Do Man City rue the day they let Dunne leave Eastlands?
After selling Richard Dunne to Aston Villa in the summer for £6million, Manchester City were adament that he was surplus to requirements and did not fit the image of playing for the ‘richest club of the world’. They in turn were getting rid of the so called ‘dead wood’ lying about Eastlands, and injecting new blood in the likes of Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott. All had thought City were onto something and potentially created a new great centre back partnership. But what City failed to realise that not only did they sell their captain, they sold the heartbeat of the team as well. Richard Dunne was the hero of the city for the past 4 years, receiving fans’ player’s awards annually. Dunne had the same influence as John Terry has for Chelsea, this never say die attitude to the game, the determination to throw oneself in the line of fire in order to stop a goal from being conceded. Dunne acquires the skill to hold the defence as one, to ensure the back four are watertight, that they understand each other, help each other. Dunne was a role model for Nedum Onuoha and Micah Richards; he influenced the youngster’s development, aiding them to international successes. Richards, in 2007, stated that he rated Dunne with the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
It was City’s Chief Executive, Garry Cook who assumed that Richard Dunne was not the superstar to lead the team on global tours, and fans would not know who he is. But Cook forgot to understand that by unsettling Dunne, he was unsettling the backbone of the squad.
With Dunne now settled in perfectly in Villas defence, and City leaking goals left right and centre, shows that City were too brass in assuming Dunne had ‘lost it’ because they sold him for £6million and had brought Lescott for £24million, and Dunne is the one showing his worth.
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Dunne is doing well at Villa but the calamitousness is on it’s way. Plus Villa are a boring defensive side where he is not as exposed.
I for one think Lescott is actually looking okay (more so than Toure!) and i don’t regret losing the player – Legend for us though he was.
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Yes they do. As far as I am concerned it is one of the reasons why Hughes had to go despite what the media said. You let such a solid defender (not to mention City legend) go for relative peanuts and spend 40 million on a defence and still let in 3 against Burnley, Sunderland, Bolton and Spurs then questions need to be asked.
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Respect your comments Andy, but why would you say that the Villa defence is boring, because they are tight and there not as exposed as City. For me City by far made a big mistake letting Dunne go, but i did think at the time they had purchased a great centre back pairing. Maybe in time they will show their true potential, but as you City are not a patient club you only have to look at the departure of Hughes.
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