Damien Duff

[Torn Asunder]

 

Nobody doubts Duff's ability or desire to win, however, I have grown ever more concerned with his value in the team as the season has progressed.

 

I don't think JVS is coaching Duff to be the most effective player that he could be in our team.  I think that Duff has probably taken free reign to make his own decisions on the pitch, whereby he has often held the ball for too long trying to beat players, missed passing opportunities or taken selfish shots at goal - he seemed better earlier in the season where he was more inclined to make the 1st pass or cross.  Also, we are yet to see him play on the left.  I also noted that he & Koren were obviously looking for each other in our most recent loss, and missing or overlooking perhaps better passing options, which worries me that Koren may start playing his own game also, as opposed to what's best for the team (noting that the loss against CCM was a horror game in general for the club).

 

I doubt JVS would have the intestinal fortitude to give either of these players a rocket to try get them to stick to a game plan and will be interested to see how they combine for the rest of the season.

So you are worried that these two blokes are not going to play according to JVS's Game Plan???

 

The same plan that has yielded this club nothing in Two and a Half/Three Seasons of Football.

 

 

Regardless of the gameplan, my concern is that JVS is not coaching these more experienced players to be effective within the team and as a result, Duff is not adding the value he should be adding on match day.  

[AaronAV11]

Anyone know for sure if he's leaving at the end of the season or is it just speculation?

[cadete]

 

 

Nobody doubts Duff's ability or desire to win, however, I have grown ever more concerned with his value in the team as the season has progressed.

 

I don't think JVS is coaching Duff to be the most effective player that he could be in our team.  I think that Duff has probably taken free reign to make his own decisions on the pitch, whereby he has often held the ball for too long trying to beat players, missed passing opportunities or taken selfish shots at goal - he seemed better earlier in the season where he was more inclined to make the 1st pass or cross.  Also, we are yet to see him play on the left.  I also noted that he & Koren were obviously looking for each other in our most recent loss, and missing or overlooking perhaps better passing options, which worries me that Koren may start playing his own game also, as opposed to what's best for the team (noting that the loss against CCM was a horror game in general for the club).

 

I doubt JVS would have the intestinal fortitude to give either of these players a rocket to try get them to stick to a game plan and will be interested to see how they combine for the rest of the season.

So you are worried that these two blokes are not going to play according to JVS's Game Plan???

 

The same plan that has yielded this club nothing in Two and a Half/Three Seasons of Football.

 

 

Regardless of the gameplan, my concern is that JVS is not coaching these more experienced players to be effective within the team and as a result, Duff is not adding the value he should be adding on match day.  

 

Once again...

(And its not the first time I will be accused of sounding like a Broken Record on a range of Topics from JVS to Roman Catholicism and The Geelong Football Club.)

 

But JVS has never worked well with senior/veteran footballers from the moment he first came to Australia...  only a #yoof coach etc etc.

[belaguttman]

Duff is being used as an inverted winger, a favourite tactic of JVS. The problem up until now is that with inverted wingers cutting in we need an effective number 10 or a false 9 to play a bit deeper. We also need decent full backs to provide the width. We will have Kennedy and a fit Koren so Duff should be more effective during the second half of the season but we risk being too narrow in attack without some decent full backs. There are some great full backs at the Asian Cup at the moment

[Murfy1]

Rofl some supporters now saying Matt Thompson is a great player. They were singing a very different tune in the club's second and third seasons. After Thompson's injury replacement deal at Sydney, despite him being pretty young (about 30), Thompson could only get signed by an NPL side and then a Thai team (that got relegated in Thompson's first season at the club).

[Murfy1]

On Duff, he played as a RW at Fulham between 2009 and 2014. Before that though he did seem to largely play LW. 

 

Unlike most wingers that Melbourne Heart/City have signed, Duff looks comfortable on both wings as far as I can see. He's the equal top leader in assists mid-way through the season (with 5), and has 1 goal. If Dugandzic or Ramsay or Brown was that dangerous on the other wing we'd have a pretty dangerous forward line. Dugandzic did fairly well in his first few games as RW, scoring in his first 2 games as RW (in the 3-1 win against Brisbane and the 2-2 draw against CCM), but unfortunately Dugandzic has not shown very good form consistently since then.

 

I'd like to see the likes of Duff and Dugandzic swap wings more often in matches. They are both versatile and capable wingers IMO, and I reckon if Melbourne City had a very fluid front 3 with lots of movement up front then the attack might become a bit better. But as noted above, Duff and Dugandzic have provided output in their current respective wing positions.

 

On Duff overall. Does anyone think he's a bad player, or what it just hoped that a former EPL player would be even better? The way I see it, Duff is 35, had a knee injury for the first half of last year, and the EPL side he played for last season got relegated. So yes Duff did join our club from an EPL side, but I think expectations would be misplaced to expect a lot more from him, for the reasons I just laid out. He's the equal assists leader alongside Perth's international marquee Marinkovic, he plays most matches, defends well, runs his socks off, and is good for at least a few tricky plays on the wing per game that can create good scoring chances or win penalties. So all up I rate Duff as a pretty solid A-League player, and a good part of the team, and don't think it makes sense to criticise him for not being at an even higher standard (e.g. EPL standard).

Edited January 12, 2015 by Murfy1

[jw1739]

Murf, I for one expected one hell of a lot more from a bloke who has 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland and close to 400 matches in the EPL.

 

As a general rule I just think it's a waste of time and resources to sign these players when they are clearly finishing their careers. I cannot fathom how we did not do better last off-season, what with the resources behind us in terms of scouting.

 

We seem to lead the field in excuses, if not for anything else.

