Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Legion on November 08, 2011, 08:45:16 PM
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I would have left, yadda, yadda, yadda... (http://astonvillacentral.com/2011/11/richard-dunne-i-would-have-left-avfc-had-houllier-stayed/)
Last season was very difficult for me as I was not enjoying coming to work every day at Villa and there were some issues with the Ireland team as well.
It was a shame because the previous campaign had been great for me personally, but there wasn’t a very good atmosphere around the club last season and it affected all of us.
I would have probably left Villa in the summer if Houllier had stayed, but Alex McLeish changed everything around very quickly.
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Aww bless.
Heart bleeds.
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Bore off Dunne, sick to death of this bullshit. The fact is your not even that impressive this season. In fact I wouldn't have shed a tear had you left
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Maybe he should have looked at himself in the mirror last season rather than jump on the blame the manager bandwagon. That's assuming he could find a mirror wide enough.
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I'm getting a bit tired of players coming out and saying this. They are all making a ridiculously good living in a very hard time for everyone else, they should count their blessings every day.
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It wasn't Houllier's fault you turned up for preseason so fat, you lard arse git.
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Can we get Houllier back then?
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Perhaps he was so unhappy he did a lot of comfort eating?
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This is taken from an interview at the begining of the season, old news and lazy journalism.
At the end of the day he's been asked a question and he's answered it.
I'm not defending his attitude last season, but all he's done here is answer a question. It wasn't exactly a secret after all.
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I'll be quite happy to see him moved on. Most likely at the end of the season- but if a semi decent bid i January came in I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
Carlos would do at least until the summer. Then we could look at a long term solution to both CB positions. Depending on finance, the likes of Dann (if Blackburn go down) Shawrcross or even Huth would be worth looking at. Or maybe the new European scout Arthur Numan will unearth a gem or two.
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Full ESPN interview here
http://tinyurl.com/FatDunne
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Hold on a minute, why is Dunne taking so much stick? If he's asked a question about what he thought of last season, he answers it. If he's then asked if he would've left if GH was still manager, he answers it. Finally, if he's asked if he's enjoying this season under AM, he answers it.
He does an interview and is asked these questions. What else are Villa players going to be asked about? By and large last season was shit and was full of rumours of unrest, so inevitably journalists will ask the same questions about it and players will give similar answers. Even ex players (Luke Young) get asked about it!
As for Dunne's form this season, personally, I think he's been as good as he's ever been for us. He's a good player, prone to the odd error.
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This is quoted from an interview months ago - so it's nothing new.
In addition to Dunne add Collins, Gabby, Warnock & Ireland to the list of those that we know of who were all unhappy last season.
Be critical of a player for being crap, not caring, not putting in the effort etc... but surely not for saying that they are enjoying being at our club!
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Granted that questions are asked that frame the article the reporter wants to write but why do they never ask difficult questions like "why did you end up in a fight with coaching staff and letting the club down?"
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For 'in house' disputes, the best policy -even if the object of their scorn has since moved on- would be to acknowledge their own shortcomings and contribution to our dire season last year, rather than playing the blame game.
Blaming someone else -even if it is justified to an extent- illustrates weakness of character.
And our defence hasn't exactly been a steel trap this year. Out of the challenging sides we've only faced Citeh so far, yet we've conceded plenty to the teams who will most likely be in and around the lower reaches of the table. Playing just a little less shit that last year shouldn't be something for Dunne- or anyone else who was woeful in 10/11- to crow about. If he actually has a good season and helps us to a degree of success, get back to us.
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Hold on a minute, why is Dunne taking so much stick? If he's asked a question about what he thought of last season, he answers it. If he's then asked if he would've left if GH was still manager, he answers it. Finally, if he's asked if he's enjoying this season under AM, he answers it.
Because his answer seems to pin the blame squarely on Houllier, whereas in actual fact, if you picked the players who let us down most last year, Dunne's name would be right up there at the top of the list.
