Points i'm sure we'll all agree with...
- Dunney has been a terrific servant for the club. Nine years service in the modern game is quite rare and we should possibly grant him a testimonial game.
- As a man, you probably won't find many who match him in the game. A great guy, a credit to the club and himself.
- On the pitch he did fantastically well to transform himself from the player we saw under Keegan to a very good defender. He should get immense credit for that.
- The man is a modern City legend, and should he leave it will be a very sad day.
Now, the points some of us may have differing views on...
- I don't think his form over the last season, even season and a half, is deserving of a starting place any more. Toure and Lescott are better defenders and have proven it season-after-season in the Premier League for sides who have been better than us.
- Nedum Onuoha was excellent last year and i think it would be unfair to hold him back as fourth choice centre-half, especially after giving him a new deal and probable assurances about his role at the club. Vincent Kompany, though having only played there on occasion for us, showed then, and whenever i've seen him play at the back prior to his arrival here, that he's more than capable of performing well there, too. I feel those four centre-halves will serve us well over the coming seasons.
- As much as Dunne is a tremendous role model, and a good captain in the sense of he leads by example off the pitch, i don't think he's a natural leader on it. He's not vocal enough, he's not a great organiser, and he doesn't lead by example in terms of regular performances. I think Barry, Toure or even Ireland would be better captains, personally, though i think it might be a bit too early in the case of the latter.
- £6m is good business. Not in terms of in relation to the £22m paid for Lescott. We have overpaid a little there but i don't think we should worry too much about that. I mean moreso in that we paid £3m for Dunne, have had nine years service and might be selling him on for double. When the likes of Wenger do that they're lauded as geniusses.
- Dunne's four sucessive Player of the Year awards says a lot about where we were as a club then. Painful as it is to see the likes of him move on, it's a natural part of the evolution of the club from mid-table and inconsistency, to hopefully challenging the big four. We, or moreso the powers-that-be at the club, have to make tough decisions, this amongst the toughest.
- I never feel comfortable with Dunney in the side and haven't done for months. We can't forget his service, but we have to look at the obvious. He's been sent off more than any player in Premier League history. He's scored more own goals than any player in Premier League history. He never looks confident in posesssion, he makes countless other errors, such as giving away penalties, free-kicks in dangerous areas, playing people onside, etc, etc. All defenders make these errors occasionally, but Dunne seems to be making them more and more as time goes by. His aimless longballs are another bugbear. We see the back four play the ball around a bit, Dunne then strides forward, looks around, hoofs the ball straight to their centre-halves.
- Saying this, perhaps Dunne's drastic drop in form isn't entirely his fault. I wonder how much defensive work we do in training. Micah Richards, defensively at least, has also suffered a bit of a crisis in confidence. I occasionally wonder if we work on defending set-pieces, or keeping our line, or distribution from the back, or offensive set-piece moves, because we always look pretty sloppy in these respects.
To sum up, Dunney is a great man, a modern legend of the club, loyal, and has been a credit to the club and us fans. I wouldn't begrudge him the chance to stay around in what might end up being a successful period at the club, but in my eyes he'd now be fourth choice at centre-half. I think a clean break is best, we can't leave the club captain languishing round on the bench, it's not good for him in World Cup year, or for Onuoha's development, and could possibly cause friction behind the scenes. It's with a heavy heart that i think we should accept Villa's bid, if we haven't already. His terrific performance in the Nou Camp could prove a real high point to bow out on.
Good luck, Dunney, you've been a real credit to Manchester City.
- Dunney has been a terrific servant for the club. Nine years service in the modern game is quite rare and we should possibly grant him a testimonial game.
- As a man, you probably won't find many who match him in the game. A great guy, a credit to the club and himself.
- On the pitch he did fantastically well to transform himself from the player we saw under Keegan to a very good defender. He should get immense credit for that.
- The man is a modern City legend, and should he leave it will be a very sad day.
Now, the points some of us may have differing views on...
- I don't think his form over the last season, even season and a half, is deserving of a starting place any more. Toure and Lescott are better defenders and have proven it season-after-season in the Premier League for sides who have been better than us.
- Nedum Onuoha was excellent last year and i think it would be unfair to hold him back as fourth choice centre-half, especially after giving him a new deal and probable assurances about his role at the club. Vincent Kompany, though having only played there on occasion for us, showed then, and whenever i've seen him play at the back prior to his arrival here, that he's more than capable of performing well there, too. I feel those four centre-halves will serve us well over the coming seasons.
- As much as Dunne is a tremendous role model, and a good captain in the sense of he leads by example off the pitch, i don't think he's a natural leader on it. He's not vocal enough, he's not a great organiser, and he doesn't lead by example in terms of regular performances. I think Barry, Toure or even Ireland would be better captains, personally, though i think it might be a bit too early in the case of the latter.
- £6m is good business. Not in terms of in relation to the £22m paid for Lescott. We have overpaid a little there but i don't think we should worry too much about that. I mean moreso in that we paid £3m for Dunne, have had nine years service and might be selling him on for double. When the likes of Wenger do that they're lauded as geniusses.
- Dunne's four sucessive Player of the Year awards says a lot about where we were as a club then. Painful as it is to see the likes of him move on, it's a natural part of the evolution of the club from mid-table and inconsistency, to hopefully challenging the big four. We, or moreso the powers-that-be at the club, have to make tough decisions, this amongst the toughest.
- I never feel comfortable with Dunney in the side and haven't done for months. We can't forget his service, but we have to look at the obvious. He's been sent off more than any player in Premier League history. He's scored more own goals than any player in Premier League history. He never looks confident in posesssion, he makes countless other errors, such as giving away penalties, free-kicks in dangerous areas, playing people onside, etc, etc. All defenders make these errors occasionally, but Dunne seems to be making them more and more as time goes by. His aimless longballs are another bugbear. We see the back four play the ball around a bit, Dunne then strides forward, looks around, hoofs the ball straight to their centre-halves.
- Saying this, perhaps Dunne's drastic drop in form isn't entirely his fault. I wonder how much defensive work we do in training. Micah Richards, defensively at least, has also suffered a bit of a crisis in confidence. I occasionally wonder if we work on defending set-pieces, or keeping our line, or distribution from the back, or offensive set-piece moves, because we always look pretty sloppy in these respects.
To sum up, Dunney is a great man, a modern legend of the club, loyal, and has been a credit to the club and us fans. I wouldn't begrudge him the chance to stay around in what might end up being a successful period at the club, but in my eyes he'd now be fourth choice at centre-half. I think a clean break is best, we can't leave the club captain languishing round on the bench, it's not good for him in World Cup year, or for Onuoha's development, and could possibly cause friction behind the scenes. It's with a heavy heart that i think we should accept Villa's bid, if we haven't already. His terrific performance in the Nou Camp could prove a real high point to bow out on.
Good luck, Dunney, you've been a real credit to Manchester City.