[belaguttman]

Duff's problem is that he's the equal assists leader, he'd be way out in front if we had a proper striker, that's why I expect his influence to grow with the arrival of Kennedy

[Imperial Pints]

Rofl some supporters now saying Matt Thompson is a great player. They were singing a very different tune in the club's second and third seasons. After Thompson's injury replacement deal at Sydney, despite him being pretty young (about 30), Thompson could only get signed by an NPL side and then a Thai team (that got relegated in Thompson's first season at the club).

Never said he was a great player (for us), just thought it was a shame he lost confidence after being shifted around ad nauseum by JVS. Was really disappointed when some of our fans booed him last year at the Sydney game.

[Thrillhouse]

if 700k the rumoured wage (engelaar contract) is true, then it's been a disappointment so far

player of his quality should be able to win a game for us and not look mediocre like the majority of our team

[NewConvert]

I feel that Duff in the first four games was by far the best city player. Since then he seems rather flat. This could mean that the rest of the team has improved and so he no longer stands out, or, more likely he has caught the mediocrity bug.

[jw1739]

if 700k the rumoured wage (engelaar contract) is true, then it's been a disappointment so far

player of his quality should be able to win a game for us and not look mediocre like the majority of our team

If we're paying that to Duff then we've lost the plot.

[AaronAV11]

The thing that has disappointed me the most from duff is his inability to take on a defender in a 1v1 situation (with the exception of winning the penalty v Newcastle)

[Shahanga]

if 700k the rumoured wage (engelaar contract) is true, then it's been a disappointment so far

player of his quality should be able to win a game for us and not look mediocre like the majority of our team

No way we could pay 700k under the cap.

The rumour was we offered Orlando about half his old deal to play under the cap. We all assumed Duff was signed with "the Orlando money " but who knows the truth.

I think he's been worthwhile so far.

[kingofhearts]

 

 

 

 

Nobody doubts Duff's ability or desire to win, however, I have grown ever more concerned with his value in the team as the season has progressed.

I don't think JVS is coaching Duff to be the most effective player that he could be in our team. I think that Duff has probably taken free reign to make his own decisions on the pitch, whereby he has often held the ball for too long trying to beat players, missed passing opportunities or taken selfish shots at goal - he seemed better earlier in the season where he was more inclined to make the 1st pass or cross. Also, we are yet to see him play on the left. I also noted that he & Koren were obviously looking for each other in our most recent loss, and missing or overlooking perhaps better passing options, which worries me that Koren may start playing his own game also, as opposed to what's best for the team (noting that the loss against CCM was a horror game in general for the club).

I doubt JVS would have the intestinal fortitude to give either of these players a rocket to try get them to stick to a game plan and will be interested to see how they combine for the rest of the season.

Duff should simply be played on the left.

Its so obvious every time when he gets the ball what he is going to do. He'll dribble the ball down into the corner, then do a 180 and swing back on his left and by the time he does that, all the momentum from the attacking move is gone.

I don't know whether he's always played on the right or JVS is telling him to, but if he was on the left i bet you he would be twice as better as he was now. You do realise you just pointed one of main reasons (Playing Players out of Position) that PPL keep bringing up on here as to why your hero JVS is a shit coach???

he hasn't had a choice with other players playing out of position such as Rambo at lb, Archibald/weilart at rb, even Williams at striker. There list was handicapped from the JA era. You can only turn over so many players.

and hes not my hero ffs, the blokes never been given a go with a decent list.

 

We have been through this before...

 

JVS arrived in Melbourne early so he could basically handpick the inaugural squad so he can't blame anyone bar himself if the Season One Squad was supposedly no good.

 

And even then way back then in our first Season he was playing players stupidly out of position when he took the league's best Box to Box Midfielder in Matty Thompson and tried to turn him into a Centre-Back. 

 

1) Didn't really get to pick his own squad. Was working on a shoe string budget and could only afford an over the hill sibon as his marquee player

 

2) Thompson got real bad, real fast. He had his moments like the double in the derby but its a bit naive to just say that just because he was played out of position he played like shit. He just got old, nothing against him,but it was the right time to let him go when we did.

[silva10]

I do believe that people are being a bit hard on Duff.

I think with a better striker who can hold the ball up and bring people into play then you will see

Duff perform better.

I also think it would be better to play him on the left as I have always thought he is better there than the right.

[GreenSeater]

I also feel that everyone is being a bit harsh on him. He has equal most assists in the league. With our forward line. It's not like his assists have been to Besart Berisha, Mark Janko or Nathan Burns, he's been passing to David Williams and Mate Dugandzic. Give the bloke some credit I reckon.

Edited January 12, 2015 by GreenSeater

[rass]

I recall his 1st game against shitney where he played half a dozen or so wonderful cut backs from the right that all went unrewarded until Villa got on the end of one.

As others mention here, I just think he has since lost confidence in his forwards.

I do think that is changing again now that Koren is starting and will only grow further with the arrival of our targetman Kennedy.

[Embee]

If you had of said to me before the start of the season that Duff would be the league's assist leader by the Asian Cup break I'd have been relatively pleased with that.Of course we're not getting the Damien Duff that tore up the EPL for a few years, the blokes in his mid 30's now and one of his knees is apparently held together by steel and sticky tape.

Taking into account he's been sharing a front three with a misfiring (more so than usual) David Williams and a typically below par Mate Dugandzic, I think he's done quite well. 

[Deeming]

I think he's been fine. As always these things depend on how much he's been paid but not every deal works out fantastically but I think its not been wasted.
I think the big factor is the weather. Playing in the fast A-League in the Australian summer is pretty tough for someone who's getting on and from the UK. I think his form will go up again as we move onto autumn.