You'd think they might think "I'm going to keep my mouth shut and not go down this route, lest I remind people of my own shambolic season".
Fighting with staff members, FFS. He was a disgrace for much of last season. Any manager would have struggled with that.
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One of GH's main shortcomings was, it seems, that if he had made up his mind about a player that was it. He wasn't interested in keeping them sweet, or sugarcoating any criticism until such times as he could ditch them.
Doesn't alter the fact that Dicky Dunne and a few of the others must have been pretty shit in the first place to make him reach that conclusion.
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So glad that Houllier left.
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I'll be glad when Dunne leaves.
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He didn't like the idea of having to learn to pass the ball it seems. Well don't worry Richard, back well within your comfort zone now.
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Pass the ball and train for a bit, man what a grind.
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Even if he was just answering a question, surely with any amount of self reflection it would be wiser to be diplomatic rather than throw blame about, lest his own poor contribution be called into question.
Or, in other words, STFU.
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Crap professional, and not worth the wages he's getting. We need to move away from this style of footballer if we're ever gonna bridge the gap - hopefully he'll sod off to Wolves in the Summer as he'll only have a year left.
And he can take his drinking partner Collins with him.
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Aye, I can see him at Wolves alright.
Or maybe Wigan or Bolton.
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So glad that Houllier left.
I'd have him back in a shot now, and I was one of his biggest critics.
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There's no "probably" about it. If Houllier had stayed he would have been shown the door. A great pity IMO as we would have been rid of the bad apples but seemingly Lerner chose to go with player power probably on the grounds that it would have cost too much to replace them. Still, its great he and others are so happy now and it obviously shows in the watertight defence we've got this season. *cough*
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There's no "probably" about it. If Houllier had stayed he would have been shown the door. A great pity IMO as we would have been rid of the bad apples but seemingly Lerner chose to go with player power probably on the grounds that it would have cost too much to replace them. Still, its great he and others are so happy now and it obviously shows in the watertight defence we've got this season. *cough*
How can you say that Lerner chose to go with player power when Houllier wasn't able to do the job because of illness?
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well I believe GH wanted to come back didn't he? Not much difference to redknapp's current absense. If Lerner really wanted to keep him he'd still be here.
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There's no "probably" about it. If Houllier had stayed he would have been shown the door. A great pity IMO as we would have been rid of the bad apples but seemingly Lerner chose to go with player power probably on the grounds that it would have cost too much to replace them. Still, its great he and others are so happy now and it obviously shows in the watertight defence we've got this season. *cough*
How can you say that Lerner chose to go with player power when Houllier wasn't able to do the job because of illness?
From his most recent interview he still would not be fit enough. Wasn't it this Christmas that the doctors thought he would be able to go back full time?
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well I believe GH wanted to come back didn't he? Not much difference to redknapp's current absense. If Lerner really wanted to keep him he'd still be here.
Hhmmm yeah, I suppose that is correct.
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight it is a shame Houllier was not promoted to a footballing director type role and a young head coach was not appointed to do the day to day stuff.
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GH had recently done an interview saying he's only 80% fit and there is no way he's able to go back into football management
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GH had recently done an interview saying he's only 80% fit and there is no way he's able to go back into football management
yeah but he didn't know that in May did he? People were talking about him coming back in October
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So thank goodness we took the doctors advice then as it was proven to be correct
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Weird comments from Dunney there, it's almost like the players weren't too fond of Houllier. If only they'd said something...
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i'm not saying it wasn't the correct decision. Just that i doubt he'd have been here anyway if he hadn't fallen ill. If the rumours of his summer shopping list are true, then his budget would have dwarfed the pittance AM has been given. Given the choice of giving GH the money to replace Dunne, Collins and Warnock or bringing in someone who can work with them and understands Hoof! Well, if you're a skint owner then its a no-brainer
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All this makes me feel a little better about Ally Mac. They are only saying it like it is. I for one would rather have our current manager (not that I would have chosen him or some of the others we might have ended up with) than Gerrard who was seemingly unable to manage players well.
