Duffy

[freemuzzy]

No wonder we are where we are!

Come on, if we’re going to play that game based on a mid 30s centre back moving to low non-league (probably due to personal circumstance; at that stage of your career you’d be unlikely to relocate), let’s also look at (from the recently-released pile):

- Hewitt starting every game for Grimsby

- Alessandra impressing for Morecambe as a #10 and scoring past the Stags

- Dan Jones an ever-present for Cambridge who’ve had a great start to the season

- Adam Collin now club captain at Carlisle

...all in the division above us. All generally written off or completely derided by our fans. It’s not really an exact science where players go when they leave us; so much of it will depend on personal circumstances, how willing they are to accept low(er) terms but potentially still need to move or be away from their family, how receptive they are to start preparing for life outside of full time football etc etc.

[norsinfoggy]

... Peter Russell ... man mountain ...didn't need to be part of a pairing ...

Oh R.

Bonkers with it, allegedly. Remember hearing about when he turned up at Newport, whilst under suspension, to lend encouragement to his team-mates. Notts Officials began 'having kittens' as in those days a suspension meant a player was banned from having contact with the club. Aye, they couldn't even train with the team.

[slack_pie]

It was Yates and Short when I started following Notts. We haven't come close to that level since.

Duffy and Brisley, my god. I still have no idea how we did well that season.

[ncfcog]

Stubbs and Hunt

[Masson4]

Short and Yates were clearly a very talented pair, that can't be denied. I suppose Needham and Stubbs coincide more with my time though and they really were a superb unit. I do recall attempts to tempt them away from Meadow Lane as a pair.

Needham was the classy operator of the two, a good reader of the game and clean tackler but Stubbsy had other qualities. One of those was scaring the bejazus out of the opposition - in both boxes. Has anyone ever seen a longer sliding tackle? Some of them when chasing down an escaping forward seemed to start just over the half way line and end up nailing the forward somewhere near the corner flag - and I do mean nailed. It must have been a pretty fearsome prospect having Brian Stubb bearing down on you. He was also a huge threat at times in the opposing penalty area from dead balls - especially when Masson was putting them on his head with pinpoint accuracy. He became quite difficult to contain.

They played incredibly well together and were a bit part of Jimmy's success in those early seasons, providing such a sound, rock-solid defence.

[Elite_Pie]

I know several won't like to read this, but Richard Duffy actually had a good season with us when we reached the playoffs. His consistency and positional awareness were one of the reasons we did so well, and he rarely made a glaring mistake and held us together at times. The downside was his silly screaming theatricals trying to win a free kick, the upside was his numerous last ditch tackles and blocks which stopped us conceding. He was poor last season along with pretty much everyone else, but he was a decent level 4 centre back overall.