LAST UPDATE | 29 Oct 2019
HAVING RECENTLY BROUGHT the curtain down on his playing career, Dean Delany is our guest on the latest instalment of The Football Family podcast.
At the age of 39, Delany hung up his boots — and gloves — after helping Shelbourne to achieve promotion back to the League of Ireland Premier Division.
During three different spells with the Tolka Park outfit, the goalkeeper secured his status as a club legend while representing them on just shy of 250 occasions.
Back in 1997, Delany left Cherry Orchard to join Everton, where he helped the club to win the FA Youth Cup while learning from one of his heroes, Neville Southall.
The Dubliner, who eventually moved on to Port Vale, had been unable to make a first-team breakthrough during his three-year spell on the books at Goodison Park.
He spoke eloquently on Episode Nine of The Football Family about why the pursuit of success for young players at the highest level isn’t contingent on ability alone.
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“I look at young lads going to across [to the UK] today and people say, ‘he has so much ability, he’s definitely going to to make it.’
“You hear that year in and year out about four or five players, and they never do,” said Delany. “Maybe one might crop up where they have a good go at it and maybe one actually might go on to achieve a high status of being an international player or a Premier League player, but it’s few and far between.
“I only dip my toe into coaching now and again, obviously with still playing the way I was in the last couple of years, but I’d always ask parents: ‘How are things at home? Is he alright at home? Is it a stable home?’
“If you’re asking me personally, I came from a broken home. My parents had split up the year I went away [to Everton], so I don’t know whether there were factors like that which led into that.”
After four years at Port Vale, Delany returned home to Dublin in 2004 and spent the remainder of his career in the League of Ireland. In addition to his time at Shels, he had spells with Waterford and Bohemians.
“I remember going away and, the first night, literally crying in my room because I had left my friends,” he said of his move to Everton at the age of 16. “When you go away, it’s very hard not to have that eye contact of sitting down with a friend and having a chat, having a bit of a skit, having a bit of a laugh.”
He added: “Trying to get into a Premier League team, I’d imagine, is barrier after barrier. You really have to keep going with it. It becomes a testament to you as a player then to how many of those barriers you can break down.”
Access to The Football Family — including Episode Nine with Dean Delany — is one of the many exclusive benefits available to our membership. Details of how you can become a member for just €5 per month — or €42 for an entire year — are available here.
To get in touch with the show, e-mail thefootballfamily@the42.ie
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