[Archived] Thanks Dunny

[Cheshireblue]

I have sat only a few seats away from Dunn on several occasions at Blackburn. He still watches the games and gets far more animated than most in the Jack Walker Upper.

Another example of a great talent that fell out with Souness. Cheers Graeme.

[Duff's Minder]

Dunny gave a perfect example of how to celebrate at your old club, contrasts totally with Duff at Chelsea. Showed a lot of class.

Unfortunately, my sources (brother at the FA) tell me he is one or two breakdowns from having to retire. If that's true it would be a real shame.

[1864roverite]

Some people obviously didnt see the Dunn Is aw yesterday.

he was not very good, very slow and managed to get a tap in in the Blackburn End goal. Whether or not he attempted to celebrate or do the in thing and give a muted celebration is irrelevant.

The man can support BRFC all he likes it does not nor will ever change my opinion of him.

It was HE who turned the contract down and it ws HE who decided that he didnt want to play for Blackburn Rovers. Simple its fact.

[Scotty]

I thought Dunn played well yesterday, especially considering it was his first game back after a long lay-off.

[thenodrog]

err................. didn't he give a major reason to leave cos Steve Bruce promised to play him in central midfield?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Cant understand why any Rovers fan would bare a grudge against him...good luck to the lad.

Edited November 22, 2004 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[broadsword]

Dunn could have ran in front of the Blackburn End but didn’t. He’s still a supporter of the club, compared to Shearer when he scored his first goal for Newcastle at Ewood in the FA Cup, grinning his face of in front of the Blackburn End.

Shearer only did that because of the barracking he got every game. "Every dog has its day" as he said. Pull the tiger's tail and he'll bite you.

Doesn't mean he has ill-will towards the club.

[thenodrog]

Dunn could have ran in front of the Blackburn End but didn’t. He’s still a supporter of the club, compared to Shearer when he scored his first goal for Newcastle at Ewood in the FA Cup, grinning his face of in front of the Blackburn End.

Shearer only did that because of the barracking he got every game. "Every dog has its day" as he said. Pull the tiger's tail and he'll bite you.

Thats precisely what Yorke should have done if he had any pride, guts or spirit about him instead of cluttering up the centre circle for 10 mins, moaning about a few verbals and taking home a wedge of cash for those 10 mins bigger than his antagonists in the crowd earn in a year! He should just shut the f"£$ up and get a grasp on reality!

[cletus]

Dunny went up in my estimations yesterday.

It showed on TV when his team mates surrounded him, he gave an embarrassed smile as if to say "Oh that`s blown it for me now, but what am i supposed to do?"

[American]

Another example of a great talent that fell out with Souness. Cheers Graeme.

Such a crock. What has our boy Dunn done to show he's any better to have here than Emerton? 5 million was a steal and we should be thanking Souness as it was one of his better pieces of business.

I do like Dunn as a player a lot, but at this point in his career he's no where near worth 5 million.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Some people obviously didnt see the Dunn Is aw yesterday.

he was not very good, very slow and managed to get a tap in in the Blackburn End goal. Whether or not he attempted to celebrate or do the in thing and give a muted celebration is irrelevant.

The man can support BRFC all he likes it does not nor will ever change my opinion of him.

It was HE who turned the contract down and it ws HE who decided that he didnt want to play for Blackburn Rovers. Simple its fact.

I'm surprised at your viewpoint on this 1864.

Personally I also thought he had a good game considering the amount of time out with his hamstring problem.

There will always be arguments over Dunn and its each too their own, but I feel and will always stand by it that Souness ruined Dunn. Playing him out of position when he was just beginning to bear the fruits of showing how good an attacking midfielder he actually was when in full flow.

Whether he would have have the same injuries or his suppose off field jaunts would have have carried we will never know.

What I feel many will agree on - is we lost a very talented player who WANTED too play for Blackburn Rovers.

[Flopsy]

Thats precisely what Yorke should have done if he had any pride, guts or spirit about him instead of cluttering up the centre circle for 10 mins, moaning about a few verbals

IN NO SHAPE OR FORM DOES THIS EXCUSE ANY TYPE OF RACIST ABUSE. HE MIGHT BE A LAZY SOD WHO WAS A LET DOWN FOR ROVERS (EVEN IF HE SCORED 15 GOALS IN HIS FIRST SEASON) BUT THAT’S NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS SKIN COLOUR.

[joey_big_nose]

Dunn showed some real class- the cheeky stepover and cross to the back post for example. But, if he wasn't from Blackburn and English, nobody on this board would want him at the club. He has only managed about a third of birminghams games since he signed and drifts in and out of the ones he has played in. Nothing suggests he would improve our team.

When Birmingham have all their players back I imagine he will return to the bench and be saved for a late cameo role.

Blessed with that sort of powerful physique of Gascoigne or Marradona he looked at the start of the 2001/2002 season like he could be the next big thing, or english big thing anyway. What has become painfully evident however is he has neither the mentality, the desire or the discipline to succeed. He is naturally a great player but not as great as those other examples above. To try and emulate pissing it all up the wall like they did is stupid, he does not have the ability to do that and get away with it.

