I can understand seeing him in the stands for the first few games of the season, after all, he was still recovering from a second serious shoulder injury in the space of 6 months! But since seeing him pull on the Republic Ireland shirt earlier in the month, and putting in a stunning display I might add, I cannot understand why he has only played about 20 minutes of football since.
Since the above mentioned international break, we have played out two 0-0 drawn in the Premiership. Chances created have been limited. Joe Cole is the man who has been given the free role to create the sort of chances Duffer offers to his strikers on a regular basis.
But he just hasn't cut it. Now, I've got nothing against the little fella, but after reading several articles praising Joey, I just can't see what the fuss about. Yes, it is fantastic to see him running at people with pace, sending them one way and and then the next, putting in the odd party trick or two. But, apart from one fantastic ball to put Kez through against PSG, he has produced sweet FA in terms of goal scoring opportunities.
Against Spurs, he was lauded as one of our best players. Why? I don't recall seeing any cutting edge to his play, just him dancing past the odd player every now and then and misplacing the simplest of passes.
On the other hand, Duffer had 10 or 15 minutes on the pitch, during which he created more and offered a better threat than any of our other players did combined in the whole 90 minutes!
We need width! Didier Drogba is crying out for decent crosses on a regular basis! Why spend £24 million on a striker if you're not going to create any chances for him?