From 'Superstar' to 'Sub-erstar'

Last season he was phenomenal. He could do no wrong. The young man was widely considered to have the potential to be the 'Next Big Thing' to hit Lisahally since 'Crying' Dick Tracey. However, fast-forward just one season and shockingly, it seems that Mark Duffy's star is on the wane.

The versatile full-back has found himself on the fringes at Lisahally this season and, to his disappointment, he is fast becoming acquainted with the substitute bench. When asked about his situation, Duffy said,

"What can I say? The man's not happy. I mean, let's admit the facts here, Mark Duffy can't be on the bench."

In the final game of pre-season, Duffy was substituted early on leading fans to believe that the defender had been injured. Their fears were allayed however when Duffy started the opening game of the season against Beechtree, but once more, Duffy was taken off ten minutes before half-time. In the following game, Duffy was relegated to the bench, a reality which he is struggling to accept. Duffy told the Listener,

"What more do the managers expect from the big man? More to the point youngfellow, I'll be sitting down with my agent [Alan Duffy] to assess the situation and if I'm not in the managers' plans, then obviously I'm going to have to consider other options that are available to me."

In response to the ongoing media speculation over the Duffy's future, Lisahally's management team of Rory Kirk and Danny Brown today issued a brief statement clarifying the club's position on the matter:

We, the managers at Lisahally Football Club, would like to unequivocally state that Mark Duffy remains a part of our plans; as such we would kindly discourage speculation over the player's immediate future. However, recent developments concerning the discipline of the player with regard to his social life have left the club with no other option but to impose stringent disciplinary measures, with the aim of discouraging a repeat of such behaviour. The club simply can not and will not have players turning up for training and matches in "a bad way". We sincerely hope that Mark Duffy will benefit from this action and strive to improve his behaviour and his performances in future.

It remains to be seen what will become of Duffy's future, but Lisahally fans are hopeful that the whole affair will be resolved sooner, rather than later.