Damien Duff's attack on League of Ireland mid-season break is outlier – but clubs not in Europe may have schedule gripes

The Irish Sun

06-06-2025

WE knew Damien Duff was an Only Fools and Horses fan, so him calling the summer break a 'Jolly Boys' outing' should be no surprise.
His Only Fools confession originally came last year when the Shelbourne boss
cheer
up players.
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And it was hardly off-the-cuff as it transpired the famous scene when Del Boy fell through the bar was edited with Paddy Barrett's head superimposed on to actor
Not that the Shels chief was laughing last week as he bemoaned the League of Ireland's
summer
holidays
.
In his team
news
bulletin the former
And after the final game of the first half of the season, he
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He then said: 'There's an air of the Jolly Boys' Outing. They are meeting at the pub in the terminal. It's a week on the gargle. That's not the
football
education I had in
England
.'
For younger readers, 'The Jolly Boys' Outing' was the 1989 Only Fools
Duff, it must be said, also acknowledged this break was coming at a good time for his team as the Shelbourne truck was rolling about as smoothly as Del Boy's three-wheel van.
And it is not like those players, who more likely headed for
alcohol
, at least not during the season.
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All travelled with fitness programmes, with many even given trackers to make sure the
work
is done.
And that was from managers who were glad of the break — because what made Duff's comments so headline-worthy, besides his profile and quotability, was that he is publicly an outlier.
Damien Duff mercilessly trolled by rival fans over bizarre attempt to go incognito while serving ban
Before he had spoken, Bohemians boss Alan Reynolds had said he felt the stoppage was good for his in-form team who had been living in each other's pockets for six months.
winter
.
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And no manager has a choice — it is written in the rules that players are entitled to five consecutive days off during a mid-season break.
Every year, those rules are reviewed and sources indicate that abolishing the break has never been discussed. The players have regularly voted in its favour, with the last
If that has changed it will be known soon. On Monday, the PFAI are sending out another survey along with voting forms.
But it is expected to
remain
popular with people who were glad of a release after an intense campaign to date saw teams play at least 18 games in 15 weeks.
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That is where there could be gripes from clubs not in
The reason for the heavy first-half run is to aid those in Europe, with Shels having at least 22 matches to come.
Win their
So while Duff does not like the summer break, the Only Fools fan must focus on July and the potential for his club to make
history
and considerable 'readies'.
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To paraphrase Del Boy, 'This time
next
year Duffer, yiz could be millionaires'.
1
Damien Duff spoke out against the League of Ireland mid-season break
Credit: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile