Looking back on it, no manager would have controlled Roy Keane for Ireland then. Total loose cannon at the time.
Brian Kerr had an amazing record in friendlies. Unlike any Ireland manager before or since. He drew 0-0 with Brazil, beat Croatia and a fine Czech Republic team. Think we may also have got a result in a friendly against Portugal during his tenure.
Totally agree. Big mistake from Kenny not to pick him.
The Irish like lads who run around the place like headless chickens
Again, i doubt you watched Ireland when McGeady was playing. Most epl fans dont watch Ireland.
We must have been ranked top 12 in the world at one stage?
We were schooled by Italy in a friendly in August 05 at Lansdowne though.
Given was MOTM the same night.
Huh? I was sticking up for McGeady there. He got unfairly criticised because Irish fans prefer lads who do nothing productive and run around the place like headless chickens
Ah right. Agreed.
Given kept us in games almost single handedly.
Adding the fact that Robbie Keane was always a goal threat meant we were always very competitive when both at their peak
Had Robbie Keane much pace?
āWeāre light years behind everywhere . . . itās gone wrong somewhere along the lineā
DAMIEN DUFF AT HIS UNVEILING AS SHELBOURNE NEW FIRST TEAM HEAD COACH YESTERDAY. PHOTOGRAPH: EVAN TREACY/INPHO
The new Shelbourne boss is his direct self on why facilities must improve if the game is to thrive here
Gavin Cummiskey
Eons ago, Damien Duff mentioned in a 3,000 word feature that his Chelsea wages are handed over to the mother. That line followed him around, probably convincing his younger self to pull up the interview bridge, prompting Dion Fanning to write that āthere was never a more enjoyable, decent, smart and funny interviewee who hated every moment of the interview than Damien Duff.ā
Duff returned to a free-flowing discussionyesterday at an airport hotel as Shelbourne and the League of Ireland unveiled the first Irish international of true greatness as coach since Johnny Giles finished with Shamrock Rovers in 1983.
The symbolism is unquantifiable.
āIām no expert on the game,ā claimed Duff. āI guess, who is? I probably get too emotional, too angry but thatās probably developed over time.
āI think I get it from me ma. I dunno, it just came on to me later in life. I think you all know me for a long time and I was always a calm, passive guy but maybe itās the coaching thatās done it to me. I probably need to calm down.ā
That is unlikely and unwanted by everyone paying attention. Duffās appointment as Shels manager on a two-year contract coincides with a dramatic shift in his media persona. Replacing the elusive samurai of Suwon we find an insightful 42-year-old keenly aware of the rocky road that lies ahead.
The āSave Tolka Parkā campaign was the only topic that went unmentioned yesterday, but there is plenty of time for that and plenty more āsoul searchingā in the months ahead.
Survival
Duff has yet to build a squad past two re-signed players, with no backroom staff besides the Shels infrastructure he has worked within for the past 18 months as academy coach, while his only guarantee to chairman Andrew Doyle and the board is that the newly promoted Drumcondra outfit will lose an āawful lot of games next seasonā.
Survival rather than qualification to the lucrative Europa Conference League is the primary aim.
But Duff is wide awake and has plenty to say about issues that really matter in the grand scheme of Irish sport. It swirls around his children and the magnetic pull of the local GAA club.
āI pass Ballyboden because I was born and grew up there. Even the entrance ā wow! ā I donāt need to go inside.
āThe Wicklow centre of excellence, Bray Emmets around the corner from me and Kilmacanogue, where I am, itās incredible. The environment they built is beautiful and I love going to watch my kids. Especially the girlsā Gaelic, watching them battering each other.
āBut, honestly, it breaks my heart. Iām sending pictures to Stephen Mulhern from the Shelbourne board every Sunday, saying āLook at this, look at this, itās a jokeā.
āBut whose fault is it? Why did the FAI and why did the League of Ireland . . . I donāt know so Iām not criticising anyone but itās night and day. What do you do? I absolutely donāt know.ā
Describing Shels as a āsleeping giant,ā Duff opens a Pandoraās box about facilities in soccer when compared to the rival sporting behemoth.
āIām not hammering whatās gone on here, but my kids have gone massive into GAA over the summer. Iāve been to a lot of Gaelic training grounds and they wipe the floor with football.
