I would love to see him go to Villa, he could be the rock of their defence for the next 5 years.
Funny, I'd compare him directly to Carragher - a "superb backs to the wall" defender but lacking the class & athleticism to be a quality & consistent "all round" defender. As for you for thinking I'm only looking at his last game for Ireland - you disappoint me. Usual "I know best" from YI.
I'd rate the other 3 higher than him alright but I think Dunne would stand up to scrutiny in any company and I stand by my assertion that he'd be a good addition to Arsenal's back 4. They're thinking of Upson and for probably twice the money. I know who I'd prefer.
Lots of rumours and alleged comments about Dunne going here, there and everywhere but nothing concrete.
Let's hope he stays.
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
You do sarcasm very poorly youngirish.
Give some cause for optimism that you have not become the first teenager to successfully fight off father time
I think it may be more a case of Hughes wanting to put his own stamp on the team, by getting rid of an element of the old leadership, and by naming Barry as captain (this may have even been promised to him as part of the transfer).
He may think Dunne is a good enough player, but may be representative of the old way of thinking, if you get my drift.
I only saw City play in a few uefa games and I can't say I was impressed by the way Hughes set up his team. If I had 5 zillion to spend building up a team, I wouldn't leave it in the hands of a manager who displayed such naivety in Europe.
I think it's pretty clear that Manchester City lacked balance last year. There simply weren't enough defensive minded players in the team, or enough (any?) quality defenders for that matter.
Capturing Barry is a step in the right direction, as he will solidify their midfield.
But as you say, Hughes just seemed naive last campaign. It was horrible, putting 5 attackers out every game. Fun to watch as a neutral, but from a practical perspective it just seemed like schoolboy tactics.
If Hughes is blaming Dunne for Man City's mediocrity at the back, he should take a good hard look at his tactics first.
i still cant believe they would give up on him after one so so year.
Oh well now you've told me I'll change my opinion, after all all I've based it on is seeing him play and watch football for 30+ years
I think he's a good defender, he's had a sh!t season which will effect his price, he's almost 30 which will effect his price, he's not (IMO) as quick as he once was and he has turned down potential moves to London in the past which will effect the clubs he would be likely to join.
He's been a rock at City and before this season but I think we are in danger of rating him based on his often mom performances for Ireland & not his week in week out performaces, which have taken a step backwards this season. I think the no cover argument may have been a fair one before January but with Kompany & De Jong in the side that argument goes out the window as far as I am concerned.
Kompany and De Jong have looked out of their depth quite frankly, and have offered very little protection to the back four, especially away from home.
I expect this to change with Barry in the side, as he actually knows how to make a tackle.
I think Barry will make a big difference, but De Jong & Kompany are both excellent players. I personally think the problems stem more from before January when Given & De Jong arrived, City looked much more solid in the second half of the season
I don't disagree with a lot of what you say but his pace is one of his many attributes. He may look unathletic but he really overs the ground and I have rarely seen him outpaced. I think a lot of the problems he had with City this year were created by him being exposed by a very lightweight midfield and the loss of form of others around him. Whoever he plays for next season, I fully expect him to have a great season.
Always look on the bright side of life
I would take Richard Dunne over all of England's centre halfs, with the possible exception of Rio Ferdinand who is better on the ball than Dunne. If John Terry had been left as exposed as Dunne was playing behind Man City's midfield last season then he would have had a bad season as well. City played like Ossie Ardiles' Spurs side at times last season, they were so open it was unbelievable.
Dunne and Distin were the main reason why Man City remained in the Premiership during the last few years, and he was their player of the year 4 times in a row before this season. People have very short memories on here. Maybe if they stopped listening to the ****e that Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp come out with on Sky, and made their own mind up on a player's ability, then the likes of Joleon Lescott, Glen Johnson and Matthew Upson wouldn't be worth two and three times as much as a superior player like Dunne. He could play for any of the top four apart from Man Utd, and if I was Arsene Wenger I would buy him tomorrow.
Listen I am not saying your wrong ok, and I think Dunne is top class, but do you ever notice, its only in Ireland that he is so highly rated. Similar to Shay that way. Go to England, Scotland, Wales, go to the Continent. Talk to football fans, real fans and Shay is not a top 5 premiership keeper (not my opinion) and Richie is definetly not a top 10 Centre Half, again not my opinion but its pretty much the general consensus outside the 26 counties. We base our opinions on International Football, the rest base it on club football.
Trapattoni rates Shay highly. He said he was like Buffon, did he not? I think Trapattoni would have a sound judgement in comparison to say English supporters and armchair pundits...
Just as a point of information; There are plenty of people in the '6 counties' who support and have always supported Ireland. In fact I don't actually know any N.I. supporters personally. I'm sure these guys would rate Dunne highly as well. I know it's a minor point, but I felt it should be raised...but its pretty much the general consensus outside the 26 counties.![]()
Last edited by Predator; 18/06/2009 at 1:41 PM.
Not really... Last year when City were bought out and the extent of their buying power was known, a number of sites and TV shows predicted future potential city teams over the coming seasons with input from Fans and Pundits... I noticed that Dunne was in every one of the teams.
I see what you mean to an extent but the running joke in England a couple of years back when Ferdinand was being hyped but not really performing and Chelsea were winning leagues was that he wasn't even the best centre half in Manchester let alone England because of Duune's form, there was a large slice of truth behind that.
And to be honest, the majority of fans who actually go to games in England rather then watching it on Sky would always have rated Given due to his performances against their clubs every season.
according to the Manchester Evening News - http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....ne_and_robinho - Dunne is on holiday at the moment and will make a decision on his future when he returns
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