I am pleased that our squad are saying they are happier now-what is the alternative?
The other thing is that most of them did not air their views while Gerrard was in post as this is usually the last straw and damages everyone. Even Warnock kept his head down.
The players that were very poor last year are at least playing fairly well and represent a turnaround that can only be attributed to the change of manager.
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I get wary of 'life under previous manager' statements. You only have to look at Curtis Davies slagging off MON for not playing him when MON resigned. Davies subsequently ruined his ire by then playing like a shed and was shipped off to da blues.
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Dunne could have been more professional in many aspects, his form and fitness last season, not even mentioning the fiasco with Collins and the coaching staff. Dunne has been at this level for over 10 years, you'd think he would know better. In terms of his form and fitness, and probably attitude this season, it has improved, however, there's not many of us that could go to work and underperform and act like a twat because we didn't like our manager. I know I couldn't. I'd still ahve to knuckle down and perform.
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So glad that Houllier left.
I'd have him back in a shot now, and I was one of his biggest critics.
I'd never have him back.
One of the great things about McLeish is that he's not Houllier.
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aye. the way he acted, getting drunk and starting arguements during time away with the team was unforgivable whoever the manager was or how difficult he was to get along with. Whatever he does now i'll be happier when he's moved on. People like Milner and Barry haven't been regulars at Citeh all the time despite the fee's, yet you don't catch them acting the big I am. If he was a world class player who'd always been superb from us, i 'd probably have more sympathy, but he's an average defender who was jettisoned by Citeh as soon as they had the money to buy quality. And even then they basically had crowbar him out the door and to pay him to join us. If one thing demonstrates the decline of Aston Villa over the last 3 years, its the fact we've now got the players of questionable character that Citeh wanted rid of, while they have the hardworking quality professionals of MON's side.
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Hold on a minute, why is Dunne taking so much stick? If he's asked a question about what he thought of last season, he answers it. If he's then asked if he would've left if GH was still manager, he answers it. Finally, if he's asked if he's enjoying this season under AM, he answers it.
Because his answer seems to pin the blame squarely on Houllier, whereas in actual fact, if you picked the players who let us down most last year, Dunne's name would be right up there at the top of the list.
You'd think they might think "I'm going to keep my mouth shut and not go down this route, lest I remind people of my own shambolic season".
Fighting with staff members, FFS. He was a disgrace for much of last season. Any manager would have struggled with that.
I agree with you Paulie.
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GH had recently done an interview saying he's only 80% fit and there is no way he's able to go back into football management
yeah but..
no but yeah but no..
(winky)
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aye. the way he acted, getting drunk and starting arguements during time away with the team was unforgivable whoever the manager was or how difficult he was to get along with. Whatever he does now i'll be happier when he's moved on. People like Milner and Barry haven't been regulars at Citeh all the time despite the fee's, yet you don't catch them acting the big I am. If he was a world class player who'd always been superb from us, i 'd probably have more sympathy, but he's an average defender who was jettisoned by Citeh as soon as they had the money to buy quality. And even then they basically had crowbar him out the door and to pay him to join us. If one thing demonstrates the decline of Aston Villa over the last 3 years, its the fact we've now got the players of questionable character that Citeh wanted rid of, while they have the hardworking quality professionals of MON's side.
I agree with that Greg. A barely average, overpaid waste of space and exactly the kind of player we should have got rid of in the summer.
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Fact is, a lot of our players are easy pickings for journalists. There are about half a dozen they could interview and the 'angle' is obvious for their questioning: ask about how crap last season was, and away you go.
Dunne is one of several players who would almost certainly have left the club had Houllier remained in charge. He's stayed. Thing is, I'm asking myself, are we better off as a result? Definitely with Gabby - but then Dunne, Collins, Ireland, Warnock... I thought the defence needed a shake-up over the summer, Young aside they're all still here, and I'm not sure whether we're better off for that or not.
