Richard Dunne was he really that bad?

[bertlambshank]

I will always associate Dunne with the club's high point when Villa got to Wembley where they lost narrowly to Man United in the League Cup final (2010).

I often wonder whether Villa's recent history would have been significantly different had referee Dowd  followed the rule book, when Gabby was tripped in the penalty box.

I never thought Dunne was a defender of the very best quality, and obviously Man City didn't either, but the £5m fee reflected that at the time, and for an ambitious club, which Villa were back then, his contract did not seem extravagant, for a rich club which was trying to achieve the same as Man City, but as we now know, for a lot less.

When he played for Villa he was a lot better than I expected and just as at Man City or playing for the Republic, he more than made up for his lack of finesse by his bravery and commitment.

Sadly, his reputation has suffered during the process of historical revision which has been required during the fans' adjustment to Villa's substantial reduction in ambition.

This is one hell of a funny post.

[supertom]

First season excellent.

Coming back the next pre-season unfit, not so good.
His part, along with James Collins in that infamous training camp ruckus, not good at all.
Questionable dressing room influence to say the least, particularly in Houlliers reign because he was a manager who took a very hard line on fitness and discipline.
Last two seasons were a write off pretty much. I think his legs have gone. He'll be alright in a cotton wool/Ledley King kind of role for QPR. He'll play every other week (unless he's injured), not train much, and probably look quite good at Champ level.

I think what bugs people sometimes about Dunney was that he never really wanted to come here. He was probably content picking up a big wage to do very little at City. Also because he caused a bit of trouble to boot and seemed in some circles to be a negative influence, ultimately we're glad to see him gone.
That said, on the pitch, when he actually played, which in the last 18 months has been sod all, he was never less than fully committed.

[peter w]

He did well for us but was always prone to the odd error. Actually, a bit like Laursen. Unlike Laursen he blotted his copybook with the Sid affair. Also, when he played poorly he wasn't very good. We were crying out for him and his experience last season though. i really think we would have been top 8 if he had given us a season. i'm not totally convinced about the reasons for his absence either. Doesn't play all season and then as soon as the season finishes he turns out for Ireland and now signs for QPR.

[ktvillan]

Throwing one thought out there, I reckon if he was fit last season to partner Vlaar, we'd have finished comfortably mid-table. How many would agree?

Quite possibly - I don't particularly rate Clark or Baker and they both probably contributed at least as many cock ups and ogs as Dunne would have.  I think our defence would have been a fair bit more solid with him in it.

[pauliewalnuts]

I will always associate Dunne with the club's high point when Villa got to Wembley where they lost narrowly to Man United in the League Cup final (2010).

I often wonder whether Villa's recent history would have been significantly different had referee Dowd  followed the rule book, when Gabby was tripped in the penalty box.

I never thought Dunne was a defender of the very best quality, and obviously Man City didn't either, but the £5m fee reflected that at the time, and for an ambitious club, which Villa were back then, his contract did not seem extravagant, for a rich club which was trying to achieve the same as Man City, but as we now know, for a lot less.

When he played for Villa he was a lot better than I expected and just as at Man City or playing for the Republic, he more than made up for his lack of finesse by his bravery and commitment.

Sadly, his reputation has suffered during the process of historical revision which has been required during the fans' adjustment to Villa's substantial reduction in ambition.

This is one hell of a funny post.

It's fine up till the last line, which is a total non-sequitur. It might have some value if Dunne had been an extravagant signing, but he wasn't, he was the sort of signing we could still afford to make today.

If people are remembering the poor side of Dunne as well as the decent one, it's because there was such a contrast between his first season and the subsequent three.

How, for example, was it possible for him not to kick a ball for us in the entirety of the last season, and then go on to play for the Republic days after the season ended?

[jonzy85]

I've defended Dunne on here before and got slated for it. His first season was excellent, I think he exceeded most people's expectations. He never reproduced that form on anything close to a consistent basis, but then again very few players who have played for Villa in that time could claim to.

I do think he has been unfairly made a scapegoat for a lot that went wrong and some of the criticism has been way over the top. I always got the feeling that a lot of fans never wanted him here, begrudgingly admitted he was a good player after his first season, but then were very quick to have the knives out. There were a lot of players who were a lot worse than Dunne over the last couple of years and never got the same amount of vitriol. That always confused me. Then again, I will admit that the fact he has been such a legend for the Irish football team affects the way I look at him.

Regarding last season, he was told by Lambert in the summer that he wanted to sell him, but then because of the injury that didn't happen, so he was here in Spetember. After his operations, he broke down again and I imagine Lambert at some stage realised that he wasn't going to make it to a stage where he could be relied upon in a relegation battle. He played a small part in meaningless friendlies for Ireland after the season had finished, but I don't think any Villa fan would have been too confident relying on Dunne with question marks over his fitness, going into those last 2 months. Even if one was to subscribe to the view that Dunne was all about collecting his wages and wasn't arsed playing, why on earth would he not get himself fit to get a new contract at Villa or another PL club, if he could have??