[Ruckoo]

He is a winger, his job is to get the ball in to the box, it's not his fault we have a bunch of spuds up front.

[Jestr]

I do believe that people are being a bit hard on Duff.

I think with a better striker who can hold the ball up and bring people into play then you will see

Duff perform better.

I also think it would be better to play him on the left as I have always thought he is better there than the right.

I agree, as it must be a soul and confidence crushing experience delivering balls into the box with nobody there capable to do anything with them.

I must feel like you are just wasting time and effort

[cadete]

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody doubts Duff's ability or desire to win, however, I have grown ever more concerned with his value in the team as the season has progressed.

I don't think JVS is coaching Duff to be the most effective player that he could be in our team. I think that Duff has probably taken free reign to make his own decisions on the pitch, whereby he has often held the ball for too long trying to beat players, missed passing opportunities or taken selfish shots at goal - he seemed better earlier in the season where he was more inclined to make the 1st pass or cross. Also, we are yet to see him play on the left. I also noted that he & Koren were obviously looking for each other in our most recent loss, and missing or overlooking perhaps better passing options, which worries me that Koren may start playing his own game also, as opposed to what's best for the team (noting that the loss against CCM was a horror game in general for the club).

I doubt JVS would have the intestinal fortitude to give either of these players a rocket to try get them to stick to a game plan and will be interested to see how they combine for the rest of the season.

Duff should simply be played on the left.

Its so obvious every time when he gets the ball what he is going to do. He'll dribble the ball down into the corner, then do a 180 and swing back on his left and by the time he does that, all the momentum from the attacking move is gone.

I don't know whether he's always played on the right or JVS is telling him to, but if he was on the left i bet you he would be twice as better as he was now. You do realise you just pointed one of main reasons (Playing Players out of Position) that PPL keep bringing up on here as to why your hero JVS is a shit coach???

he hasn't had a choice with other players playing out of position such as Rambo at lb, Archibald/weilart at rb, even Williams at striker. There list was handicapped from the JA era. You can only turn over so many players.

and hes not my hero ffs, the blokes never been given a go with a decent list.

 

We have been through this before...

 

JVS arrived in Melbourne early so he could basically handpick the inaugural squad so he can't blame anyone bar himself if the Season One Squad was supposedly no good.

 

And even then way back then in our first Season he was playing players stupidly out of position when he took the league's best Box to Box Midfielder in Matty Thompson and tried to turn him into a Centre-Back. 

 

1) Didn't really get to pick his own squad. Was working on a shoe string budget and could only afford an over the hill sibon as his marquee player

 

2) Thompson got real bad, real fast. He had his moments like the double in the derby but its a bit naive to just say that just because he was played out of position he played like shit. He just got old, nothing against him,but it was the right time to let him go when we did.

 

You do realise that this post translates to: "I did not watch MHFC in Season One."

 

1. You really need to stop rewriting history and look into the press given towards MHFC prior to their first season as if you did you would quickly find that the original squad was both carefully planned and assembled with a more than reasonable budget. The shoestring Budget crap you are talking about was far more Aloisi's problem than Van Shits.

 

2. I have never heard of another Heart fan describe Sibon as being "Over The Hill" in his time at Heart.

In fact if anything he proved he was the exact opposite by playing admirably as a Number 10 for really the first time in career and being heavily involved in a large portion of Hearts best attacking play for the Season.

 

The only lowlight of Sibon's time at Heart was the fact that he was so important to the team's chances that towards the end of the Season other sides began to man mark him for entire games. (Once again maybe you should look into some newspaper articles about Sibon when he was at MHFC.)

 

3. How the hell does Thompson's form dropping off after a Entire Season and a Half equate to "Real Bad - Real Fast"???

You really need to watch some Season One Highlight videos mate and stop writing these unfactual posts.

Edited January 13, 2015 by cadete

[Dearg is bán]

I think he's been fine. As always these things depend on how much he's been paid but not every deal works out fantastically but I think its not been wasted.

I think the big factor is the weather. Playing in the fast A-League in the Australian summer is pretty tough for someone who's getting on and from the UK. I think his form will go up again as we move onto autumn.

 

Duff is Irish. He's not from the UK. 

[Deeming]

Born in Ireland yes, but was playing in the England (UK) so that's where he's come from and that's the conditions he's used to.

[Murfy1]

Damien Duff: I’d run through brick walls for Jose Mourinho

 

By Euan Reedie, Chief Sports Writer – Abu Dhabi

 

January 15, 2015

 

 

Ex-Chelsea star hails former manager as best coach in the world as he ‘ticks every box’

 

Abu Dhabi: This year’s pulsating English Premier League (EPL) title race between defending champions Manchester City and Chelsea is too close to call — but the Londoners have the benefit of having the best coach in the world in Jose Mourinho.

 

That’s the view of former Chelsea winger Damien Duff, who told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that he would have ‘run through brick walls’ for the flamboyant Portuguese.

 

Republic of Ireland star Duff combined to devastating effect with fellow winger Arjen Robben in Mourinho’s maiden EPL title triumph with Chelsea in 2005 in his first stint as coach at Stamford Bridge.

 

Duff scored 10 times in the league that season and also netted the winning goal against Manchester United in the semi-final of the League Cup, which Chelsea won after beating Liverpool 3-2 in the final.

 

Yet, despite leaving the London giants a year later after another EPL title success and going on to play for Newcastle United and Fulham, the 35-year-old has nothing but admiration for Mourinho, who returned to his spiritual home from Real Madrid in 2013.

 

Speaking on Wednesday at a training session at New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi during his current club Melbourne City FC’s 12-day UAE training camp, Duff said: “How did I get on with him? Fabulously. Obviously he’s an amazing coach, who’s won everything in the game.