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How old is Dunne now? He must be pushing 32. Hopefully towards the end of the season Clarke will be edging him out of the team.
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We can't afford to have someone on 50-60k in the reserves though. Hopefully with a year left he'll take a reduced deal for a long contract elsewhere. If McCarthy keeps the dogheads up they're bound to be interested, or maybe a Blackburn, Bolton or another North West club will take him back up there.
I can accept him being here this season due to the contract, but I'll be gutted if we've another season of Collins, Dunne and Warnock as 3/4 of our first choice defenders.
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How old is Dunne now? He must be pushing 32. Hopefully towards the end of the season Clarke will be edging him out of the team.
Was 32 in September (Wiki). Both him and Collins still have 2 years to run on their contracts. Hopefully we'll see more of Ciaran Clark soon or we'll have another Cahill situation on our hands
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How old is Dunne now? He must be pushing 32. Hopefully towards the end of the season Clarke will be edging him out of the team.
Was 32 in September (Wiki). Both him and Collins still have 2 years to run on their contracts. Hopefully we'll see more of Ciaran Clark soon or we'll have another Cahill situation on our hands
Ta for that. I'm sure Clarke will get his chance through suspensions,injuries,hopefully he performs and stays in the team.
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Dunne is a good defender, it's not even open to debate. He clearly has "lifestyle issues" but when fit he's as good as we're going to get in our current situation.
Houllier seemed to forget that he was a manager and was responsible for getting the best out of the players he was in charge of not pissing off half the squad by trying to force a style of play for which they weren't suited.
We had a good second half of the season because we returned to playing to the squad's strengths and part of that was a return to fitness and form for Dunne.
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Houllier's man management was and always has been poor to say the least but when Dunne is saying these things in interviews I wonder if any journalist has asked him if he was happy with his form, fitness and attitude from pre-season, which was also pre-Houllier onwards.
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Houllier pissed off a number of players so there was obviously an issue with his style. As for Dunne, he's been ok this season so can some of the muppets back off.
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Houllier pissed off a number of players so there was obviously an issue with his style. As for Dunne, he's been ok this season so can some of the muppets back off.
Agreed Dunne's been great this season reads the game well, rather him partner Clark or Carlos than Collins
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The only reason to continue with GH.
Dunne would have left.
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No doubt Houllier's man management skills were lacking, but the biggest reason that the players fell out with him was that he demanded an ounce of professionalism and hunger. Sadly, a lot of the players in our current squad lack both. If they didn't, they would have kept the criticism of the previous regime to themselves.
"So, Dunne, would you have left if Houllier stayed on as manager?"
"If he had wanted to keep me, I would have done my utmost to fight for a place in the team and develop as a player and professional."
What's the harm in giving an answer like that?
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What is wrong with it is that is dishonest, why should you lie to protect the reputation of a man who, in your view, had treated you and your mates, badly?
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Dunne certainly didn't lack hunger last year....
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Dunne is a good defender, it's not even open to debate.
He's a good defender sometimes.
First season he was mostly good, and was in decent shape. Probably as he was determined to hold onto his place at Money Citeh, but they moved him on anyway.
We got the benefit of that initially, but last season he was brutal. The passage of play that led to B-lose opening goal in the quarter final -where he made not one but two howlers- pretty much summed up his season. And helped to put the kybosh on ours.
He's been better this year, but compared to last season that's not saying much. I've yet to see him have a game as good for us as he managed for Ireland against Russia in Moscow either. Maybe that was a genuine one off - a freak. But he does gives the impression that he almost picks and chooses his good games at times. Or -perhaps more accurately- motivation is an issue for him.
Aside from all that, he also has a long standing knee complaint (which may- in his defence- impact on his performance from time to time) so he's not one for the future regardless. If we were getting God- like performances from him it might be a dilemma. But we don't, so it isn't.
