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A Fulham fan on Danny Murphy

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Because we’re a nice bunch over here at Vital Blackburn we figured we’d seek a little extra insight into our first summer signing.

With Danny Murphy polarising opinion since his recent arrival at Ewood Park I asked respect Fulham fan site Cottagers Confidential for a little help.

Their editor Kristian Balkin was asked a few questions regards the new boy and he kindly obliged by letting us know the ins and outs of a player that they should know rather well.

Anyways here goes…

Are you guys sad to see Danny leave? Do you feel he could have stayed on? Or past his sell by date now?

I think the feeling among Fulham fans – and this is widespread – is that this is a huge loss, and not just in footballing terms. As our captain, and having been at the club since 2007, he’s become part of the furniture as it were and it’s a gap that can’t realistically be filled. He could have stayed on but, with Martin Jol re-branding Fulham into a fresh, youthful outfit, his future – as well as many other’s – was in doubt. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a short term deal on the table that he wasn’t willing to sign because he wants to see out his career in a first team. As for being past his sell-by-date, well, he’s certainly someone that’s ageing and his legs aren’t what they were but, with that, his experience will only grow.

What sort of strengths does he have?

Murphy will spray balls around the park all day long and a fair proportion of them will be particularly accurate. He dictates play but this regularly goes unnoticed and, more than anything, he has a mind that seems to be one step ahead of everyone else’s. In the Championship his role may have to be adapted slightly but expect some devilish through balls and some astute running from him. He’s an unsung hero in every respect – it’s only in leaving Fulham that we’re going to realise quite how important he was to us.

And likewise any weaknesses we should beware?

At 35, he’s not getting any younger. Despite playing every game bar 3 last season, it’s clear that he doesn’t have the fitness that he used to and I’d expect to see him pulled off, quite regularly, with 20 or 30 minutes left to play. On top of that, his aggression can get the better of him but in many ways, this is more of a positive spun into a negative. He’s dedicated to the cause and this will, sometimes, lead to a bad tackle here or a pinch of dissent there, but I wouldn’t be too worried about that.

We always seem to hear that Danny was something of a club man whilst at Fulham, was this the right portrayal of him?

100%. He seemed very attached to Fulham and I don’t think that belief will be tarnished by his leaving. As the captain, obviously he had that extra allegiance to the club and we all certainly felt he would see out his career at Craven Cottage, perhaps even going into coaching as well, but we won’t begrudge him leaving if we couldn’t offer him the football. We don’t have many players that seem quite so proud to play here so you’ve got yourself someone who will stick by you, through thick and thin.

And finally how do you see him getting on at Rovers, he’s optimistic of getting us promoted at the first time of asking, can he have an influence?

He’ll do well. I can’t guarantee the drop down will suit his style of play but, then again, it may suit him perfectly. It’s difficult to tell, really, but you’ve undoubtedly bagged yourself a talented, experienced work horse who can boost your creativity. We’ll miss him for that and we’ll miss him for what he meant to the club. We all sincerely hope to see him back in SW6 one day. Best wishes to him and best wishes to Blackburn!

Thank you to Kris for taking the time to talk to us, you can catch Kris and the gang doing their thing over at Cottagers Confidential.

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Vital Blackburn Site Editor / Fence Sitter

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