‘I had to look at myself and say, ‘I wasn't good enough'' – Bohemians' Dayle Rooney on his Shelbourne exit under Damien Duff
When Damien Duff took charge of Shelbourne in November 2021, it marked the beginning of a new chapter at the Drumcondra club.
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The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Damien Duff's attack on League of Ireland mid-season break is outlier – but clubs not in Europe may have schedule gripes
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. Advertisement 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 Advertisement Read More on Shelbourne 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. Advertisement Most read in Football 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 . Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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'. Advertisement 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
Irish Daily Mirror
23-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Stuart Byrne: Duff pictures were not mortifying for the league, and here's why
When it comes to social media, I live in a cave but make no apologies for it. I don't need nonsense in my Monday, I stepped out of my dark hollow to watch the Shels v Drogheda game, and noticed how everyone was talking about 'the Damien Duff picture'. The pic was from Friday night and I was only hearing about it on Monday, so that says more about me than anything but, again, no with the pundits discussing it, I guessed it had gone viral so I took out my phone to google it. They were brilliant pictures to be also sparked the usual stuff you hear about facilities not being up to scratch and how mortifying it looks for the league. Duff said as much himself. He was embarrassed - not of how he looked, standing on the grassy knoll, but for how it portrayed the league. He later said that football figures around the world were texting him about it, none of this is new news. Certainly not for anyone who has attended League of Ireland games in the last 20 years. The desperate state of our grounds is not the story. Results are not even the story a lot of the time. It's people who make headlines and, in this case, Duff. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. As time passes, that picture will be laced with nostalgia. It may even be iconic. He feels it's a terrible reflection on the league, but it's not, and I see a positive stadiums have been crumbling for two decades, and longer in some cases. We moan about them, but there's never any movement for change. People running Irish football present us with facilities plans and presentations and they talk a good game, but it's all hearsay and rumours. Poxy stadiums themselves won't cause uproar and demonstration. People do that. I'm always amazed at the lack of public protest over the dire housing crisis in this country. And yet thousands of people will join anti-immigration marches, protesting about people coming to Ireland who need our help? That seems to get people off their arses pretty f****** quickly, even though immigrants actually need compassion, support and shelter. I'd hazard a guess that there's football fans - League of Ireland supporters - joining in those marches. Would they not be better rallying behind a better ideal than that shallow, hollow cause they think they're fighting?But I guess the League of Ireland has always been a fractured community. I stand to be corrected but apart from the Deportivo game, I don't recall fans coming together in unison to better the game is falling down and while the redevelopment has been delayed a little, the money is there to see it through. But not enough pressure is being put on the Government to get the wider football projects completed on is the people's game and it's where we should be focusing our efforts, rather than complaining about the optics of one man on the hill in a dilapidated ground. It's low hanging fruit and a tired, old argument because nobody disputes that the grounds are kips. Change the narrative, think bigger and actually do something about the slow progress that Government and bureaucracy itself is showing Irish in perspectiveI felt too much was being made of St Pat's ahead of the season. They won their last nine league games in 2024 and it was certainly an impressive surge up the table. But there was no pressure on them and they were flying under the radar. Suddenly they were being talked up as title contenders going into this year and I just felt it was had a roller-coaster week, snatching an injury-time win from the jaws of defeat against Cork City before getting smashed 4-0 by Shamrock Rovers three days later. But take the Cork game last Friday. 1-0 up and then 2-1 down with a minute to play, the crowd were turning. They were on Stephen Kenny's case midway through the half, when the team looked flat and having played for Pat's, you hear every word coming from the such a tight pitch, there's no hiding place when your supporters want to dish it out but they got behind their team when they mounted the late, late comeback. But the feel good vibes evaporated in Tallaght on Monday and I think St Pat's are at a experiencing what Bohemians were going through earlier in the season. And you could say Shelbourne are too. St Pat's are in a position now where people expect them to challenge for the title and that means having to win every not easy and you don't develop habits like that overnight. You're talking about young men dealing with something they're not used to and that's pressure. We're seeing that play out at the moment and while I do think St Pat's will recover, inconsistency will bring them down if they don't snap out of it on the rise?I've no idea how Gerard Nash will do as Cork City boss. Anyone who says they do, is talking through their while I knew nothing about him a week ago, I like that they've gone for someone young (38).Cork City is a hell of a job to get - a one-club city, a cracking pitch and a proper ground. Someone has to get it right as the Rebels are a sleeping giant. But that's also the new manager's biggest problem. Cork people are a fiery bunch and they're a bit fond of themselves. Nash will have to get it right pretty quickly and he'll soon realise playing career at Ipswich was cut short after cruciate injuries and he had to retire early, and went straight into coaching. As a Stella Maris man, I won't hold it against him that he played for Belvedere but I wish him well and hopefully Cork have unearthed a it awayYou know me. When I'm irritated by today's societal norms, I tend to keep it to myself because I'm not the pass-remarkable type. But I'm also a liar ….. so anyway, back to my expanding book of pet hates and this week it's a two for one bonus.I was walking around town the other day, on my lunch break, enjoying the glorious weather and people with the throngs of office folk who swan around in gangs with their work lanyards around their necks? They may as well be carrying a flag saying 'I work for (insert company name here).' Put it in your pocket like a normal people who wear sunglasses to work. You're up at 6am and that's your priority? Silicon Valley wannabees.
The Irish Sun
23-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Laugh at him if you want, but Damien Duff had a point when complaining about Dalymount hedge farce
DAMIEN DUFF had a point when he declared that the photo of him in the Dalymount bushes was an 'embarrassment' for the league. The Shelbourne boss Advertisement 2 It was quite a sight to behold 2 In his more usual matchday garb against Drogheda United But instead of laughing along with the rest of us, There's a reason why the When something this basic needs to be spelt out, it shows the league has bigger image problems than a manager hiding in the long grass in a disguise worse than a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in a trench coat. It should embarrass the Government too. They're coughing up €10million to Advertisement Read More On Irish Football Presumably, a viral photograph of an Ireland legend on a grassy knoll in a council-owned stadium is not the image they had in mind for our domestic league. Still, amid the embarrassment, the Dalymount post-match scenes highlighted what we cannot lose. Ten minutes after the final whistle, the Jodi Stand was still full because any punter sitting in the Phibsborough half has just one exit. But that led to 1,000 or so fans singing along to The Beatles' Twist and Shout. Advertisement Most read in Football You do not get moments like that in modern grounds designed for speedy exits. Dalymount's redevelopment is 'That's for you, son' - James Maddison brutally digs out Roy Keane in savage interview after Europa League final, CBSSportsGolazo