 

“I don’t think anyone can speak highly enough of him and it’s great to have him back in the Premier League. You’d run through brick walls for him and all the lads loved him.”

 

How does Mourinho inspire such devotion from his players?

 

“You just need to spend time with the guy [to see],” Duff, who moved to Chelsea from Blackburn Rovers in 2003, added. “Last season when I was going out to play for Fulham, I met him in the tunnel and he was obviously the opposing manager. I even felt good going out to the pitch after seeing him and having a little chat and a hug for 30 seconds.

 

He continued: “He can hit both ends of the spectrum in the dressing room. He’s gone crazy and he can be as cool as ice as well. He can tick both boxes. I don’t think he got to the highest level of football as a player. But it shows you don’t need that to be a top manager.

 

“As a coach, he was amazing in his decision-making and picking the right teams at the right times. He just ticks every box and that’s why he’s the best in the world.”

 

Ten years ago, Duff was part of an irrepressible Blues outfit that finished 12 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, who had won the title without losing a game the previous season.

 

The 2014/15 Chelsea vintage were tipped by some pundits to emulate the Gunners’ 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’ after a storming start to the season, before their 23-match winning run was ended after a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle last month.

 

Duff said: “Six weeks ago, people said Chelsea were the ‘Invincibles’ and they were going to run away with it [the title]. Things can change quickly in football and it’s an interesting race.

 

“I think it’s only two points the gap at the minute and that’s nothing. One week, one round of games and all of a sudden Man City could be top.”

 

Meanwhile, Duff said he was not surprised by the upheaval at another of his former clubs, Newcastle, who parted company with much-maligned boss Alan Pardew earlier this month.

 

Pardew, who is now in charge at Crystal Palace, ‘did an amazing job and he didn’t get enough credit for it’, the Irishman said.

 

He added: “Pardew did well to stay there for four seasons, so fair play to him. I know he got an awful lot of stick, but you do well to not get stick off the fans there.”

 

Duff was also full of praise for another controversial character, fellow countryman Roy Keane, who famously abandoned Duff and the Ireland squad midway through the 2002 World Cup after a feud with manager Mick McCarthy.

 

“I got on well with him,” he said. “I liked him — he’s a good guy and was a top player. Is he misunderstood? I don’t know. I understood him pretty well enough.”

 

Was he angry at Keane’s abrupt departure, when the midfield talisman could have inspired the Irish to greater heights than the second round, where they lost to Spain on penalties?

 

“I think the team went on and did well,” Duff, who was Ireland’s player of the tournament in Japan and South Korea, said. “It was a pity for Roy that he missed out on the World Cup. Who knows how we would have got with him in the team? I always got on great with him.”

 

http://gulfnews.com/sport/football/damien-duff-i-d-run-through-brick-walls-for-jose-mourinho-1.1441820

[belaguttman]

So then JVS must be the second best manager in the world then?

[cadete]

I always thought one of things that I find most annoying about JVS is something that I love about Mourinho which is you can tell his players want to win for him.

 

What I found really annoying sometimes is how Muscunt seems to also to some extent have this quality as a Manager as well.

[Deeming]

I always thought one of things that I find most annoying about JVS is something that I love about Mourinho which is you can tell his players want to win for him.

 

What I found really annoying sometimes is how Muscunt seems to also to some extent have this quality as a Manager as well.

Probably because he'd be waiting in the carpark with a tyre iron if they let him down.

[stewmac]

Shouldn't b on anywhere near that but he prob wouldn't have come for much less , maybe 2nd half of season he can do something decent for more than 5 mins a game

[SF33]

I recall his 1st game against shitney where he played half a dozen or so wonderful cut backs from the right that all went unrewarded until Villa got on the end of one.

As others mention here, I just think he has since lost confidence in his forwards.

I do think that is changing again now that Koren is starting and will only grow further with the arrival of our targetman Kennedy.

 

He looked lethal in tandem with Koren, in Koren's first full(ish) game. Of course, it was only the Jets, but it's pretty apparent how Duff will go with quality forwards next to him.

[SF33]

 

if 700k the rumoured wage (engelaar contract) is true, then it's been a disappointment so far

player of his quality should be able to win a game for us and not look mediocre like the majority of our team

No way we could pay 700k under the cap.

The rumour was we offered Orlando about half his old deal to play under the cap. We all assumed Duff was signed with "the Orlando money " but who knows the truth.

I think he's been worthwhile so far.

 

 

Doesn't seem to work, logically. Kewell was on the minimum. Paddy G wouldn't have been on that much, I don't think. And the other players that we lost at the end of last season were squad fillers at best. Assume the likes of Kewell, Mitchinson, Walker and Vrankovic cancel out Melling, Chapman and others (and that's if we're lucky), would Mooy's salary fit with Paddy G's? If it would, it's an absolute steal. By my way of thinking, it would appear that some of the Engelaar money would have been taken up by Mooy. Then more by Williams (to clear the Aus marquee slot). Perhaps some by Melling and Chapman. And then, whatever's left over for Duffman (which seems like it would be pretty good coin, but hardly breaking the bank, or maximising his earning potential).

Edited January 16, 2015 by SF33

[Jestr]

 

What I found really annoying sometimes is how Muscunt seems to also to some extent have this quality as a Manager as well.

"Quality" and "muscunt" don't belong in the same sentence or even a paragraph........ but I know what you mean.

[drewmelbcity]

What I found really annoying sometimes is how Muscunt seems to also to some extent have this quality as a Manager as well.

"Quality" and "muscunt" don't belong in the same sentence or even a paragraph........ but I know what you mean.