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I disagree, Kevin. Part of the reason for our improved showing in the second part of last season was him (and Collins) regaining some form. I think he's been very solid and consistent this time round.
Not suggesting you fall into this group but I get the impression that a lot of people took against him last year and now can't see the wood for the trees.
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That's a good summary of Dunne. I do think he's a good defender, but I also think his qualities certainly aren't beyond debate. For me, he is a defender who divides opinion. Mostly, I rate him and he deserves to start in our side as things stand (though I do want to see Clark beside him) but I also feel he's often liable to make a mistake. I was tearing my hair out for that second goal at Sunderland - a bit of a needless barge on the player by the touchline to concede the free-kick. I'd have expected better from an experienced player who should have just stayed with him and jockeyed him down the line, or just put the ball out for a throw-in.
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Since the 0-0 at home to small heath just over a year ago we've managed 6 clean sheets. 7 if you include the might of Hereford. Our defence still has a long way to go before it stops scaring the life out of me.
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People are delusional if they think we are going to be able to get in anyone as good as Dunne in, were he to leave.
This is not 2009/10.
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People are delusional if they think we are going to be able to get in anyone as good as Dunne in, were he to leave.
This is not 2009/10.
Fair point. He's also currently better than anyone in his position at Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal.
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People are delusional if they think we are going to be able to get in anyone as good as Dunne in, were he to leave.
This is not 2009/10.
Fair point. He's also currently better than anyone in his position at Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal.
And Chelsea + Man Utd this season? In fact, bar Kompany for Man City, there have been very few impressive central defenders this year.
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I would've got rid of Dunney last season but fair play he's played very well this season. And he is a much better centre half than Collins if we're talking of getting rid of centre halfs.
The left side of the defence dosen't worry me at the moment. Warnock and Dunney have their defensive blunders but when fit and focused both are adequate enough at our level. The right side (Collins and Hutton) worries me though and I think over the next 10 games and some of the pacey attacks we'll be playing that side will be found out a little bit.
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Oi, fuckers, what about my fat joke? Winky, smiley thing...
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Dunne certainly didn't lack hunger last year....
Chortles.
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Don't give me your sympathy, you bastard...
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Dunne & Collins.....................................Evans & McNaught..........................no comparison
See that Cahill was mentioned as being lined up by AM for Jan bid
Cahill and Clark mmmm
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Bore off Dunne, sick to death of this bullshit. The fact is your not even that impressive this season. In fact I wouldn't have shed a tear had you left
hear hear
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some awful shite been spouted here.
first off, gerard houllier's disastrous reign in charge of the club wasnt too long ago. Generally revisionism takes a while to emerge but a few months after his farcical reign people are still pining for him? His pathetic man management skills and frankly his disrespect for the club was at a level not seen since the end of DOL's days. Ive no time for McLeish as a manager but he wont have a weekly dressing room revolt on his hands nor embarrass the club routinely like Houllier did. unbelievable.
Dunne like Gabby, though we dont criticise Gabby shhh, both turned up last season in dire condition. There was something rotten in our club last season from pre season to the end. That doesnt excuse Dunne far from it but there were a number who should look back on that season with shame. Dunne was an absolute disgrace at home to Bolton in particular early in the season. He was overweight and his attitude was shocking. After Xmas though once he got back in the side he was one of our best players. The season before that he was part of a defence that conceded the least amount of league goals for the club in 10 years or so. He was the best defender in that side easily over the season and got picked in the team of the year.
This year while not the force of two years ago, he is still our best defender. Yes he has a stupid rash streak to him like that idiotic foul at Sunderland that led to the equaliser but for a side of our limitations he is the best we can hope for. look around the EPL what defenders are better than him this season anyway. Chelsea - Terry is finished and AVB still hasnt found a partner for him, Arsenal less said the better, Man Utd, Ferdinand is finished and none of the replacements are that great at defending, Liverpool - Carragher (Id have Dunne in the side before him always), Agger etc nope, Fair enough Kompany is well ahead of him but I cant think of many others.
