While i'am the first to admit i'am not his biggest fan i will be the first to admit he has been one of our better players this season. Most games he has played we have got results and most he hasn't we have either lost or failed to get a result, stats don't lie.

The last 2 games have been crying out for a defensive presence in midfield, yet the lad was left completely ignored.

At one point we had a striker and winger occupying centre midfield last night, that is just not on when Russell is at our disposal.

What has the boy done to deserve this? He shores up the midfield when he plays and he always gives 100%, get him back in the starting 11!

This one crops up all the time ajs, it is a mystery as a lot of fans would have Duncan on from the start in most games. He certainly has the passion for ICT, not sure what else he can do under the present management team.

The flip side of the coin is that some fans agree with Butcher that he should not play.

Me, I think he deserves more games than he gets.

Good post!

Duncan is an unsung player! And we do miss him when he's not there. He always shows passion and gives his best every game!

Dunno what he has done but imo we are a much better team with him in it. I feel last night was the ideal game for him to have got stuck into but Im sure Terry knows better than me.

Duncan has been in the unfortunate position that we are spoilt for choice in midfield for players, with duff, ross, sanchez, hayes, foran, ericO, the new lad (i forget his name) & sutherland who they like to put in to push the pace, an experienced CDM player who combined with cox gave us power and stability in the back has been sidelined by in form players who can (usually) score.

shame for him as he's been binned in favour of "inform" players. when cox comes back i think we'll see a duff/duncan & cox partner ship back again.

I am continually suprised by Butchers eagerness to drop Duncan, it seems like Duncan is always the first one to be dropped from the team if things arent going right.

IMO Duncan is a very important player as he carries out the dirty work in the middle of the park. He is 100% committed and always full of energy, just what you need in a midfield battler yet he is continually dropped and i cant say i agree with it.

I can see why some fans get on his back as his passing is not always the best but nevertheless he still has many important attributes to offer the team. With a bit more luck on saturday he could have won us the game as well. great run into the box and very unfortunate not to score

If we are going to persevere with this 4-2-3-1 formation then for me Ducan & Cox have to be in the defensive midfield positions. Granted Cox had lost form prior to his injury but I think a lot of people forget he's still only 20.

Duff is McBain reincarnated running about all game contributing nothing and I think the games are understandably starting to catch up with Nick Ross plus he's not really suited to a central role just yet anyway.

Its simple i'm afraid, Russell's face dont fit with a certain person - fact.

Our team was crying out for Duncan last night, he would have given a lot more bite into the midfield, Dani and Ross were muscled out.

Dunno what he has done but imo we are a much better team with him in it. I feel last night was the ideal game for him to have got stuck into but Im sure Terry knows better than me.

That's the problem though, does he? I don't what Butcher's problem with him is. As soon as he came in, Duncan was dropped for Brian Kerr, then it was Stratford, then it was Duff, then he got back in and now he's dropped for Duff again. What's Butcher's problem? I thought Duncan would be one of those experienced, hard working battlers that he would admire, but obviously not and it's Butcher's mistake in not playing him.

I tend to agree with a lot of what is said in here. Russell Duncan adds more to the team in terms of bite and 'doing the dirty work' as someone put it, than he takes away from the team with the odd dodgy pass. If the rest of the midfielders are going to be attack minded then his defensive qualities would be an essential part of the team IMHO.

There's a fair few fans who don't like him because of perceived passing inability. I think he's a great player - his performance against Dundee United at Tannadice was sublime. I definately think he should start against them on Wednesday.

It's always been the case that we only really notice and appreciate what he does when he's not actually there.

When is his contract up? I'd have him in the starting 11 every week.

We only really miss him when we lose games because that's when the defence tend to shoulder the blame for a poor performance and we can claim it wouldn't have happened if we had Duncan breaking down attacks further forward.

In actuality, our defence has been pretty good for the most part...with or without Duncan in front of them...and it's probably more a question of, do we really need him? or, is he worth sacrificing in order to try and give us a bit more bite going forward? which is where we need all the help we can get to break this poor run.

I think it's more of a judgement call related to tactics/formation as opposed to any reflection on Butchers thoughts of Duncans ability.

It's always been the case that we only really notice and appreciate what he does when he's not actually there.

Are of course we don't notice and appreciate what he does when he is actually there!

Are of course we don't notice and appreciate what he does when he is actually there!

That's what my Mum says about her, but I do notice when she's there, she just annoys me, so that's why I pretend I can't see her.

It could be that Duncan doesn't do as he's asked. That's my contribution.

When is his contract up? I'd have him in the starting 11 every week.

His contract is up at the end of the season.

Cant agree more with some posters. I think last night was a perfect chance for him to come on....I would have gone Sanchez off, Duncan on. But i really would have had him on from the start. But the team is 'broken', we arent winning games, so Butcher is trying to change it and fix 'that'.

Duncan definately would not have stood and watched Jack take a shot - unlike the highlights confirm that a certain Club Captain did!

Looks more like Ross didnt keep up with Jack, but then they were all on half time mind as usual...

I dont believe Russel is out of favour. I think that for the last few games Butcher has gone with a morwe attacking line-up and Russel is a defensive mid. If we go ahead and things are going well he sticks to that. If we go behind he brings Russel on to shore the defence. Personally I think he needs to always be first choice with an attacking mid (Cox) alongside hime for balance.