Or forum

[Murfy1]

Damien Duff eager to repay Melbourne City’s Abu Dhabi owners

 

By Euan Reedie Chief Sports Writer — Abu Dhabi

 

January 16, 2015

 

 

Ex-Chelsea winger lauds Mansour’s support as club bids to emulate Manchester City’s success

 

Abu Dhabi: Veteran Irish winger Damien Duff is desperate to reward Melbourne City FC’s ‘amazing’ Abu Dhabi owners with silverware, to match the Australian outfit’s sister club Manchester City’s success over the past few years.

 

The Hyundai A-League side were bought by the owner of defending English Premier League champions City, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, last year.

 

Melbourne are part of the City Football Group, which includes Man City and New York City FC, and Duff says he is hugely impressed with the way Shaikh Mansour has helped transform the former from underachievers to serial winners.

 

“You just have to see the work they have done with Manchester City,” he enthused to Gulf News after a training session in Abu Dhabi, where his side are on a 12-day camp. “If you’d asked me 10 years ago would they be challenging for titles, I’d have said: ‘No chance’. But look at them now.

 

“They’re one of the biggest and best clubs in the world. Obviously it’s [Melbourne] a work in progress at the moment. It’s still early days. But they’ve come and spoken to us as well and are as desperate for success as we are.”

 

Melbourne are currently sixth in the A-League, which is taking a break until next month while Australia hosts the ongoing Asian Cup.

 

The league culminates in an end-of-series play-off involving the top six teams and then a grand final — and Duff is keen for him and his teammates to ‘kick on’ for the sake of the club’s custodians.

 

“As players, we hope that we can repay them on the pitch when we get back to Australia and can challenge for trophies, year in and year out,” the 35-year-old said. “But we are building the foundations, so it’s an exciting time.”

 

Duff surprisingly left English Championship side Fulham for Australia last summer, after an impressive career in England that saw him play for Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea and Newcastle United, while winning 100 caps for his country.

 

Yet he insists he has not opted for an easy life after his former glories.

 

“It’s been a tough challenge,” he said. “I certainly haven’t come for a holiday. It’s a tough league. It’s a similar standard to the Championship [second tier] back home. Obviously it’s not the English Premier League.

 

“But listen, it’s tough, it’s aggressive and a very competitive league. Any team can beat each other. There’s a salary cap, so the teams are level enough and every week makes for an exciting game.”

 

Duff added that he had offers from Major League Soccer clubs in the United States and some in England before joining Melbourne, but stressed: “I just wanted to try something new for myself and for my family. It’s good for them to go and see the world.”

 

He said he had never been approached by any teams in the UAE, however, conceding that the chance to ply his trade in the Emirates had probably passed as he was in the ‘home straight of my career’.

 

Nevertheless, Duff enjoyed pitting his wits against the country’s best when Melbourne lost 2-0 to Arabian Gulf League leaders Al Jazira in a friendly last Sunday.

 

Of the defeat to the club who are also owned by Shaikh Mansour, he said: “It was probably an interesting game for the owner to watch his two teams play against each other. It was probably a bigger game for us than people thought it was.

 

“We were desperate to do well. Obviously it wasn’t meant to be and it was a disappointing result, but they’re a good team.”

 

Football faces stiff competition Down Under from the likes of Australian rules football, cricket and rugby to capture a sports-mad public’s hearts — but Duff says it continues to grow in popularity.

 

He said: “It’s getting bigger. We had the derby there against Melbourne Victory recently and there were 45,000 to 50,000 people there. It doesn’t get any bigger than that for me.

 

“So yeah, it’s getting bigger, but obviously we’re up against some top sports. Aussie rules is massive. People are mad into their rugby. You’re always going to have that competition.

 

“It’s probably a bit like America, but hopefully it will get bigger.”

 

Renowned names such as Italian great Alessandro Del Piero, a 2006 World Cup winner, and former England striker Emile Heskey’s appearances in the league in recent years have helped boost its profile.

 

Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer, David Villa, who joined Melbourne on loan from sister club New York City last summer, was similarly effective in this respect — much to Duff’s delight.

 

“He was a lovely guy, very humble, considering what he has done in the game,” he said. “You never know, he might come back again. The lads loved having him around. It was good for the lads to play with a player of his quality.”

 

Of his own future, Duff admits he is not looking ‘long-term’, given that he is 36 in March.

 

He then envisages beginning a coaching career because a life without football would be unfathomable.

 

“I think I will definitely have to do the [coaching] badges and tick the boxes,” he said. “Football’s been my whole life. I’m not really interested in many other things.”

 

http://gulfnews.com/sport/football/damien-duff-eager-to-repay-melbourne-city-s-abu-dhabi-owners-1.1442395

[silva10]

 

Damien Duff eager to repay Melbourne City’s Abu Dhabi owners

 

By Euan Reedie Chief Sports Writer — Abu Dhabi

 

January 16, 2015

 

 

Ex-Chelsea winger lauds Mansour’s support as club bids to emulate Manchester City’s success

 

Abu Dhabi: Veteran Irish winger Damien Duff is desperate to reward Melbourne City FC’s ‘amazing’ Abu Dhabi owners with silverware, to match the Australian outfit’s sister club Manchester City’s success over the past few years.

 

The Hyundai A-League side were bought by the owner of defending English Premier League champions City, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, last year.

 

Melbourne are part of the City Football Group, which includes Man City and New York City FC, and Duff says he is hugely impressed with the way Shaikh Mansour has helped transform the former from underachievers to serial winners.

