The Wednesday Wonder: Richard Dunne

By Taylor Fisher | 21st October 2009

The Wednesday Wonder: Richard Dunne | read this item

Lately he’s been a man on a mission, and the Republic of Ireland international is hoping to continue his current form. That’s right, I’m talking about Aston Villa center back Richard Dunne. The man is doing it all for Aston Villa right now, and it is paying major dividends for his club.

Let’s rewind back two weeks – you know, before that extremely boring international weekend? Well that weekend, Villa took on Manchester City at Villa Park. It was Dunne’s first match against his old club. One would think that he would celebrate should he be able to find the back of the net. Not only would he want to celebrate a rare goal from a defender, but he would want to “stick it to the man,” as in his old club and their fans.

However, that was not the case. Yes, Dunne was able to find the back of the net on a beautiful header goal, but no, Dunne did not celebrate wildly and pull an Adebayor. Instead, he did exactly what I’ve become more accustomed to seeing. He turned and got back into position for the ensuing kickoff. This act revealed a lot about Richard Dunne. It showed that he wouldn’t allow his emotions to get in the way of his work. That is why you could say that Aston Villa “stole” Dunne from Manchester City. Sure it has seemed to work well for both teams, as both City and Villa are playing extremely well this season, but City lost a leader and an important constant in their back four.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure as the saying goes. And yes, Aston Villa have certainly found a treasure in Dunne. He is always ready to go about his business and work his butt off for the good of the team. It doesn’t matter if he’s on the pitch for Aston Villa or the Republic of Ireland, Dunne is going to do anything and everything possible to lead his team to victory.

Now fast forward to this past weekend. Aston Villa was taking on Chelsea at Villa Park. Most people were tipping Chelsea to win this match after coming off an embarrassing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Wigan. However, Richard Dunne would not let Chelsea walk off his pitch without a fight. And battle they did!

Droba scored on a great shot that bounced in front of a diving Brad Friedel and into the net, but Villa would not go out lying down. Seventeen minutes later, Dunne equalized with a powerful header (yet again) off of an Ashley Young corner. That was all Villa needed to regain their confidence. Seven minutes into the second half, another defender, this time James Collins, headed home what would prove to be the game-winner off of yet another corner kick! Villa would go onto win the match 2-1 in dramatic fashion.

Under Richard Dunne’s solid leadership, Aston Villa find themselves in 6th in the Premier League table. A win from their game in hand could put them as high as third on the table. Dunne has been a large part of their success this season, and Villa will only look to improve on their already great form.

Richard Dunne is proving to be such a great leader this season that I can only hope that he will also help lead the Republic of Ireland to victory over France in the World Cup 2010 qualifying playoff in November. Not only would it cement his status as a great player, but it would also be great for the game of football to see such an outstanding footballer doing such wonderful things for his club and his country.

Your success thus far this season, and hopefully come November, is the reason why you are this week’s Premiership Talk Wednesday Wonder. Congratulations on a job well Dunne!

Do you think Richard Dunne is deserving of the Wednesday Wonder this week? Have your say below!