Richard Dunne.....

[mattjpa]

....Has resumed training. No doubt he will be reaching match fitness within the next couple of weeks and pushing for a start.
My Question is; When fit, should he go back into the starting line up or should we be looking to the future and keep Clark in the team?
I do think Vlaar and Dunne could work well together and with the lack of experience in the team at the moment could provide us with a bit of stability.
On the other hand Clark has done well when fit. Thoughts?

(Im not sure how to add a poll on this but would be interesting)

[Jarpie]

Vlaar and Clark have formed a good partnership so Lambert might not want to break that but might try him game with Vlaar in FA Cup depending on draws.

[rutski]

great to have him back in contention, albeit a couple of weeks away. i think he will be essential for the season but no need to break up the vlaar/clark partnership at the moment.

[Merv]

With what's happened over the last couple of weeks, it's become clear that we really can't have too many fit senior defenders. Good to get him in the squad again.

[mattjpa]

Id like to hope that now the Dunne-Collins axis of evil has been broken up, some of the recent mistakes that have blighted him will disapear...

[Smoke]

Clark WILL be suspended at some point given his talent for collecting yellow cards. Nice to have an experienced pro as back up.

[The Left Side]

Ease Dunne back into the team when we need him, he could still have a job to do

[eastie]

Maybe dunne and Vlaar with Clark at left back could be an option.

[KevinGage]

Results will ultimately dictate that. 

If we lose the next few (by no means unlikely) there will be widespread calls to get him back in. 

His fitness and conditioning issues have been well documented in the past.  For a pro footballer to come back to pre season training in the state he was in in 2010 was disgraceful.

But when he returned to the side at the tail end of the campaign last year, he settled us down.  We were still inept going forward, but looked more secure at the back and -just about- got over the line.

Clark might be the longterm solution (he might not, like a few on here, I actually think Baker looks the better option) but every point will be crucial this year, so the short> medium term takes priority.  If Dunne's inclusion keeps us away from the bottom 3 this campaign, that should be the only consideration. 

If the season actually turns out to be better than a mere fight for survival, and we're comfortable in Feb/March,  then by all means give Clark and some of the others a chance to play their way into a bit of form.

[nigel]

I happen to think Baker has done really well when he's played this season.
Personally, like KG above, I think Baker could prove to be better center half than Clark.
Clark reminds me, at times, like Gareth Barry

[MonsXI]

I would like to see Clark in with KEA in midfield so either Dunne or Baker would need to fill in at CB.

[KevinGage]

I thought a big part of our wee upturn in form around Christmas and New Year last season was with Clark as a DM.

His use of the ball is tidy, without being hugely imaginative and -whilst he lacks a bit of strength compared to the standard CM, he's plenty big enough for further up the pitch.

We also didn't look as suspect from set pieces with him in there - not because he personally was a demon at defending them, more just through sheer weight of numbers.   Dunne, Collins, Cuellar, Clark and yes, even Ivanhoe were infinitely more useful in that regard than just Collins and Dunne -as had often been the case over the past two years.

But Lambert was quite clear that he doesn't see Clark as a midfielder at all, when he spoke in pre season. So that puts the kybosh on that.

[claret and blue blood]

As others have said we can't have enough experienced Premier league players available to us, we have precious few at the moment. Richard Dunne helped keep us up at the back end of last season, he has the strenghth we seem to miss against the more physical sides like Stoke and even the Baggies.I've missed him whereas I haven't missed Collins at all.Ultimately Lambert will soon show us what he thinks , my guess is he will play a big part for us this season.

[Shrek]

Dunne should come straight back in alongside Vlaar to gaurantee our survival, but if we are thinking of the future, then we should stick with Baker or Clark (Baker for me) but it is abit risky.

[SoccerHQ]

The defence is improving, Vlaar has been really good these last few games.

Let's see how we do in these next few games, I thik Dunne might be needed then.