āIt startles me. I remember getting criticised for calling [the GAA] dinosaurs over the Liam Miller testimonial. That was just to prod them. Iād never take it back because I think it went a long way to getting the game moved to PĆ”irc UĆ Chaoimh. I knew what I was doing, to get a reaction.
Unbelievable
āBut what a job theyāve done. Itās ridiculous what Gaelic have and then I look at the football. Everybody raves about Roadstone [Shamrock Roversā training facility] but compared to any Gaelic place itās bottom of the pile.
āThatās what we have to give the kids. I donāt know whoās to pay for it because Iām not educated enough on it but the Gaelic is unbelievable.
āItās a discussion for another day,ā added Duff before making it a current news story. āThis is how much I care about Irish football. Forget about Shelbourne and me, this is the most important thing that Iāve said today.
āForget about Shelbourne and the 24 players at the academy, Iām thinking about the whole country. The League of Ireland facilities across the board, Premier and First Division, are horrific when you compare them to Gaelic.
āWho is responsible and where has it gone wrong? Thatās the future of Irish football and itās poor, so poor.
āI know what itās like, sometimes fighting for a quarter of a pitch to train. You canāt put on a meeting for the kids because thereās no meeting room. Thereās nothing there.ā
Tongue in cheek, it is suggested that he might have to curb such enthusiasm.
āShelbourne have plans for the AUL [in Clonshaugh] but, listen, Iāve told the gang here that I was at the AUL for Irish trials nearly 30 years ago and it hasnāt changed one bit. The toilets Iām going into and chairs Iām sitting on are exactly the same. How has that not improved?
āAm I biting my tongue? No, but I know whatās ahead of me with Shels. Theyāve got plans to invest in the AUL and improve it to have a separate entrance. I trust all of that but Iām just talking here as a passionate Irishman who cares about football in this country.
āWeāre light years behind everywhere. This isnāt me having a pop at the FAI. Itās factual. Go see every country, the training grounds, what players are given, so itās gone wrong somewhere along the line.ā
Somewhere, not long after Suwon.
On perfectionism āIf thereās a bottle out of place, Iām not going to say that Iāve had enough of Shelbourne football club. Absolutely, the way you dress or if youāre late for a meeting, in my head thatās the most unacceptable type of behaviour. The one thing I pride myself on is standards and I refuse to meet people halfway.ā
On managing āI remember Brian Marwood at City Group, when I was at Melbourne City, he said managers have to be the best actors in the world after disappointments. I think you all know me by now, Iām not a good actor, what you see is what you get, so I might have to get good at acting.ā
On ego āI realise we all have egos but I donāt think I have a particularly big one. If I did I wouldnāt be here today. I want to be involved in Irish football, I want to help young and old, men and women. I am not going anywhere any time soon because my kids are happy here, my wife is happy here, so Ireland is stuck with me.ā
On coffee āI know a lot of the managers when they do fail in their first gig, they probably never get another managersā role again but thatās stuff I am fine with. Iāll happily be a barista, Iām halfway through my course. So if does doesnāt work out you might see me in a coffee shop.ā
On coaching āIt probably got out of hand. I didnāt want to be a TV pundit because I donāt like being on TV. I didnāt want to be a coach because I just never saw myself doing that. It has just grown legs. I started my B Licence and I was probably the worst one on it because youāre learning the game all over again. Gradually, I think, got better. Iād like to think Iām half decent now.ā
On strengths āI think my biggest strength in a dressing room is Iām good at connecting with people, Iām good at building relationships. I donāt lie when I say Iām here for players 24/7. Ask any young boys that have played for me and itās going to be the same with senior boys.ā
On rejecting Shels āI rang everybody on Friday out of respect and said I wasnāt doing it, Iād be happy as Larry today but they wouldnāt leave me alone. They were great to be fair: āTake the 48 hours and have a rethinkā which is what I did. It was as simple as that really, I wasnāt speaking to people. It was me just soul searching.ā
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Is he a complete odd ball ?
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Yea, but without the joie de vivre of a Roy Keane
A cunt?
A complete oddball at the least
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Heās a fair ol weirdo got
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He is fantastic
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Youāve be careful what you sing 
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