove himself after last season’s bit-part at Stamford Bridge. Damien would’ve been a great buy for Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United, but Chelsea weren’t going to let him go to one of their title rivals.
So what does the new Premiership season have in store? While it mightn’t be quite so comfortable for them this time round, I fully expect Chelsea to make it three-in-a-row. A good team’s been made even better by the arrival of Michael Ballack, who’ll be a huge boost to them in Europe.
I don’t feel as positive about Andriy Shevchenko, who will have severe difficulties living up to his £30 million price tag. He won’t flop like his former Dynamo Kiev teammate Sergei Rebrov did at Spurs, but he’s not the player he was two years ago at AC Milan. I saw a lot of Italian football last season and, like in the World Cup for Ukraine, he had some very mediocre games. He’s lost half-a-yard, which can be the difference between surging past someone and them getting a tackle in.
If, as expected, Shevchenko’s joined at Stamford Bridge by Ashley Cole, it’ll be more of a loss for Arsene Wenger than a gain for Jose Mourinho who’s already got enough of everything in his squad.
The same can’t be said for Manchester United, who desperately need a ball-winning midfielder. Michael Carrick’s a very talented individual, but I’m not convinced he’s that type of player – or worth anything like the £18.6 million Alex Ferguson’s paid for him.
Looking at some of their other big signings – Veron, Saha and Ferdinand, for example – United have a habit of paying over the odds for players that are good but don’t necessarily win trophies for you. Relying on Saha upfront is a big gamble given his track-record with injuries and if Ronaldo leaves, they’re going to have no one with pace except Wayne Rooney – who showed what a liability he is again, by getting sent off in the Amsterdam Tournament game against Porto. The thing Fergie needs at the moment, like a hole in the head, is his best player watching from the stands.
On the management front, I imagine there are quite a few Man U fans envious that Martin O’Neill’s gone to Aston Villa – although being on a rolling year-long contract, as he was at Celtic, means Martin can bale out quickly should the need arise. If he gets the money that he’s been promised there’s real potential at Villa – there’s a lot of rebuilding to be done, but O’Neill is good at that end of the job.
While the task isn’t quite as daunting, does Alex Ferguson have the appetite for a similar rebuilding job at United? I’m not convinced that he does, which means United could be in for another trophy-less season.
The biggest challenge to Chelsea will come from Liverpool, who have the added benefit this season of Craig Bellamy’s lightening pace. You do wonder what’ll happen if him and Jermaine Pennant decide to go nightclubbing together, but Bellamy’s the guy who’s going to nick you that injury time winner at Bramall Lane! And as we all know, that’s how league challenges are put together.
On their day, Arsenal are capable of beating anybody – but I still think they’re two or three short of a Premiership winning squad. Deadline-wise, in terms of adding quality, they’re running out of time. But with the £30 million-plus they’re likely to get for Cole and Reyes – who looks as if he’s on his way back to Spain – they might just be the club to pull off a couple of dramatic transfer coups.
In terms of surprise packages I’m putting my money on Reading, who have enough talented youngsters to beat the drop, and on Everton – who in Andy Johnson and James Beattie have a potentially lethal strike-force.
If Damien Duff, Craig Bellamy and Andy Johnson are three of the summer’s best buys, the worst has to be Emile Heskey, who’s worth a quarter of the £5.5 million Wigan paid for him. To be fair to Paul Jewell, no quality player wants to go to the JJB, so he’s had to settle for what he can get. Wigan won’t go down, I suspect, but they will struggle to repeat last season’s 10th place.
It’s going to be a lean season too, in the Championship, for the two new Irish managerial appointments, Mick McCarthy and Niall Quinn. Their respective Wolves and Sunderland squads just don’t have the quality to challenge Birmingham, who’ve made some great loan signings, or West Brom – who post-relegation have managed to hold on to most of their stars and bring in John Hartson, a proven goalscorer.
North of the border, it’s going to be a big ask for Celtic to again see off Rangers, who’ve bagged themselves an excellent manager in Paul Le Guen. He’s got the same quiet, studious manner as Arsene Wenger and proved his worth by winning four successive French titles with Lyons. There’s always a danger with foreign managers that they won’t adapt, but I think he’s smart enough to be able to re-think his approach as he goes along.