Michael Duff rose from non-League football to the Premier League...
Name: Michael James Duff
Born: 11 January 1978, Belfast
Height: 6.01 ft
Weight: 11.08 st
Position: Right-Back/Centre-Back
Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 24 Full Caps (2002-2012), 1 B Cap (2003).
Club Honours: (with Cheltenham) Football League Division Three Play-Off Winner (promoted) 2001/02; Football Conference Champion (promoted) 1998/99; FA Trophy Winner 1997/98; (with Burnley) Football League Championship Winner 2015/16, Runner-Up (promoted) 2013/14, Play-Off Winner (promoted) 2008/09.
Managerial Honours: (with Cheltenham) EFL League Two Champions 2020/21.
Managerial Awards: League Two Manager of the Season 2020/21; League Two Manager of the Month Sep-19, Feb-20; League One Manager of the Month Nov-22.
Club Career:
* 46/3 Conference; 201/12 Football League
Biography:
Mike Duff rose from non-league to international football to the Premier League. Preferring to play at centre-back, he has been used mainly as cover at right-back by Northern Ireland. His future in the Northern Ireland team came into question with reports that he is unwilling to travel with the squad unless guaranteed to play. After over three years away from the international scene he was recalled by new manager Michael O'Neill in 2012, and made a final two friendly appearances.
In the veteran stages of his career, Burnley awarded Duff a testimonial against Bradford in August 2015. He played his final game for the Clarets as the Championship title was claimed against Charlton in May 2016. Subsequently he joined the club's coaching staff. Duff left his role as Burnley Under-23 coach to become manager of Cheltenham in September 2018.
Duff enjoyed a successful time at Cheltenham, leading them to the League Two title in 2021 and 15th place in League One the following campaign - the club's highest ever league finish. In the summer of 2022 he left Cheltenham for Barnsley, citing the switch as a "better opportunity". After taking The Tykes to the League One Play-Off final he left Oakwell for Swansea in June 2023. He lasted just six months in Wales, being sacked in December after a poor start to the campaign. He was back in a job the following May when appointed manager at Huddersfield.
Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.
Club Career:
Teams
|
Seasons
|
Signed
|
Fee
|
League
|
FA Cup
|
FL Cup
|
Other
|
Darlington
|
-
|
-
|
Youth
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Carterton
Town
|
-
|
-
|
Youth
|
-
|
(Hellenic League)
|
||
Cheltenham
Town
|
96/97-03/04
|
Aug-96
|
Youth
|
*247 (0)/12
|
23(0)/0
|
6(0)/0
|
10(0)/0
|
Cirencester
Town
|
96/97
|
-
|
Loan
|
-
|
(Southern League)
|
||
Burnley
|
04/05-15/16
|
Aug-04
|
£30k
|
323(19)/ 7
|
13(0)/0
|
21(4)/1
|
4(0)/0
|
TOTALS
|
-
|
£30k
|
570(19)/19
|
26(0)/0
|
27(4)/1
|
14(0)/0
|
|
Biography:
Mike Duff rose from non-league to international football to the Premier League. Preferring to play at centre-back, he has been used mainly as cover at right-back by Northern Ireland. His future in the Northern Ireland team came into question with reports that he is unwilling to travel with the squad unless guaranteed to play. After over three years away from the international scene he was recalled by new manager Michael O'Neill in 2012, and made a final two friendly appearances.
In the veteran stages of his career, Burnley awarded Duff a testimonial against Bradford in August 2015. He played his final game for the Clarets as the Championship title was claimed against Charlton in May 2016. Subsequently he joined the club's coaching staff. Duff left his role as Burnley Under-23 coach to become manager of Cheltenham in September 2018.
Duff enjoyed a successful time at Cheltenham, leading them to the League Two title in 2021 and 15th place in League One the following campaign - the club's highest ever league finish. In the summer of 2022 he left Cheltenham for Barnsley, citing the switch as a "better opportunity". After taking The Tykes to the League One Play-Off final he left Oakwell for Swansea in June 2023. He lasted just six months in Wales, being sacked in December after a poor start to the campaign. He was back in a job the following May when appointed manager at Huddersfield.
