I am surprised that so many would wish for Dunne to be offered another contract. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of the guy but his time is up, we have to look to the future. I also remember that his form took a serious nosedive in the second half of the Championship season (Wembley being the obvious notable exception). I feel the same way about Hill unless he is retained on a player-coach basis. No room for sentimentality. These guys are paid handsomely. We need an injection of pace and hunger.
Its all about maintaining a balance of new and old and those on contracts that are not a drain on finances.
I'm a big fan of Dunne too. This is borderline for me. On balance, I agree with Kingdom that a place should be found for him for a year, particularly if there's a dirth of seasoned players after THE CLEAR OUT.
It's a tough league with loads more fixtures. We need a good squad and I think he will be an asset even if he isn't first choice
I'm right with you on balance. We need one or two experienced CB's, but I'd prefer Ned who now has experience, plus speed, to Dunne, or Hill or Rio, who will probably all get done for speed in the Championship too now. Not sure Caulker is good enough either.
I understand your sentiment and agree about Dunne but show me a defender who has been better and more consistent than Clint Hill this season. I don't care about age but I do want younger players for the future. And so, I wouldn't send CH packing unless we had two or more players to replace him with, players who genuinely are better than him as opposed to players who think they're better than him (Caulker, for example).
This is just about how I feel about it too. One more Championship season alongside Ned. Time for Hill to go though.
Dunne, Hill and Zamora must go. Most of my mates from other clubs laughed at Dune and Hill playing in the premiership. We need to start building for the future and get youngsters in. Coaching for them maybe but playing no, otherwise we are making the same old mistakes.
Next season, our CBs should be selected from: Onuoha, Caulker, one of Hill or Dunne, and a new face. The experience of either Hill or Dunne will be invaluable but I don't think we can have both because they are not getting any faster and neither can they manage the regular weekly grind of Championship matches: Dunne showed that in 2013/14. Of the two, on balance, I would choose Dunne but it's a close call,
I agree that one of Dunne or Hill should be kept (depending on who we can bring in to replace the outgoings). Both committed and I'd suspect good for the dressing room. On balance, I'd choose Hill because there seems to be more of a coach in him, he has a stronger attachment to the club and probably a few pennies cheaper too. Not the most classic reasons but it leaves a nagging feeling the thought of offloading him and we are trying to rebuild the soul of the club.
We have to remember that the Championship is a poor division and some of the players that were cr@p in the Premiership will look like Ronaldo down there. In the Championship you can make mistakes and not get punished like you do in the Prem. For me the best 2 teams went up and the next best are in the play off final. other than Bee's/Ipswich/Derby, the rest were Cr@p. We should enjoy the Championship but remember some of our players will be a lot better than a lot of the dross down there. CR needs to replace the ones that are offski with hungry talented players and mix with a bit of experience like Dunne/Hill/Joey.
There's no 25 man squad is there in the championship? I'd keep Dunne as he was immense last time. I'd also keep hill but on a player coach basis, think it's important to keep someone with such a strong emotional bond to the fans and club on board.
lets get some centre backs in first before getting rid of what we currently have. That should be the priority.
