Well I've got to say when we signed the 'Rock' that is Richard Dunne I couldn't of been any less inspired. Thoughts came into my head of Carthorse, Donkey and any other non descript, plodding, slow and large animal I could think of. HOW WRONG I WAS !! The man is as strong as an Ox (Still an animal link, eh) and really hasn't yet got out of second gear yet. As Col put in his report, he is 'cruising' at this level. He might have the turning circle of an oil tanker but f*** me I'm glad he is ours. Just now hope for an injury free season and I'll be prepared to eat a rather large 'word' sandwich !!
Cue for Nuts to have a field day You are not alone Stainsey. I'm actually surprised to see that he is faster than expected. By the way, was that Brighton winger he shoulder barged in our previous home match still lying on the pitch or have they cleared the body away?
It was easy for me to big him up stainsey as I have watched him for years. I'll be ridiculed for saying this but IMHO he's been one of the most consistent CBs in the Prem over the last ten odd years. He's no slouch but certainly has lost a yard of pace. He makes up for this with his positional play which is excellent. We need to watch out for teams with a small nippy front man. If Dunne's left exposed then we could struggle. Great signing for one year and then make a decision next summer. Obviously not a long term option
I've been wrong before and will be again mate but Dunne was a no brainer for me. Just waiting for an injury to Dunne for flyer to come on and talk about his age again.
Well said Stainsey. I have had the misfortune of being a block booker with the FAI for many years and have followed Dunny around the place. Like Nuts, I know the man will give 100%. And you know what, he might give up the odd own goal, he might let the younger forward get in ahead of him (like what kinda happened recently against Sweden), he might miss a few games due to the ould body blowing an odd gasket, BUT, these will hopefully be infrequent unfortunate events which will pale into insignificance when you take his whole season in its totality. That's the nature of our Richard. Best signing of the year.
Like you Staines, I was very anti signing Mr. Dunne but I'm prepared to eat the rest of the sandwich after youv'e had your fill! Has he lost a ball in the air yet?
Superb signing and his fitness is key for us , especially with Onuha on the sides. We do need Neds back though as we are expecting a lot from hill and dunne at present. Their lack of pace is helped by two very quick covering fullbacks so the balance is there. The Burnley game will be interesting as the lad Ings looks a handfull. I was not there on Saturday , how did Ehmer fair? i know only had 10 mins but did he look the part ?
It's fingers, toes and everything else crossed that Dunne and/or Hill don't pick up an injury while Onouha is out. I would hate to think of what would happen then. Wonder could Henry fill in as a temporary stopgap there if needed?
As we walked away from the Bham game, my brother (the Gooner) said ' Richard Dunne's a great signing for you. Not quick but his positional sense is fantastic'. He also thought Barton was revelling in a 'big fish / small pond' scenario and is enjoying his football. Sometimes it takes someone on the outside to point out the obvious. We are a strange old lot as Rangers fan's, having watched the shower of ***** that was Weds v Donny at the weekend I realise just how good our squad currently is.
Have to agree with the OP. I was not at all happy with Dunne signing for us, but he has been a revelation. Hope he stays fit.
Not excited by his signing, but I wasn't by Nelsen's either and he turned out to be our best player last year. Will I never learn? Apart from the physical side, his constant talking and marshaling of the back line is invaluable. He should get a director's credit for Ned's performances this season. As long as there is pace somewhere at the back there is always room for experience and reading the game, age not an issue there - as Baresi, Maldini,Moore and Carvalho showed. Not that Richard is quite up with some of that lot. Yet.
Impossible to judge a defender on just 10 minutes but we did start to wobble slightly when Clint went off (and lets please not forget this man's contribution). He did make one telling block towards the end however. He's built like an out-house so what with him and big-arse Dunne our penalty area will at least be an intimidating place. One slight negative for Dunne - he is yet to come close to scoring despite being the obvious target for every corner. He seems to duck under the ball for some reason which is a problem he never has at the other end. But lets take nothing away from the big man - excellent start to the season.
With you on that one, Joe.... I'm still not as big a fan as most on here seem to be - there's still the potential for getting turned by a pacey attacker (especially if both full backs keep pushing on the way they do) and I'd feel happier if Clint had a little more speed to counter the possibility. Also, against Brighton he got away with a couple of potential howlers due to the Seagull's lack of desire to venture forward. But he clearly has a great head on his shoulders, and can read the game very well, which in a large part makes up for his lack of speed and glacier-like ability to turn on a sixpence.