He is going to look back at his career and realise that if he had the discipline of Michael Owen or Barry Ferguson he could have played in two or three world cups and maybe won some more silverware with rovers.

Crying shame.

[NewburyRover]

Dunny gave a perfect example of how to celebrate at your old club, contrasts totally with Duff at Chelsea. Showed a lot of class.

I thought Duff's celebration at Chelsea was quite reserved.

As for Dunn, I thought he did well yesterday, didn't celebrate in an over the top manner, and although not as effective as he has been for Rovers, showed some good touches.

And for what it's worth I'd love to see him back here. Although whether this will ever happen I have no idea.

[1864roverite]

May be its just me capt, I just dont see how anyone who truly supports the club he grew up at can just leave because of a simple argument. My view is pretty simple as narrow it may be, if I had been in that position then I would have stayed no matter what the disagreement with the manager. In football, unless your the rfw, the manager has a short lifespan whereas the player is in control of his own career. If a player truly loves the club and then moves to one of the big 3 fair enough but when he simply refuses to sign a new offer outlining a disagreement with the manager and opts for a club like Birmingham then IMO that says it all about the boy. After all there were no other clubs sniffing was there ?

[bellamy11]

May be its just me capt, I just dont see how anyone who truly supports the club he grew up at can just leave because of a simple argument. My view is pretty simple as narrow it may be, if I had been in that position then I would have stayed no matter what the disagreement with the manager. In football, unless your the rfw, the manager has a short lifespan whereas the player is in control of his own career. If a player truly loves the club and then moves to one of the big 3 fair enough but when he simply refuses to sign a new offer outlining a disagreement with the manager and opts for a club like Birmingham then IMO that says it all about the boy. After all there were no other clubs sniffing was there ?

To incinuate that David Dunn doesn't love Blackburn Rovers is one of the stupidest things I've read on this board. You usually make good points when you aren't making up transfer gossip, but that is just plain wrong.

David Dunn is a professional footballer. In fifteen years time he won't be - he won't have a job in the game unless he goes into coaching/management. It is his responsibility to make sure he makes the most of those years. If it means leaving your hometown club in search of first team football then so be it. At the time he left Blackburn had finished 6th in the table. At the time he refused to sign the contract we were flying high. Absolutely nobody wanted rid of Souness. Considering the progress that we were making under him we could be expecting to see GS as manager for another five years.

If you played for another team then would you refuse to score against Blackburn because you love them? Of course you wouldn't. You'd relegate them if it meant helping the club you played for. It doesn't mean you don't love the club. It means you're a professional who takes great pride in your job.

[1864roverite]

Bellamy

get a grip and read the post, it is simply my VIEW, if you dont like it tough crap.

As for making up transfer stories, I wish I had the time as I seem to be permanently chasing around numpers like yourself !

I respect your opinion so respect mine or simply dont comment.

[bellamy11]

Yes I do respect your opinion, and like I said, you talk a lot of sense for the most part.

Is it really your view that David Dunn doesn't love Blackburn Rovers Football Club?

[1864roverite]

No it is not Bellamy my friend.

I simply cannot agree with the sweeping statement that he made about being a fan of the club and leaving in the manner he did.

Like I said its only my opinion but put yourself in this position. Your a young kid absolutley mad about football and your Dad or Grandad or even Mum ensures your kitted out in the colours of the team you love. Their hard earned cash takes you to every home game and by luck you prove good enough to make the grade at your hometown club. Your a hot prospect that eventually you make it to be the English u21's captain. The club your at, your hometown club, makes you an offer of a decent contract, you have a sponsored car and your the hero of every schoolboy in Lancashire and beyond who are associated with BRFC.

The good time roll, a cup final appearance and the real roy of the rovers story is headlines as you lift the trophy in your clubs colours. At that point your one of a handful of professional players who manage to do such a thing being a homegrown player.

After the good there has to be bad, a few injuries and a few fall outs with the fans and the manager. But hey the good times are still here. 22yrs of age, 25k a week and everything going for you. Your still the local hero and every kid worships the ground you walk on. The older supporters think your the best thing since sliced bread and their hopes for you are to become the Captain of the England first team, a feat which is not beyond you (that was then this is now ).

again injury is met by the leaking of a training ground bust up and a personall and public fall out with the manager. both of you allegedly let bygones be bygones but lo and behold as your contract reaches mid term, you feel that although your at your home town club, the one you allegedly love, the one that brought you the riches, the one that supported you, the one with the fans worshipping every step you take, the one that catapulted you to riches beyond the average lancashire gentleman you feel that the offer of a good honest contract is not worth signing and you decide that BRFC is no longer a place for employment. I and many other fans could have easily understood it if the big boys had come knocking. The fact is that NONE of them did. The only clubs interested in David Dunn were Blackburn and Birmingham. there was never a haggle over the contract, it was a straightforward "NO AGREEMENT", I know this as I spoke to him immediately after signing for Birmingham. M6 Northbound, Hilton Park Services.

