I feel like he probably overachieved last year, that squad had no real business winning a league but they got the bit between the teeth and did it.
Seems like the frustration of a bit of a revertion to the norm was just too much.
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I feel like he probably overachieved last year, that squad had no real business winning a league but they got the bit between the teeth and did it.
Seems like the frustration of a bit of a revertion to the norm was just too much.
Is that a surprise? People will always bend over backwards to defend someone they have bought into. You see an extreme version of this with American politics. To Shels fans he's the man who won them the league, it doesnt matter thet their form since the summer break last year has been more miss than hit, the outbursts and arguements were merely deflection tactics and he was playing chess while the rest of the league was playing checkers. Now the players have let him down.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
1. Duff winning the league was a great achievment, it doesnt matter if they stumbled over the line because a wins a win
2. Some of the nonsense he says probably was a distraction but equally I think hes a very reactive and somewhat sensitive person who will speak before he thinks and while it acted as a distraction from a challenging season I doubt it was all intentional because some of it makes him look incredibly petty and like a sore loser.
3. Some players almost certainly have let him down but equally him walking away in the middle of a tough season is him letting them & the rest of his coaching staff down. His comments on friday would have also been a let down to some players. Its well known now that what motivates and improves each player is different so slating the majority, if not all, of the squad in the press on a friday evening after a poor performance would have a very mixed result
Basically Shels fans are going to remember the positive stuff and spin it to protect their hero. Thats their prerogative.
Rory Feely signed for Cork City ,a bit of time spent mostly in League 2 with Barrow and a short spell with Crawley in League 1 last season,might be a decent enough signing for Cork ….
I was shocked he got a move to the UK after his spell with us. He was one of the worst defenders in our squad and they were all bad that season. Great athlete but very limited footballer. Looks like Usher is putting a bit more money into the squad after Clancy up and left anyway.
Edit: Just seen that Crawley are saying Cork paid a fee for him? Surely if they were paying a fee there would be a better option?
https://x.com/crawleytown/status/1937148639169950188
Poor Cork
He made signings as if they were on a particularly tight budget, rough diamond type players from the bargain basket, O'Kane an example. There wasnt a turnover of signficance so either the squad just wouldnt or couldnt do another year of the intensity needed or Duff switched things up. But really I think that other clubs are showing better form earlier where last years Shels were consistant and even draws were keeping them at arms lenghth on top. They probably shouldnt have been champions on paper in the way that Rovers shouldnt be running away with things this year were being very average with occasional good games being enough with Pats and Derry doing less, Galway looking like theyve been found out, Waterford going bckwards with Sligo, and Bohs going from Reynolds out to Reynolds genius in a couple of months. For a number of years if any side showed any form they were in with a shout, Shels last season, not Shels this season.
Split opinions have been around the fanbase on our performances this season
The staunch Duff loyalists have been increasingly pointing fingers anywhere but Duff. Bad luck got the blame for a while, then injuries got the blame for a while and then with a full squad the blame shifted towards the squad particularly all the new signings
Other fans like myself see combination of Duff's stubbornly sticking to 5 at the back that doesn't suit the squad with incoherent starting lineups/constant half-time substitutions and underwhelming recruitment since both Molloy and Jarvis departed, I also see some of our title winning squad not at it to the same level as last season
Looks like Joey O'Brien is reverting to 4 at the back going by tonight's starting XI looks like something from 2024, that may be a tell-tale sign