Damien Duff, a two-time Premier League-winning player with Chelsea and a European finalist with Fulham, was the natural choice to replace Morris. The former winger had been managing the club’s U17s in what many say was an apprenticeship before eventually becoming the first-team boss.
Nonetheless, there were reservations about the appointment, namely that Duff had never managed a team in the men’s game before.
Regardless, by November 2022 when the season concluded, Duff had certainly proven his worth as a manager. Shelbourne finished seventh out of 10 in their return to the Premier Division and reached the final of the FAI Cup, losing to Derry City on the day.
Despite the cup final defeat, Duff had managed to achieve something that no other manager could over the past decade at Tolka Park with one of the youngest teams in the league. Shelbourne will now be playing in the top flight once more when the 2023 campaign kicks off.
Duff has shown immense potential as a manager and has also been touted to replace Stephen Kenny as Ireland boss in the future.
For these reasons, TFA have decided to include the former Chelsea man in our 23 for 23 series. This will be a tactical analysis video of Duff at Shelbourne. It will be an analysis of the preferred tactics that he has used in Dublin so far.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU_pPolpSXE[/embedyt]
