Michael Duff (footballer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Duff
Personal information
Full name Michael James Duff[1]
Date of birth (1978-01-11) 11 January 1978 (age 43)[1]
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back[2]
Club information
Current team
 Cheltenham Town (manager)
Youth career
Darlington
1995–1996 Carterton Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2004 Cheltenham Town 300 (15)
1996–1997 → Cirencester Town (loan)
2004–2016 Burnley 342 (7)
Total 642 (22)
National team
2003 Northern Ireland B 1 (0)
2002–2012 Northern Ireland 24 (0)
Teams managed
2018– Cheltenham Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Michael James Duff (born 11 January 1978) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player. In a career spanning from 1995 to 2016, in which he made over 700 appearances, he played as a defender for Carterton Town, Cheltenham Town, Cirencester Town (on loan) and Burnley. At international level, Duff earned 24 caps for Northern Ireland. Since 2018, he is the manager of EFL League One club Cheltenham Town, having previously managed the Burnley reserves for two years.

Duff led Cheltenham Town to their first ever automatic promotion from League Two as manager on the 27th of April 2021. His team subsequently finished the season as League Two champions.

He is believed to be the only player to have played in each of the top eight tiers of English football in ascending order.[3]

Playing career[]

Although born in Belfast,[2] Duff was raised in Bedale, North Yorkshire. As a school boy he represented North Yorkshire and joined the Darlington Football Club School of Excellence before moving to Cheltenham in 1994.

Spotted by Cheltenham Town scout Derek Bragg playing for Carterton Town, Duff was invited by Mike Davis, youth team manager to join Cheltenham, then playing in the Southern League. He had a spell on loan at Cirencester Town before returning to Cheltenham when Steve Cotterill took over as manager.[4] He became a regular for Cheltenham, and went on to play 242 games and score 15 times, including a 93rd-minute winner in a 3–2 victory at home to Yeovil Town in 1999 that secured Cheltenham Town promotion to the Football League.

On 5 July 2004, he made a £30,000[5] switch to Burnley where he became a regular, if not always automatic, first-team choice. Over the next couple of seasons he established himself as first choice right-back, although he had equally often played at centre-back. His first Burnley goal was credited in a League Cup game against Carlisle United, even though it might equally have been credited as an own goal. He finally got incontrovertibly on the score-sheet on 14 October 2006 against Hull City.

Duff was part of two of Northern Ireland's finest international moments of recent years; as a late substitute in their 1–0 victory over England on 7 September 2005 and then in a 3–2 victory over Spain on 6 September 2006.

In the 2007–08 season Duff picked up a serious injury during the Championship match against Crystal Palace at Turf Moor. The injury ruled Duff out for almost a year, causing him to miss the first half of the following campaign. He suffered multiple ligament damage and hamstring damage as well as a cruciate knee injury.[6] Duff started his first Premier League match on Boxing Day 2009 against Bolton Wanderers at Turf Moor, having made his debut as a substitute in the preceding game versus Wolverhampton Wanderers. In doing so, he completed the rare feat of having played in each of the top eight tiers of English football in ascending order during his career: the Hellenic League with Carterton Town, the Southern League (Midland Division) with Cirencester Town, the Southern League (Premier Division), Conference (prior to its 2004 re-organisation), League Two and League One with Cheltenham Town, and the Championship and Premier League with Burnley.[7]

After Burnley's relegation, Duff remained with the team and, over the next three seasons, was a frequent, though not automatic, first team choice as injuries and competition for places saw him play in roughly half of Burnley's league matches in each of the seasons through this period. By the summer of 2013, having earned a season extension for 2013–14 on the basis of his appearances, Duff was the longest-serving player at the club. On 2 July 2014, Duff signed a new one-year contract with Burnley, Duff remained the only survivor of the squad that reached the Premier League in 2009 and his final deal meant the former Northern Ireland international entered his 11th season with the club.

Duff retired from playing professionally at the end of 2015–16 season, having helped Burnley win the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League.[8] As a result of this, Duff became the first footballer to be promoted to the Premier League on three occasions with the same club.[9]

Managerial career[]

On 10 September 2018, Duff was appointed to his first managerial appointment at his former club Cheltenham Town in League Two.[10] He was awarded the League Two Manager of the Month award for September 2019 and February 2020.[11] On 1 November 2019, Duff signed a contract extension which will keep him at Cheltenham Town until June 2023.

