Is Richard Dunne the Right Man to Lead Manchester City?

The final day of the 2007-08 season had brought both delight and despair for Manchester City captain Richard Dunne.

After being announced as City’s Player of the Season for a record fourth consecutive season, the powerful Irish centre back unfortunately received a straight red card for a professional foul on Afonso Alves in City’s game against Middlesbrough at the Riverside. It was believed that this could jeopardise City’s chances of playing in the Uefa Cup next season via qualification through the Fair Play League (in the end it didn’t).

Furthermore, City lost the game 8-1, in what was Sven-Goran Eriksson’s final game in charge.

A rollercoaster summer ensued, as it always seems to at City. With the club in turmoil after Eriksson’s departure and owner Thaskin Shinawatra’s billions frozen by Thai authorities, rumours circulated that the entire playing staff were up for sale, including Dunne.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has never hidden his admiration for Dunne, and reportedly lodged a £5 million bid, which was later matched by the defensively needy Tottenham Hotspur.

Newly installed City manager Mark Hughes made securing Dunne’s future, who only had 12 months remaining on his contract, his top priority. The Welshman succeeded, with Dunne signing a new four-year contract. The City fans were understandably thrilled with the news, after all Dunne had been the mainstay of the club for eight years since his move from Everton for £3 million.

However, now, after the groundbreaking takeover of the club by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and his subsequent purchase of Robinho for a British record £32.5 million, expectations at the City of Manchester Stadium have been sent through the roof.

Rumours were rife on transfer deadline day of bids for David Villa, Mario Gomez, and Dimitar Berbatov, and future bids for world stars such as Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, and Cristiano Ronaldo. It seems as though no player at City is now safe.

Which brings me to Dunne, a player who epitomises everything about Manchester City. A never-say-die-attitude combined with a huge amount of talent, Dunne is possibly the most underrated central defender in the Premiership.

Don’t forget, he was the only man who could come of a pitch last season and honestly claim he got the better of Fernando Torres for the full 90 minutes during the game between City and Liverpool at the City of Manchester Stadium in December.

Furthermore, after being unable to leave his bed the day before the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, Dunne miraculously recovered to lead his side to City’s first "Derby Double" for almost 40 years.

So with City entering this new, exciting era, with a seemingly limitless transfer budget a

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