Maybe support the player instead of abusing him? You can see Dunne likes playing with Collins but I think its time Clark was given a chance next to Dunne. Collins is fine as backup but he takes rash to a whole new level. Clark will see us keeping the ball more anyway.
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Estonia 0 Ireland 4. Ace. And Houllier was a totally terrible choice and we are lucky to be out of that.
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Dunne was out of shape, or at least in a pretty big shape. last season. And Houllier's ideas of football didn't suit Dunne, so it's pretty clear that Dunne would have left if Houllier had stayed.
Dunne is nevertheless our best defender by far. Talented, but seems to have mental issues that sometimes brings him down. At his best he is among the top five in the Premier League, at his worst he is completely lacking in concentration (and sometimes also in fitness) and at the wrong place at the wrong time (quite often also scoring own goals).
At our current level of ambition we cannot hope for anyone better.
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At our current level of ambition we cannot hope for anyone better.
What a depressing thought.
We might not be in any kind of position to sign a Vidic or Mexes, but there are still plenty of players out there who could improve on the likes of Dunne and Collins.
The challenge is to find good young players on the way up, rather than making do with inconsistent players on the way down. Normally I'd say it's a gamble to try and blood youngsters for that position, that they'll invariably make mistakes due to lack of experience. But Dunne and Collins make plenty of mistakes anyway, so what odds.
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We might not be in any kind of position to sign a Vidic or Mexes, but there are still plenty of players out there who could improve on the likes of Dunne and Collins.
Who, among the Man City or Spurs reserves, are you thinking of?
Because there is where we do our shopping.
Seriously, I think it's unfair to put Dunne in the same bracket as Collins just because they are a partnership. As I argued, Dunne is, at his best, a very good central defender. Collins is big and strong and displays a lot of effort, but is a tactically naive and very limited footballer -- a bottom half central defender, in my opinion. (Yes he was part of a decent defence two seasons ago, but that year he had Carlos at right back continually bailing him out.)
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At our current level of ambition we cannot hope for anyone better.
What a depressing thought.
We might not be in any kind of position to sign a Vidic or Mexes, but there are still plenty of players out there who could improve on the likes of Dunne and Collins.
The challenge is to find good young players on the way up, rather than making do with inconsistent players on the way down. Normally I'd say it's a gamble to try and blood youngsters for that position, that they'll invariably make mistakes due to lack of experience. But Dunne and Collins make plenty of mistakes anyway, so what odds.
100% agree, mate. In my local team, that plays in the Italian Serie B, there are one or two CB that are better than the notorious pair D&C and whose wages for an entire season are minor that the amount of two weeks' wages for which D&C were fined due to their great committment to the Villa, according to the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/17/aston-villa-dunne-collins-fined
Football is a sport that is played with feet, you can't play football at high level if you:
(a) have irons for feet (please see the attached pic);
(b) are the most error-prone player;
(c) and the most prolific own-goals scorer in the whole Premier League history (http://www.soccer-facebook.com/blog/?p=447).
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fRyvqL-tHlw/TrZV8puH7tI/AAAAAAAAATQ/8xVJjFPmKEo/s320/meh+206.jpg)
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We might not be in any kind of position to sign a Vidic or Mexes, but there are still plenty of players out there who could improve on the likes of Dunne and Collins.
Who, among the Man City or Spurs reserves, are you thinking of?
Because there is where we do our shopping.
It does increasingly seem that way, doesn't it.
But even from that narrow pool, I'd take Bassong or Onuoha over Dunne. Corluka plays right back or CB, If -for the sake or argument- he was available he'd be an upgrade.