On 27 April 2021, Duff secured the club’s first ever automatic promotion in the Football League with a 1-1 draw against Carlisle United.

Career statistics[]

Club[]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cheltenham Town
1996–97[12]
 Southern League Premier 17 0 0 0 — 0 0 17 0
1997–98[13] Football Conference 41 0 5 0 — 0 0 46 0
1998–99[14] Football Conference 41 3 1 0 — 0 0 42 3
[15] Third Division 31 2 2 0 0 0 2[a] 0 35 2
[16] Third Division 39 5 2 0 2 0 1[a] 0 44 5
[17] Third Division 45 3 5 0 1 0 5[b] 0 56 3
[18] Second Division 44 2 3 0 2 0 2[a] 0 51 2
[19] Third Division 42 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 45 0
Total 300 15 21 0 6 0 10 0 337 15
Burnley
2004–05[20]
 Championship 42 0 2 0 4 0 — 48 0
2005–06[21]
 Championship 41 0 1 0 3 1 — 45 1
2006–07[22]
 Championship 44 2 0 0 1 0 — 45 2
2007–08[23]
 Championship 8 1 0 0 2 0 — 10 1
2008–09[24]
 Championship 27 1 3 0 7 0 3[c] 0 40 1
2009–10[25] Premier League 11 0 2 0 1 0 — 14 0
2010–11[26] Championship 28 1 3 0 1 0 — 32 1
2011–12[27] Championship 31 0 0 0 1 0 — 32 0
2012–13[28] Championship 24 1 1 0 3 0 — 28 1
2013–14[29] Championship 41 1 0 0 1 0 — 42 1
2014–15[30] Premier League 21 0 1 0 0 0 — 22 0
2015–16[31] Championship 24 0 0 0 1 0 — 25 0
Total 342 7 13 0 25 1 3 0 383 8
Career total 642 22 34 0 31 1 13 0 720 23
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Three appearances in Third Division play-offs, two in Football League Trophy
  3. ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs

International[]

Source:[32]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Northern Ireland 2002 2 0
2004 2 0
2005 3 0
2006 7 0
2007 6 0
2008 2 0
2012 2 0
Total 24 0

Managerial statistics[]

As of match played 18 September 2021[33]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Cheltenham Town 10 September 2018 Present 158 71 42 45 044.9
Total 158 71 42 45 044.9

Coaching Honours[]

Cheltenham Town

  • League Two Champions: 2020-21[34]

Playing Honours[]

Cheltenham Town

Burnley

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hugman, Barry J. (ed) (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Michael Duff". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Wally meets Michael Duff: The only player who has taken all eight steps on stairway to football heaven". March 2014.
  4. ^ "The Michael Duff fairytale story". This is Gloucestershire. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  5. ^ Michael Duff | Burnley | Team | Profiles Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Duff Faces Lengthy Spell Out | Burnley | News | Latest Headlines | Latest Headlines Archived 10 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Duff tips Dyche to manage England". Belfast Telegraph. 2 April 2015. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Burnley stalwart Michael Duff retires after 383 games for club". Sky Sports. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  9. ^ Quelch, Tim (2017). From Orient to the Emirates: The Plucky Rise of Burnley FC. Pitch Publishing Ltd. p. 342. ISBN 978-1785313127.
  10. ^ "Michael Duff: Cheltenham Town appoint Burnley Under-23 coach as manager". BBC Sport. 10 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Sky Bet League Two: Manager and Player of the Month winners". English Football League. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  23. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  25. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  26. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  27. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  28. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  29. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  30. ^ "Games played by Mike Duff in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  31. ^ "Games played by Michael Duff in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  32. ^ "Mike Duff". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  33. ^ "Managers: Michael Duff". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  34. ^ "Cheltenham 4-1 Harrogate: Michael Duff's Robins clinch League Two title in style".
  35. ^ "Cheltenham crack Diamonds". BBC Sport. 6 May 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  36. ^ Fletcher, Paul (25 May 2009). "Burnley 1–0 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  37. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2016). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2016–2017. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-1-4722-3395-0.
  38. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2014). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2014–2015. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-1-4722-1251-1.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""