 

“You just have to see the work they have done with Manchester City,” he enthused to Gulf News after a training session in Abu Dhabi, where his side are on a 12-day camp. “If you’d asked me 10 years ago would they be challenging for titles, I’d have said: ‘No chance’. But look at them now.

 

“They’re one of the biggest and best clubs in the world. Obviously it’s [Melbourne] a work in progress at the moment. It’s still early days. But they’ve come and spoken to us as well and are as desperate for success as we are.”

 

Melbourne are currently sixth in the A-League, which is taking a break until next month while Australia hosts the ongoing Asian Cup.

 

The league culminates in an end-of-series play-off involving the top six teams and then a grand final — and Duff is keen for him and his teammates to ‘kick on’ for the sake of the club’s custodians.

 

“As players, we hope that we can repay them on the pitch when we get back to Australia and can challenge for trophies, year in and year out,” the 35-year-old said. “But we are building the foundations, so it’s an exciting time.”

 

Duff surprisingly left English Championship side Fulham for Australia last summer, after an impressive career in England that saw him play for Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea and Newcastle United, while winning 100 caps for his country.

 

Yet he insists he has not opted for an easy life after his former glories.

 

“It’s been a tough challenge,” he said. “I certainly haven’t come for a holiday. It’s a tough league. It’s a similar standard to the Championship [second tier] back home. Obviously it’s not the English Premier League.

 

“But listen, it’s tough, it’s aggressive and a very competitive league. Any team can beat each other. There’s a salary cap, so the teams are level enough and every week makes for an exciting game.”

 

Duff added that he had offers from Major League Soccer clubs in the United States and some in England before joining Melbourne, but stressed: “I just wanted to try something new for myself and for my family. It’s good for them to go and see the world.”

 

He said he had never been approached by any teams in the UAE, however, conceding that the chance to ply his trade in the Emirates had probably passed as he was in the ‘home straight of my career’.

 

Nevertheless, Duff enjoyed pitting his wits against the country’s best when Melbourne lost 2-0 to Arabian Gulf League leaders Al Jazira in a friendly last Sunday.

 

Of the defeat to the club who are also owned by Shaikh Mansour, he said: “It was probably an interesting game for the owner to watch his two teams play against each other. It was probably a bigger game for us than people thought it was.

 

“We were desperate to do well. Obviously it wasn’t meant to be and it was a disappointing result, but they’re a good team.”

 

Football faces stiff competition Down Under from the likes of Australian rules football, cricket and rugby to capture a sports-mad public’s hearts — but Duff says it continues to grow in popularity.

 

He said: “It’s getting bigger. We had the derby there against Melbourne Victory recently and there were 45,000 to 50,000 people there. It doesn’t get any bigger than that for me.

 

“So yeah, it’s getting bigger, but obviously we’re up against some top sports. Aussie rules is massive. People are mad into their rugby. You’re always going to have that competition.

 

“It’s probably a bit like America, but hopefully it will get bigger.”

 

Renowned names such as Italian great Alessandro Del Piero, a 2006 World Cup winner, and former England striker Emile Heskey’s appearances in the league in recent years have helped boost its profile.

 

Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer, David Villa, who joined Melbourne on loan from sister club New York City last summer, was similarly effective in this respect — much to Duff’s delight.

 

“He was a lovely guy, very humble, considering what he has done in the game,” he said. “You never know, he might come back again. The lads loved having him around. It was good for the lads to play with a player of his quality.”

 

Of his own future, Duff admits he is not looking ‘long-term’, given that he is 36 in March.

 

He then envisages beginning a coaching career because a life without football would be unfathomable.

 

“I think I will definitely have to do the [coaching] badges and tick the boxes,” he said. “Football’s been my whole life. I’m not really interested in many other things.”

 

http://gulfnews.com/sport/football/damien-duff-eager-to-repay-melbourne-city-s-abu-dhabi-owners-1.1442395

 

 

A good article and his passion to do well comes over for all to see.

 

I believe getting into the play offs will be a good result for us. Then you never know what will happen then. I would anticipate our good players like Duff, Koren, Mooy and Kennedy rising to the challenge

[Murfy1]

Melbourne City star Damien Duff driven not by medals or titles but by his love of playing football

 

MATT WINDLEY

 

FEBRUARY 06, 2015

 

 

TEN thousand hours with the ball at his feet as a kid.

 

That’s what Melbourne City star Damien Duff estimates it took him to get to the absolute peak of world football.

 

He’s won two English Premier League titles with Chelsea and played 100 games for an Ireland side which he captained at Euro 2012 and scored for at the 2002 World Cup.

 

Unbelievably he could have almost packed it in as a homesick 17-year-old at Blackburn Rovers.

 

But the dedication he’d shown until that point, and ever since, demonstrated just how bad he wanted the life that was ultimately dealt to him.

 

“I was four or five when I got my first ball and all I remember really until I was 16 and left for England was just being outside my house kicking the ball against the wall,” Duff said.

 

“It was literally just as exciting as that. I’ve read books now where they say if you play 10,000 hours as a kid then you’ve got half a chance of being a professional athlete at your chosen sports and I think of what I did do as a kid it’s probably not far off the mark because that’s really all I did, kick the ball.

 

“Obviously there are people out there, when you get older, drinking and with women, but when I was 13, 14, 15 I was still out just doing the same thing, kicking the ball against the wall.

 

“There’s so many distractions nowadays; Twitter, Facebook, PlayStations, all this nonsense, I didn’t have any of that. I just played football and then went in and watched it on TV.

 

“It’s not very exciting, but it’s all I loved doing. Even now on my summer holidays I’ll go out and have a kick around with my brother so nothing’s changed.”

 

Duff was a Manchester United supporter as a kid, at the behest of his football-mad father.

