Richard Dunne

Richard Dunne was given his debut for Everton as a 17 year old by Joe Royle So the City Manager knew his man well before making a £3m swoop for the Irish international 4 years later. Richard is a versatile defender, although Royle stated that centre-half was his best position. Describing Dunne's attributes, Royle said he was "very quick, very big and very comfortable on the ball." Royle handed him the number 22 shirt, available only two days after George Weah had left the club in misery. The number brought more luck to the versatile defender than it did to the former World Footballer, but only after a difficult start to his City career.

After Royle was sacked and Kevin Keegan took charge, Richard found himself out of the team for a while. This resulted in a lack of match fitness and a number of disciplinary breaches which culminated when he turned up for training in what was called a disheveled state. Keegan decided not to terminated the players contract, and Richard agreed to undergo a specialist training program during the 2002-03 season. The player was also given the maximum fine of 2 weeks' wages. Keegan admitted his delight with the way he adapted to a strict fitness regime, and Richard clawed his way back into the team looking fitter and in better form than ever. He finished the season with 25 Premiership games under his belt. His form also gave him a place back in the Ireland squad where he showed impressive form in the 1-0 win against Norway in April 2003.

Richard had an operation on a troublesome hernia at the end of the 2003-04 season, but returned to full fitness in time for the 2004/05 season, where he was sent off in the second game against Liverpool. He also conceded two own goals - against West Brom and rivals Manchester United. He managed 36 appearances and scored once. His defensive partnership with Sylvain Distin proved to be a very strong base for City and the likable stopper was voted Citys player of the year as a tribute to his heroic displays. The excellent form of the central defense continued into 2005/06 and Dunne was now the cornerstone of the team. He got on the score sheet three times and another excellent campaign culminated with him being named the City player of the year for the second time.

In July 2006 he completed his revival by being named as City's new captain after Sylvain Distin refused to sign a new contract in his last year with the blues. The defensive success continued into the season with the addition of the promising Micah Richards, and Richard was leading from behind in a poor season that only saw 19 goals scored by the team. It was only the solid displays from the defenders that made sure that City managed to renew their Premiership status, and Richard played every single minute during the campaign.

His reputation continued to grow under Sven-Göran Erikssons leadership and Richard enjoyed another great season which saw City grab 10th place in the Premier League. His impact in the team was highly visible after he was sent off against Boro in the closing game. Without their Skipper City went down 8 goals to 1, one of the darkest results in the Club history. Eriksson had to leave his position shortly after, and even though he was voted City player of the year for a whopping 4th time Richard was now strongly considering a move away from the turbulence at City. Spurs, Newcastle, Arsenal and Portsmouth were all prepared to cash out the defender who could have paid up the rest of his contract and walked away if he had wanted to. In the end Richard decided to stay and penned a new 4 year deal neglecting a 50% pay-rise offered by Portsmouth.

To the fans Richard has always been a treasured player. His commitment and uprightness towards the club, the fans and himself has won him a special place in the hearts of the fans. He follows in the footsteps of a great tradition of players with blue blood in their veins and his cult status will continue to grow in the seasons to come. One acknowledge of his contribution came at the end of the 2007/08 season when he was voted City's player of the year for an unprecedented fourth consecutive time.

Playing Record:

Season:	Club:	LEA	LEG	FCA	FCG	LCA	LCG	ECA	ECG	TOA	TOG
1996-2000	Everton	60	0	8	0	4	0	0	0	60	0
2000-2001	Manchester City	25	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
2001-2002	Manchester City	43	1	3	0	3	0	0	0	49	1
2002-2003	Manchester City	25	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	26	0
2003-2004	Manchester City	29	0	5	0	2	0	4	0	40	0
2004-2005	Manchester City	35	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	36	1
2005-2006	Manchester City	32	3	5	0	1	0	0	0	38	3
2006-2007	Manchester City	38	1	5	0	1	0	0	0	44	1
2007-2008	Manchester City	36	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	42	0
2008-2009	Manchester City	31	1	1	0	1	0	14	0	47	1
Total:		356	7	34	0	16	0	18	0	424	7

LA = League Attendances. LG = League Goals.
FCA = FA Cup Attendances. FCG = FA Cup Goals.
LCA = League Cup Attendances. LCG = League Cup Goals.
ECA = European Cup Attendances. ECG = European Cup Goals.
TOA = Total Attendances. TOG = Total Goals