For other CB's not quite in the top bracket, but with the capacity to improve us (and who might see a move to us as a step up) you have the likes of Dann, Samba, Shawcross, Heitinga and Hangeland. Even Huth would probably be less of a liability than the Dunner.
Some of those wouldn't be cheap, I imagine -though expiring contracts or the prospect of relegation does of course change the picture.
Then there are players on the continent who might be available for more reasonable fees, or promising young players on the up like Jorgensen at FC Copenhagen. Only 21 and already captain of his club and a Danish international.
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Agree, and wht many seem not to consider is that the other average CB of the Premier League don't earn 130.000 pounds a week. If Dunne earned 10.000 pounds a week I wouldn't have any issue against him, he would be an average defender like there are many others, but for those wages I want the likes of Thiago Silva, Alessandro Nesta, Vidic or players of that level.
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£130k per week? Are you sure?
Onuhas as an upgrade on Dunne, I've seen it all now.
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I think Clark and Cuellar are both upgrades on Dunne.
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There's an amazing amount of bollocks being written on this thread.
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130k a week my arse.
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For other CB's not quite in the top bracket, but with the capacity to improve us (and who might see a move to us as a step up) you have the likes of Dann, Samba, Shawcross, Heitinga and Hangeland. Even Huth would probably be less of a liability than the Dunner.
I think we disagree on the quality of Dunne. I agree (with most) that he was a complete liability and disgrace at the first half of last season. After being dropped from the side, he reacted positively and towards the end he was back to what he really is, I feel: a good central defender by Premier League standards who is too prone to the costly error to be called top class. I find it much harder to praise the ability of his side-kick James Collins (who, while not reaching the depths of Dunne, also was a disgrace at the start of last season).
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I don't doubt his quality when he is up for it.
But I do doubt his professionalism -as evidenced by his conditioning for two thirds of last season, his spat with Cowans and his boozy sessions up town -puffing on cigarettes.
A player of his age and experience should know better, set an example. What kind of moral authority does a manager have if he preaches sacrifice, discipline and dedication to the younger players and lets a chancer like Dunne completely take the piss? It's not as if he was operating from a position of strength either, the best player on the park every Saturday (as per McGrath). Conditioning issues and patchy form were not unusual for him at Citeh. So it's not as if it's a completely new phenomenon. At his age, he might be a bit too long in the tooth now to change, in all honesty.
Even if none of those things were factors, his age and a long standing knee condition mean we would need to be looking at alternatives sooner rather than later.
We can probably limp through this season with him as a regular in the side- and hope he keeps the errors to a minimum. But I'd be disappointed if he was still at the club by next August, in all honesty.
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£130k per week? Are you sure?
Onuhas as an upgrade on Dunne, I've seen it all now.
No, I was wrong, it's for two weeks, but it's nevertheless outrageous to pay that amount a player so ordinary.
At least I suppose so reading that two weeks wages' of Dunne and Collins together are 200.000 K £, according to the Guardian, so Dunne should earn more or less 130.000: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/17/aston-villa-dunne-collins-fined
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We can probably limp through this season with him as a regular in the side- and hope he keeps the errors to a minimum. But I'd be disappointed if he was still at the club by next August, in all honesty.
His contract runs out in June 2013, and I doubt that we'll be able to shift him before that. And the current powers at Villa Park will probably be reluctant to have a player on his wages on the bench, so my advice would be to brace yourself for another season and a half with Richard Dunne in Villa's central defence. (Unless McLeish can be persuaded to detour from his safety first strategy and gamble on the promise of Clark rather than taking the less obvious gamble of sticking with the unreliable Dunne.)
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If Dunne is as good as some on here are inferring then Collins must be very poor as the defence - whilst better - is still making too many rookie errors for my liking.
I'd like to see us phase Clark in as I think he could be our Ferdinand to Dunne/Collins Vidic-esque characteristics.
Is the general consensus that Collins is the weaker CB of the pair?
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I prefer Collins to Dunne, personally.