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Make Richie our skipper  As
a young player with Everton, Richard Dunne was more noted for his size
than his footballing ability.
Having played schoolboy football in Dublin for Home Farm Dunne started
his professional career in 1996 with the Toffees, making his debut at
the age of 16 but his attitude and application were often questioned by
fans and managers.
How things have changed for the Tallaght man who was named the FAI Player-of-the-Year
in the build-up to the Brazil match.
Dunne has been a rock at the heart of Sven Goran-Eriksson’s revolution
in the blue half of Manchester and against bitter rivals United, ‘Dunney
Monster’ put in yet another man of the match performance.
His partnership with Micah Richards is one of, if not the best, in the
Premier League. Dunne has added the consistency that was missing during
his days at Everton and early days at City.
For a man of his size Dunne’s pace is frightening. His tackle on
Tevez when the Argentinian was heading for goal was one of many from the
Dubliner.
Micah Richards is certainly benefitting from learning his trade alongside
Dunne who won the club’s Player-of-the-Year award for a record third
consecutive time last season.
Dunne’s performance was all the more incredible considering he had
tonsilitis and was unable to train or stay with the team prior to the
game.
On the international front Dunne has made the centre-back position his
won. He was not pleased that there was not a new manager in place for
the Brazil match (aren’t we all Richard!) but alongside John O’Shea
he produced another decent performance in the Green jersey. With Steve
Finnan (31) and Andy O’Brien (28) deciding to retire its reassuring
to know that Dunne is not yet throwing in the towel.
For me he should be wearing the captain’s armband for Ireland. Having
done so with his club since Sylvain Distin departed for Portsmouth in
2006 it would also take the added pressure off his fellow Tallaght man
Robbie Keane.
Dunne is in the form of his life. Aged 28 he is at his peak and fatherhood
seems to be doing wonders for him. His daughter Lyla, named after the
Oasis song, came along in 2006 and his performances have not gone unnoticed
by rival managers.
Liverpool are rumoured to be interested in acquiring his services —
little wonder after his superb marking job on Fernando Torres at Eastlands
— but the Reds will have to shell a lot more than the £3million
City spent in 2000 to lure him away from Everton. Dunne’s value
to club and country is at an all-time high. Something which will be reflected
in the latest round of bids in the summer.
Return of the Super Hoops
Queens Park Rangers are well and truly on the up. After years of mediocrity
and controversy off the pitch the Super Hoops look likely to make the
play-offs if recent form continues.
I decided it was time to take the girlfriend to see a proper football
team with real fans (she is an Arsenal fan), so off we went to the south
coast to see the Rs take on Southampton.
My footballing education was learnt in the stands at Loftus Road where
my dad would take me most Saturdays as a kid. After he emigrated from
Sligo he landed up in Shepherd’s Bush and the Rs became his team.
He was lucky enough to see the likes of Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh in
their heyday and enjoyed seeing the Hoops challenge for League titles
rather than the relegation scraps that have been all too common in recent
years.
The recent injection of cash by Formula One tycoons Bernie Ecclestone
and Flavio Briatore saved the club and an influx of new players turned
us into genuine promotion contenders.
Needless to say the ‘richest team in the world’ did not disappoint
against a lacklustre Saints team. Why Southampton did not play on-loan
Aston Villa defender Stephen O’Halloran in defence is anyone’s
guess because they opted for two midfielders at the back and it cost them.
Martin O’Neill with not be happy with the way the young Cobh lad
has been treated during his loan spell.
Some 3,000 Rangers fans had made the journey from West London and it was
nice to be in and among them to cheer the Hoops on to a 3-2 win rather
than having to watch on in silence from the press box.
The club has always had a decent number of Irish fans and it was no different
at St. Mary’s where a Tri-colour and Irish rugby shirts were on
display.
The current side contains two Irishmen: Martin Rowlands and Damien Delaney.
Rowlands’ form has been superb since the arrival of new blood. He
is now captain and scored his fifth goal of the season to draw the sides
level before half-time.
The next Irish manager, whoever/whenever etc could do a lot worse than
make a trip to W12 to check out the duo.
Rowlands has three senior caps for Ireland and 26-year-old Cork native
Delaney — who has endeared himself to the Rs faithful with his committed
displays at left-back since his arrival in January from Hull City —
will be hoping to gain international recognition during his time in West
London.
Hopefully the pair will be pitting their wits in the Premiership very
soon and the girlfriend will switch her allegiances to Super Hoopsaaah!
Acceptable Racism?
The south London derby between Charlton and Crystal Palace ended with
the home side taking all three points after a much-deserved 2-0 win.
Neil Warnock has done a top job with the Eagles and has certainly got
Clinton Morrison playing to his full potential although Clinton and Irish
youngster Sean Scannell were fairly anonymous in this game and it was
Charlton’s Irishman Paddy McCarthy who impressed at the Valley with
a committed defensive performance.
My attention was somewhat shifted to the chatter of fans behind me at
the match.
Charlton have a Chinese international in midfield, alongside former Ireland
midfielder Matt Holland. Zheng Zhi looked a decent player but the Charlton
fan sitting behind me was constantly referring to him as Ping Pong.
I was a little taken aback because I had a Chinese journalist sitting
next to me. This is becoming commonplace among fans.
At Tottenham their South Korean left-back Lee Young-Pyo is commonly referred
to as DVD and Wes Brown is called Baked Bean!
Now football fans can be very funny — some of the chants I hear
around the country are brilliant but I’m not sure the players would
agree.
Cue the Liverpool fans at Chelsea singing: ‘Where’s your Cheryl
gone?’ to love rat Ashley Cole. So what do fans call the Irish players?
Paddy? |