[Barney74]

I've defended Dunne on here before and got slated for it. His first season was excellent, I think he exceeded most people's expectations. He never reproduced that form on anything close to a consistent basis, but then again very few players who have played for Villa in that time could claim to.

I do think he has been unfairly made a scapegoat for a lot that went wrong and some of the criticism has been way over the top. I always got the feeling that a lot of fans never wanted him here, begrudgingly admitted he was a good player after his first season, but then were very quick to have the knives out. There were a lot of players who were a lot worse than Dunne over the last couple of years and never got the same amount of vitriol. That always confused me. Then again, I will admit that the fact he has been such a legend for the Irish football team affects the way I look at him.

Regarding last season, he was told by Lambert in the summer that he wanted to sell him, but then because of the injury that didn't happen, so he was here in Spetember. After his operations, he broke down again and I imagine Lambert at some stage realised that he wasn't going to make it to a stage where he could be relied upon in a relegation battle. He played a small part in meaningless friendlies for Ireland after the season had finished, but I don't think any Villa fan would have been too confident relying on Dunne with question marks over his fitness, going into those last 2 months. Even if one was to subscribe to the view that Dunne was all about collecting his wages and wasn't arsed playing, why on earth would he not get himself fit to get a new contract at Villa or another PL club, if he could have??

What he said...

[Ads]

I cannot agree with that.

I was pleased with his first season and disappointed with the rest because his performances and professionalism merited those responses.

Dunne was not hard done by at all as you’re trying to portray.

He was/is over-weight and has a problem with alcohol. We’re a pretty understanding bunch here and don’t ordinarily hold that against a player. However, in Dunne’s case, there was a strong correlation between his weight issues and increasingly poor performances, to such a point where he couldn’t be bothered for an entire season. Fit and healthy players come back from worse injuries in less time than unfit and over-weight ones.

What you do not mention is that he also raised his hands to a Villa legend and coach, completely disrespecting the club in the process.

We’ve had a lot of great Irish players over the years, but taking off those green spectacles, you should be able to plainly see that Dunne does not hold a candle to the majority of them.

[TheSandman]

Throwing one thought out there, I reckon if he was fit last season to partner Vlaar, we'd have finished comfortably mid-table. How many would agree?

If he was the same Richard Dunne we saw in 2009/10 then undoubtedly. However, if you consider that we came even closer in terms of both points and finishing position to relegation the season before with Richard Dunne as a regular in a more experienced back four within a more defensive side that should have shipped a lot fewer goals then the Richard Dunne who most likely would have turned up might not have made that big a difference especially if you consider that his proposed defensive partner, Vlaar, was far from blameless for last season's defensive woes.

[silhillvilla]

Spent much of his time with us overweight and unfit. Couple that with Champneys and broken trellisgate and I think it's fair to say he's been an expensive mistake. Not our first but hopefully our last for a while.

[Monty]

He started pretty well but declined pretty sharply. MON signed a player for a chunk of money on a fairly big contract when, as it turned out, he was on the wrong side of his peak and looking down a pretty vertiginous* slope. I for one will always associate him with the era of the overpriced, overpaid, unprofessional, bucolic Britishers on whom MON wasted our best shot at the top in recent history.


*I know I should just have said 'steep', but I like this word, so do one.

[SoccerHQ]

Excellent in 09/10 bar the error in the cup final. He made it in the PFA team of the year remember.

11/12 started off well and we missed him when he was injured.

The less said about 10/11 the better. Not a great case of his professionalism turning up overweight for pre season and then having a brawl with Sid and also falling out with Houllier.

Couldn've had Distin instead of him who's still first choice for Everton.

[Pat McMahon]

He was good under MON but never the same once new managers came in.

 I will never know if that was because the coaching and tactics were alien to him ( remember how we slipped from being set piece specialists to absolute liabilities ) or if he was just no that good to begin with, but the old MON magic had worked for a while.

My single biggest memory of him is that awful header to the feet of Drogba in the FA Cup semi in 2010. That completely blew the wind from our sails.

[SoccerHQ]

He was good under MON but never the same once new managers came in.

 I will never know if that was because the coaching and tactics were alien to him ( remember how we slipped from being set piece specialists to absolute liabilities ) or if he was just no that good to begin with, but the old MON magic had worked for a while.

My single biggest memory of him is that awful header to the feet of Drogba in the FA Cup semi in 2010. That completely blew the wind from our sails.

I don't see that as being as big an error as just passing straight to Berbatov.

The header was weak yes but wouldn't have matter if we'd simply bothered putting a player on the 18 yard box who could've just completed the clearance. Instead Ballack was just standing there and had a free shot which hit Drogba and went in or whatever.

[Eigentor]

Sort of understand those who say that he has become a scapegoat -- though I don't agree. If I chose to ignore his attitude, fitness and wages -- and just considered his ability, I would probably argued that there would be nothing wrong with keeping him. A (mostly) competent central defender with extensive PL experience is something that our squad could need. However, looking at the whole package, I'm (like most) quite happy to be rid.