Duff leaves Cheltenham
Irish FA Website
Burnley FC Website
Duff's rise through the English football system...
Level 8 (Hellenic League Premier Division) Carterton Town 95/96
Level 7 (Southern League Southern Division) Cirencester Town (loan from Cheltenham) 96/97
Level 6 (Southern League Premier Division) Cheltenham Town 96/97
Level 5 (Football Conference) Cheltenham Town 97/98-98/99
Level 4 (Football League Division Three) Cheltenham Town 99/00-01/02 & 03/04
Level 3 (Football League Division Two) Cheltenham Town 02/03
Level 2 (Football League Championship) Burnley 04/05-08/09, 10/11-13/14 & 15/16
Level 1 (Premier League) Burnley 09/10 & 14/15
(with thanks to whoever it was pointed this out!)
..
Michael's younger brother Shane has been capped at Under-21 level.
Northern Ireland Full Cap Details:
Summary: 15(9)/0. Won 8, Drew 5, Lost 11.
Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
Irish FA Website
Burnley FC Website
Duff's rise through the English football system...
Level 8 (Hellenic League Premier Division) Carterton Town 95/96
Level 7 (Southern League Southern Division) Cirencester Town (loan from Cheltenham) 96/97
Level 6 (Southern League Premier Division) Cheltenham Town 96/97
Level 5 (Football Conference) Cheltenham Town 97/98-98/99
Level 4 (Football League Division Three) Cheltenham Town 99/00-01/02 & 03/04
Level 3 (Football League Division Two) Cheltenham Town 02/03
Level 2 (Football League Championship) Burnley 04/05-08/09, 10/11-13/14 & 15/16
Level 1 (Premier League) Burnley 09/10 & 14/15
(with thanks to whoever it was pointed this out!)
..
Michael's younger brother Shane has been capped at Under-21 level.
Northern Ireland Full Cap Details:
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
|
13/02/2002
21/08/2002
31/03/2004
18/08/2004
07/09/2005
08/10/2005
12/10/2005
01/03/2006
21/05/2006
26/05/2006
16/08/2006
02/09/2006
06/09/2006
07/10/2006
06/02/2007
24/03/2007
28/03/2007
22/08/2007
08/09/2007
12/09/2007
20/08/2008
19/11/2008
29/02/2012
02/06/2012
|
Poland
Cyprus
Estonia
Switzerland
England
Wales
Austria
Estonia
Uruguay
Romania
Finland
Iceland
Spain
Denmark
Wales
Liechtenstein
Sweden
Liechtenstein
Latvia
Iceland
Scotland
Hungary
Norway
Netherlands
|
N
H
A
A
H
H
A
H
N
N
A
H
H
A
H
A
H
H
A
A
A
H
H
A
|
L
D
W
D
W
L
L
W
L
L
W
L
W
D
D
W
W
W
L
L
D
L
L
L
|
1.4
0.0
1.0
0.0
1.0
2.3
0.2
1.0
0.1
0.2
2.1
0.3
3.2
0.0
0.0
4.1
2.1
3.1
0.1
1.2
0.0
0.2
0.3
0.6
|
FR
FR
FR
FR
WCQ
WCQ
WCQ
FR
FR
FR
FR
ECQ
ECQ
ECQ
FR
ECQ
ECQ
ECQ
ECQ
ECQ
FR
FR
FR
FR
|
sub
sub
sub
sub
sub
-
-
-
-
-
sub
sub
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
sub
-
sub
-
|
(24 yrs, 33 days)
|
Summary: 15(9)/0. Won 8, Drew 5, Lost 11.
Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
01
|
20-05-2003
|
Scotland
|
A
|
L
|
1-2
|
FR
|
Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.
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