 

He joined his first junior club, Leicester Celtic, as a nine-year-old growing up in Dublin and spent four years there, two years at Lourdes Celtic and one at St Kevins before Blackburn scouts spotted him as a 16-year-old and he was off to the English Premier League.

 

“Obviously I was young going away, I didn’t get homesick until probably a year later,” he said.

 

“I’d had enough then and wanted to come back to Ireland, but the club was amazing, (the manager was) Kenny Dalglish at the time, he said ‘no, if you go home you won’t come back’, so they brought all my family over and I settled back down again and all went well.

 

“When I first left my mum said ‘you might come back sooner rather than later’ and I went ‘don’t worry mum, I’m not coming back’ so it just shows, I suppose, that I wanted it, I wanted it bad.”

 

He’s played under Dalglish, Jose Mourinho at Chelsea — one of the best managers of all-time and a man who Duff said “you’d run through a brick wall for” — and Giovanni Trapattoni in the Irish team who he said has “one of the best CVs in the game”.

 

It’s an amazing career that Duff has put together.

 

Without question is up there as one of the most decorated athletes that has ever come to play for a Victorian team in any sport.

 

But it is clear, as the 35-year-old shifts uncomfortably in his chair, that the celebrity status doesn’t sit right with him.

 

“Yeah, I don’t know,” he starts.

 

“I probably just take it as normal now. Maybe when I retire I might look back and say ‘wow, that was cool to win a Premier League’ or this and that.

 

“But now it’s just my job and the one thing I absolutely adore is kicking footballs around — it just happens to be in front of people.

 

“I know you’re sort of putting it up there while I’m trying to bring it down, but that’s just the way it is for me. And I’m just lucky because there’s not many people out there that love doing their job, but I do.

 

“I just try to keep a level head and that’s the way I’ve always been.”

 

It probably explains his response when asked what it’s like walking down the street and being noticed by fans.

 

The winger said his time at Chelsea was the best because of the 2004-05, 2005-06 title wins, but he also loved Blackburn (1996-2003) and Fulham (2009-14).

Newcastle (2006-09), however, “was a long three years of my life that didn’t go too well on or off the pitch”.

 

“I couldn’t walk down the street because I was being told all sorts of horrible things,” he said.

 

“You talk about character building and all that, that’s probably the best I had, getting abuse on the street.

 

Duff rates walking onto the pitch with his son Woody, 3, as one of the best moments of his career.

 

“But it’s nice when a fan comes up to you and says ‘you gave me some great moments’ or ‘I enjoyed watching you here or there’.”

 

But Duff said Melbourne City has already given him “one of the proudest moments of my career”.

 

It came just last week he walked out on to the pitch for the Western Sydney game alongside three-year-old son, Woody, who was mascot for the day.

 

“You can talk about winning titles and all, but for me that was just up there with it.”

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-city-star-damien-duff-driven-not-by-medals-or-titles-but-by-his-love-of-playing-football/story-fnk6rlg0-1227210947010

[Murfy1]

Home is where the Heart is for Damien Duff - but business comes first in derby clash

 

February 6, 2015

 

Michael Lynch

 

 

Melbourne City's star import Damien Duff sucks in his cheeks and his mouth forms in a half smile when asked whether he would consider staying on for another season in the A-League.

 

The Irishman admits that, perhaps to his surprise, he has loved his time in Melbourne, where he arrived in the depths of last winter to prepare for a season with a club that was reinventing itself in an emerging league on the other side of the world that he was used to – a world of big-name players, glamorous clubs and top-flight competition.

 

So much so that the Victorian capital would, he says, be one of the few places in the world that he might consider settling – if his desire to return home to his native Ireland were not so great.

 

Not even an A-League championship and the lure of a last hurrah in the Asian Champions League would, says Duff, be enough for him and his wife Elaine and children Woody and Darcy to stay. 

 

Home is where the heart is for the Dublin-born Duff, and he intends to return to Ireland to play one final season in the local Eirecom League, the Irish national championship, and then study for his coaching badges with a view to eventually moving into football management.

 

"It's on my bucket list. I have always said I will go home and play in the Eirecom league. I am a proud Irishman so I will eventually finish playing in my national league," he said in a media round table leading up to Saturday's Melbourne derby.

 

"For my two kids and my wife it's been brilliant for them, a great eye opener [to be in Australia]. The one city that's touched me the most throughout my career, I would probably say Melbourne. If I was going to stay somewhere and live outside Dublin it would be Melbourne, even though I have probably spent 10 years in London. It's a great place, sport crazy and I have loved it.

 

"We are going to raise our kids in Ireland. That's the plan, to go home. I have loved it here and this is probably the spot that I will always come back on holiday."

 

The sandy-haired winger turns 36 in three weeks, so the end is coming. 

 

But when he does hang up his boots Duff will have some wonderful memories from a decorated career that began some 20 years ago when a quiet young kid from Ballyboden, South Dublin – the small town where AFL legend the late Jim Stynes began his Gaelic football career –  moved to England to sign as a junior with the then recently crowned English champions Blackburn Rovers.

 

In the subsequent years Duff won a League Cup with Blackburn, two Premier League Championships with Chelsea, reached the final of the Europa League with Fulham and played in a World Cup for his country, for whom he eventually amassed 100 caps.

 

But to spend time with him, you wouldn't know of these achievements unless you did your research first.

 

By his own admission not the most voluble of characters, or a man who likes bothering overmuch with the media, Duff is the archetypal quiet achiever who has always preferred to let his deeds speak louder than his words.

 

It has been an approach that has worked well – with the exception of a miserable three-year stint in the Premiership with Newcastle in which he was often injured and ended with the team being relegated to the Championship.

