Duff did a very good job. That we didn't win promotion isn't a failing in my opinion. There was a big turnaround required in the first few months after the disaster of the year before and there were so many incomings and outgoings with no base to build on. That left us playing catch up. Also, it was an unusual season in that there were an awful lot of really quite mediocre teams so the good teams at the top of the league all scored a huge amount of points. The points we dropped while still putting the team together meant we fell a little bit short. However, I wouldn't employ him again. Not because I feel put out by the way he left, but because I don't trust him. As a person I find him untrustworthy. I wouldn't employ anyone who I couldn't put my trust in. I don't harbour resentment, but I think it would be negligent of me to employ someone whose word I don't believe and whose commitment to anything but himself I don't think exists. If I employed him and he left us in a precarious position, which he undoubtedly would, I could hardly claim it was unexpected. I know full well that's what he'd do it. And I wouldn't want to employ someone that would require me to constantly be making plans for when he buggers off. That's not the way to run a business, you've got to have faith in people, but I don't in him.
As much as I liked Micky Duff and the good season that he gave us... he still then gave us the middle finger and f*ked off to a so called bigger and better team.
It was a hot day and he knew that we may have to play 120 minutes. He clearly had a plan in place to up the tempo massively after half time. That plan went completely out of the window once we went down to ten men, yet he by and large stuck to it with a few tweaks and we were still the better side by miles. Tactically he completely out-thought Darren Moore, and if it wasn't for some atrocious refereeing and Luca Connell's inexplicable miss, we'd have won. Blaming Duff for us losing is quite frankly bizarre, which leads me to the conclusion that you're either on a wind-up or don't really understand how football works.
Think he was being too cautious. We were the younger, fitter side so the weather was to our advantage, we could have had it won in 90 minutes, we had nothing to fear. Agree about the atrocious refereeing though!
What was the score after 90 minutes at home against Ipswich and Peterborough? - two games where Norwood started. Both Barnsley "nil"
I think Duff did an excellent job ....when he joined us, we were out on our arse. We were unmotivated on the pitch and off it. He brought structure and motivation back to the players and us the fans, he even brought players like Phillips and Bobby Thomas from burnley. I attribute all of our success (and yes I do think it was a good season) to him. Would i have him back?.....no but I wouldn't have any coach back. Collins has worse players but they were better motivated after last season, Duff inherited a bit of a shambles....errr imho.
In hindsight you're probably right Helen. But I still maintain we'd have won in 90 minutes with 11 men.
Can’t agree with that. To get to the points total we did given the mess he inherited was superb. You’ve no way of knowing that things would’ve worked out for the better if Norwood started over Tedic. In some games Tedic looked better than Norwood & in other games Norwood looked better. I think rotating the strikers was a big help rather than hinderance. The 3 sides we finished below all had freakishly high points tally’s.
dont care what their point tally was sheff wed were bang average last year could grind out 1-0s against Fleetwood and Oxford But as soon as a decent side came at em Like we did in the league They were floundering At wembley they were there for taking first half and we could have finished the game off early doors
Quite ironic given that this thread is all about a manager who has left. I've no idea if Michael Duff was good or not but he got a better job on more money slightly closer to home. From his year in charge the club managed to get significant transfer fees for a few of the team and the payment of a release clause for him. Ok they didn't achieve promotion but came pretty dam close. I would say that on most metrics he'd been a success coming in to a club that appeared to be in free fall. I just hope that Neil Collins can push the club on further and get the club back to the Championship. Undoubtedly if he does we will be looking for another manager in the summer..
I was very disappointed he left, as I thought we could win the league under him, but he’s betrayed our trust and lied to us, so I wish nothing than (professionally) bad luck on him and definitely would not welcome him back. I’m glad he’s failing at Swansea, and hope he now regrets his decision to leave us. I’d love to b in the ground, giving him some stick, when we play Cheltenham later this season and he’s back there.
From a purely footballing view, it was a terrible move for him to make. He's trying to completely overhaul the style of play, of a team with high expectations, a low budget relative to clubs with similar expectations, and lost their top scorer. It's far bigger challenge than the one he inherited at Barnsley. If he doesn't turn it around, and he might still, he risks putting a severe dent into the reputation he has built over the last few years. Only he will be able to say whether his own personal circumstances and contract has made it worth it.
Also for the record Swansea are just another wigan, I remember them in 4th division, he could have stayed and got a better club than them eventually