So there you are bellamy. thats my view, right or wrong. If I had made the professional grade as a youngster at Blackburn instead of the Chorley amateur league then I would have committed murder to represent my home town team. Now thats LOVE for your CLUB.

Dunny left at the first available opportunity.

Edited November 22, 2004 by 1864roverite

[bellamy11]

Well there you go - a very well written post that makes a lot of valid points.

I absolutely refuse to believe that the contract came down to money or anything other than a desire to play and enhance your career. David Dunn was never England's answer to the left-sided problem. David Dunn was always a central midfielder with great talent. Not only was he the captain of the U21 side, he was the player they looked to when in trouble and more often than not he delivered.

Having made his international debut against Portugal as a Rovers player he was one step closer to the dream of starting and playing regularly for your country. A feat which will be impossible for a Rovers or Birmingham player under the current manager (but that's a different debate).

However, GS had other ideas. Tugay's immense passing and Flitty's tenacity and desire kept Dunny out of the central midfield positions. When Flitty got injured and Dunn was required to play a more defensive role to compensate for Tugay's inabilities in that department he didn't shine. Souness went public as saying that this was disappointing and something Dunn should have in his locker. He then promptly dropped him again and played him out of position.

Furthermore he then criticised Dunn publically in what I'm assuming was an attempt to get him to work harder in training or something. This was a bad tactical move because it probably did the opposite. This was a gamble from Souness that went wrong because his player didn't respond in the right way. This is also partly Dunn's fault. However, he will have been doing the same things at night when he was England's answer and the player infinitely better than Joe Cole.

With Souness a hero at Rovers and very solid with the board there was only going to be one winner. With Dunn (quite justifiably) wanting an international career it made sense to see which clubs would offer him the chance to play in the middle. Only Brum did, but playing in the middle there was going to be better than not playing regularly here.

The move was best for all parties. Souness got rid of his playboy and got some cash, and Dunn got the chance to play in the middle again. Unfortunately injuries have got in his way, and he isn't in the same class as Lampard who has taken his opportunity and brought his game to a new level. I don't see DD as a traitor or a person who turned his back on Rovers because he did what was the best for himself. I'm sure if he'd known how quickly the wheels were going to fall off here then he'd have stuck it out under Souness and tried again with a new manager.

Dunn is clearly ambitious about playing - he wanted out when he wasn't being played in the first division (or last Prem season, can't remember). He'll do what is best for David Dunn because in twenty years he wants to look back on his England caps and his great memories with Rovers such as the promotion season. At that stage in his career it made sense to move away - hard as it must have been. He didn't leave because he loved us any less than anybody on this messageboard. He left to play football.

[waggy]

i spoke to dunny the summer before we finished 6th,he told me then he was not going to sign a new contract with the rovers,i asked if there was a change off manager would he sign again,'not much chance off that' he replied.

did he answer to the contract or manager

[1864roverite]

Again Bellamy11 some very well presented issues.

When I spoke to DD on the services after he had left the club he didnt appear exactly heartbroken. He did tell me he was sad at the way it had ended however the word ambition did not enter the conversation.

One thing that many have not picked on, and indeed I am a fan of david dunn although I will admit to out of total jealousy say that I slated him on this board, is that DD has a definate wish to play for BRFC again. he is mid contract at Brum and I wonder just how much he is hankering about his heroes ?

[Blueboy Downunder]

a fit and healthy david dunn and one that takes his football seriously.....i would welcome back to ewood park any day.

he is a local boy, who is blackburn rovers through and through, and in my own opinion, if he was given a chance to come home....he would have signed the contract before you could finish asking him the question.

[Jan]

There was no agreement as he was approached in a corridor and asked "by the way- do you want to sign a new contract". He had, I believe three years of his original contract to go, and was in no hurry, with that ******* in charge, to sign a new one, so he said "no thank you".

After that, there were NO formal contract talks- he was just told that as he'd "turned down a new contract", in what he had considered was only a casual sounding-out, that he was to be sold. (I suspect, although don't know, that the alternative was to play in the reserves- not a great one for someone who was pushing for England recognition at that point)

IMHO there was no real contract, and that was just our ex-manager using his ruthlessness again to get this story against Dunny into the papers and get you all supporting the decision to get him out. He'd done it to you all before when Dunny was injured, by blaming it on his "lifestyle" (which apparently is very quiet now, yet he still gets injured) He'd stirred you all up again by telling you Dunny was a "big time Charlie" when Dunn did get fit and started to play well his last season with us, and he got you for the last time over this.

As to whether this was a good move for us- it will all depend on his hamstrings. If they stay healthy, it will be shown to be one of the worst moves we ever made. If they don't, it won't.

But "the boy done good" (oh how I hate that grammar) on Sunday from a celebrating point of view.

[Brownie]

Dunn's attitude to training would have gone down as badly with Hughes as it did with Souness.

For a little more than we received for Dunn we bought Barry Ferguson.

A wonderful piece of business.

Almost as good as the 2 million plus we stole Brett Emerton for.

These two along with two other Souness steals, Reid and Thompson are a top quality goal ridden midfield as good as any outside the top four and yet to reach their prime.

And all for about 10 million.