 

Through it all, it is his time with Chelsea (2003-06) that sticks out as the most successful. 

 

Signed by Claudio Ranieri, he was part of the Blues team that was subsequently coached by the Italian's successor, Jose Mourinho, to Chelsea's first championship in 50 years when they took the Premiership crown in 2004-05. A year later they repeated the triumph, establishing Chelsea as a Premiership force who would ultimately go on to become one of Europe's major clubs.

 

In that second season, with Duff on one wing and Dutch flyer Arjen Robben on the other, there was pace, skill and danger on both flanks, creating chances for the likes of Didier Drogba to put away. 

 

"From a winning point of view, we are all competitive sportsmen, and it's nice to go home in a good mood. So, from that point of view, you say Chelsea [was the best time] because you are winning every week and you go home with no worries. 

 

"But they have all been equally good experiences, although saying that, Newcastle to a lesser extent. It was a long three years of my life which didn't go too well on or off the pitch.  Sometimes moves just don't work out. 

 

"I had three years at Newcastle where I couldn't walk down the streets because I was told all sorts of horrible things. Talk about character building, that was probably the best sort of character building I had, getting abuse on the street ...," he says with the sort of wry smile that those reflecting on an unpleasant experience can, with hindsight, afford.

 

It is a lingering regret for Duff that he got to play in only one World Cup. His was an era in the Ireland side when he often played up front alongside Robbie Keane, a contemporary from a young age, a pairing that gave the Republic a strike force that could threaten the best.

 

Ireland's last appearance at the big show was in Korea/Japan 2002, when they made the round of 16, losing to Spain on penalties, and Duff recalls it fondly. 

"It was massive ... it doesn't get any bigger. Every time I pull the jersey on it could bring a tear to your eye, is a special time in our life, and to do so at a World Cup was nice. It was unfortunate not to get to another one. It was before Spain became a super power, we battered them for most of the game, I remember that very clearly. "

 

Duff did his research on the A-League before he came in search of a football adventure to round out his career, so he hasn't been surprised by the pace and level of the game. 

 

"It's been hard work, I won't lie to you ... I knew before I came it wasn't going to be a holiday, and it certainly hasn't been, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. I did my homework, and knowing Australian sport, I knew it wasn't going to be a jolly up. I knew it was going to be physical.

 

"I suppose you do miss that English atmosphere, but really it's been nothing but good and I have recommended it to Irish lads already and I think more and more will come out. "

 

If all goes to plan, this will be his last Melbourne derby – and he is looking forward to the occasion. "It's certainly up there, when there's 40 or 50,000, which there was at the Etihad last time, you can't help but be excited. It's a big game, and I have played in some big ones, but the Melbourne derby is up there.

 

When there's 40,000 people at it, you don't have to say much more than that."

 

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/home-is-where-the-heart-is-for-damien-duff--but-business-comes-first-in-derby-clash-20150206-137jz2.html

[Murfy1]

Jose Mourinho a genius and the Aussies made a big impression, Damien Duff recalls

 

February 6, 2015

 

Michael Lynch

 

 

Melbourne City winger Damien Duff has worked with some of the top coaches in the world and played alongside some of the best-known names in the game.

 

Liverpool and Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish was manager when he signed at Blackburn as a teenager. He worked with current England boss Roy Hodgson when Fulham reached the Europa League final. And he played for Italian master coach Giovanni Trapattoni, one of the biggest names in the game, when the Italian coached the Irish national team.

 

But he is in no doubt who was the best he worked with: the self-appointed Special One, Jose Mourinho, when the Portuguese took over at Chelsea in his first stint at Stamford Bridge.

 

"It was an amazing time ... he's this big personality to everyone looking in, but he's an amazing guy to work with. You'd run through a brick wall for him. From the football point of view on the pitch, getting coached every day, he's top notch.

 

"He might not have been a top player, but he's certainly an amazing, amazing coach, and I have learned a lot from him. He's a genius when it comes to motivation as well.

 

"For me, he ticks every box. Outsiders looking in probably love to hate him, but he laughs off that, he loves it.

 

"I was very fortunate to work with all of them - Dalglish, Hodgson, Mourinho - you could also say that Trapattoni has one of the best CVs in the game, both as a manager and a player, if not the best. So, all in all, I always embraced it, worked my socks off and made the best out of things. I am a lucky man."

 

Duff played with and against some of the best-known Australians in an era when many Socceroos were in the Premier League. Harry Kewell, a similar age and position, was someone against whom he was benchmarked, while he played alongside Mark Viduka at Newcastle and with Mark Schwarzer at Fulham.

 

"I had a year or two with Dukes, he had a few injuries. but he had some ability, to be fair to him ... we probably didn't play a lot together because of injuries, but when I did play with him he was a target man with amazing feet.

 

"He could pick out your runs, probably more so when he was at Leeds with Harry Kewell. He [Kewell] was amazing. He was coming through with Leeds when I was coming through with Blackburn. He impressed me week in and week out. He was banging goals in left right and centre, they were always challenging for the title."

 

His longest partnership was with Schwarzer, whom he rates highly. "Possibly, and I have played with some top, top goalkeepers, for me, he could be No. 1. The amount of points and games he saved was ridiculous and his shot-stopping was amazing, and definitely without doubt he had the best hands, soft hands, catching a ball, saves, I have ever seen.  

 

"He was also the best professional  ... I thought I was a top pro, but he takes it to the next level. The amount of graft he puts in is amazing."

 

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/jose-mourinho-a-genius-and-the-aussies-made-a-big-impression-damien-duff-recalls-20150206-137kf2.html

[Luke]

Big shift required tomorrow