07 Dec 2024 15:30:22
Hi ed001,
Can I ask your opinion about John Duran? He’s obviously quite a character, but what do you make of him as a player?
My apologies for posting this on the Liverpool page.

{Ed001's Note - he is like 2 different players from what I have seen - the one who plays from the start and the one who comes on as a sub. The sub works hard and puts himself about, has the bit between his teeth and strikes the ball well. The starter is a bit lazy and just doesn't seem like he is really trying at all. He seems to be a player that needs to be fired up to play well and that it only seems to happen when he is not happy about being on the bench.}

1.) 07 Dec 2024
07 Dec 2024 16:07:04
Ed01, David Trezeguet had the same situation in his time with France. He would start games for them and wouldn't score or play well for the most part even tho, he' start and score lots of goals for his Juve.

So Trezeguet was always on the bench in favour of Henry with France and despite this, he often scored whenever he came off the bench. See the Euro 2000 final where his golden goal off the bench (Henry started that final) that sank Italy. He often would speak about how he deserved to start BUT the managers just shut it down and would bench him more often than not. Seems like once you have that tag about you, you can't shake it off. Trezeguet (tho being the better finisher than Henry for France, IMO) never could.

{Ed001's Note - he was never that good to deserve to start ahead of Henry.}

2.) 07 Dec 2024
07 Dec 2024 16:25:18
I remember on the old pro evo soccer, trezeguet was called tregeezer ?. Oh much simpler times! Though personal favourite game was sensible soccer.

Cheers.

3.) 07 Dec 2024
07 Dec 2024 16:40:13
Duran looks to me like an incredible goal scorer and at the same time a pretty awful all around footballer, his teamwork and linkup play with others is absolutely nonexistent, if you asked him to play a role where he’d selflessly make runs to make space for other people I’m pretty certain he would have absolutely no idea how to do it, he just wants to get on the end of everything. Watkins might not be as instinctive as him but he offers so much more off the ball and in general play.

4.) 07 Dec 2024
07 Dec 2024 17:40:43
Just on another striker thoughts with Michail Antonio tonight.

Reports of him being in a serious car crash today and picture of his vehicle doesn’t look good. Apparently air lifted to hospital.

5.) 07 Dec 2024
07 Dec 2024 17:57:12
Literally just been told about it by a hammer friend of mine JK. Crash looked horrific, apparently he is in a stable condition though. Thoughts and prayers to his family.

6.) 07 Dec 2024
07 Dec 2024 18:02:53
Yeah walkon the picture doesn’t look good and luckily there was no passenger.

Hammers have literally just released a statement saying he’s stable.

7.) 07 Dec 2024
07 Dec 2024 19:07:43
Not to claim I know Duran or anything like that, but I had an interesting conversation with an employee of Villa (not going to narrow it down! ) in a pub about the young Colombian.

Effectively I got told he’s a bit immature and has let the money and attention get to his head. He described it as a kid on £50-100k a week, too much money for someone who’s far too young and immature to be receiving it. No specific and didn’t dig him out as such but heavily alluded that he’s got a fair bit of maturing and growing up to do and can be a bit of a problem child in training etc.

Nothing else to add really. It supports what everyone else has said about him. Maybe he will kick on - let’s see!