Dion Dublin

[......and Smith must score. 1,342]

Quite rightly MOTM yesterday and I wouldn''t have been surprised had he pipped Darren Huckerby for '' Player of the Season '' too.

Couldn''t help noticing that Dion had the body language of someone who''s made his last appearance in a City shirt. It''s been said publicly that nothing''s been agreed regarding an extension of his contract but I''ve got a feeling that he won''t be at Carrow Road next term.

I hope I''m wrong...........

[AJ 1,218]

i hope we keep him, as a player/coach, it would bring out the best in our young strikers and defenders.

[king of latvia 0]

just got back from open day and in the fans forum one question was will we keep dion and grant said

 "WE HAVE GIVEN DION A GREAT PACKAGE  TO STAY I WANT HIM TO STAY BUT HE TRAVELS BACK TO HIS FAMILY EVERY WEEK IN THE MIDLANDS AND HE STAYS WITH THEM UNTIL THURSDAY HE TRAINS WITH ASTON VILLA WHILE HE IS UP THERE AND SO ITS UP TO HIM  AND HIS FAMILY IF HE STAYS"

lets hope he stays i feel he would be a great adition to the coaching team.

[Dicky 0]

Dion just has to stay at the club.  Not only does he add experience, but he looked the most spritely player on the pitch yesterday.  A collossus in defence.

[ZLF 274]

Not training with the squad puts his performance in perspective - how much better could he have been had he worked at building an understanding with his partners on the training ground too?

I didnt realise he was not with the club day in day out, reducing the influence he could have on our youngsters and the squad as a whole.   I agree that if we can keep him on as a player/coach it would be an excellent start to the close season signings.  Come on Dion - you know you want too - but you would have to commit to being at the club every training session.

[philbuzz 0]

I would love Dion to stay. He said he needs to be near his family, but come on he lives in the Midlands for god''s sake not Australia! So he trains a few days a week and plays a game on sat. It takes me 2 1/2 hrs to drive from nottingham in a crap car! Dion could bloody fly down here do his training and be back with his family for afternoon tea! Problem solved! Better still his family could move out of the midlands and get some fresh norfolk air!

[ca 1]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]

Not training with the squad puts his performance in perspective - how much better could he have been had he worked at building an understanding with his partners on the training ground too?

I didnt realise he was not with the club day in day out, reducing the influence he could have on our youngsters and the squad as a whole.   I agree that if we can keep him on as a player/coach it would be an excellent start to the close season signings.  Come on Dion - you know you want too - but you would have to commit to being at the club every training session.

[/quote]

 

I''m sure he trains with them Thursdays and Fridays but guess that we have to make a compromise if we want to keep him.I don''t see anything wrong with him training with Villa for a couple of days, if that makes his family happy and him happy.

Real solution would be to offer him a years playing contract and then a guaranteed coaching job at the end of it, perhaps then Mrs Dublin would consider moving to beautiful Norfolk.

[mbncfc 1]

With the respect he commands through the other players, I would be happy for Dion to stay and I certainly have no problems with us offering him a package to stay.

But I wouldn''t worry too much if he didn''t sign on for next year (which judging by his comments I expect to be the case).

With three first team coaches already at the club, there is no real role for him there. He will be 39 next year and while impressive, we really need to get in a couple of younger defenders who will be available to play four games in two weeks.

He has had an excellent season with us, which we all acknowledge. But he isn''t the future and that is really what we need to be concentrating on.

Take his season for what it was, acknowledge it, and move on I say...

[nutty nigel 7,531]

[quote user="cityangel"][quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]

Not training with the squad puts his performance in perspective - how much better could he have been had he worked at building an understanding with his partners on the training ground too?

I didnt realise he was not with the club day in day out, reducing the influence he could have on our youngsters and the squad as a whole.   I agree that if we can keep him on as a player/coach it would be an excellent start to the close season signings.  Come on Dion - you know you want too - but you would have to commit to being at the club every training session.

[/quote]

 

I''m sure he trains with them Thursdays and Fridays but guess that we have to make a compromise if we want to keep him.I don''t see anything wrong with him training with Villa for a couple of days, if that makes his family happy and him happy.

Real solution would be to offer him a years playing contract and then a guaranteed coaching job at the end of it, perhaps then Mrs Dublin would consider moving to beautiful Norfolk.

[/quote]

I would imagine Peter Grant see''s a problem with it though City Angel. And maybe some of the other players would too. I am guessing that the only reason this was allowed to happen in the first place was because we signed him at the last minute when we failed to get a replacement for McKenzie. The sticking point on that "great package" the club have offered is probably that he commits to training full time. Much as I would like him to stay I do understand this. We can''t manufacture a job for him at the end of the contract, if we promise him a coaching position then we have to promise someone else the sack.

I really want him to stay too though.

 

[barclay4ever 0]

if we offered him a larger comtract, say 3 or 4 years as a coach would he move his family down hear? or are they settled, does anyone know?

[ZLF 274]

Th emoe I read the less likely it seems Dion will sign - I hope I am wrong but the noises seem to indicate we tried but its not what either side wanted...   [:(]

 

[macdougalls perm 0]

Sadly, I can''t see him staying for next season either. It sounds like his family are happy in the Midlands and we''re asking him to relocate them here. It seems as though he is making the most diplomatic attempt possible at saying thanks, but no thanks. I hope I''m wrong though!

[blahblahblah 2]

For me it''s a measure of the man that he''s managed to turn people who wanted nothing to do with him when he arrived into asking him to stay.However, I don''t blame Dion for not wanting another season.  He''s 38, will be 39 next season, he has a young family and doesn''t need to work, and lives in (another) one of the nicest areas of the country.  He may also have fingers in other pies.  It could be that he''s landed a coaching job at the Villa for example, if he''s been training there.  He said earlier in the season that there''s more to life than football too, maybe he just wants a break ?Every cloud however, has a silver lining.  We can use the wages to bring someone equally as good over the summer.  Dublins'' signing was a stop-gap that at the time suited both parties, but has probably run its course.

[Herb 0]

[quote user="blahblahblah"] We can use the wages to bring someone equally as good over the summer.  Dublins'' signing was a stop-gap that at the time suited both parties, but has probably run its course.[/quote]I''d love to think thats the case blah, and up front you have a point. But at the back? I honestly can''t see us getting anyone in with the presence, reading of the game and outright skill as Dublin. I''d love to be proved wrong, but the man has been huge for us this season.I doubt theres many more competent central defenders playing outside the premiership from what I''ve seen of him this season.People say hes not up to 4 games in 2 weeks, but hes started the last 4 in a little over 2 weeks.Even if we do sign a worthy successor in defence, can you imagine a more versatile substitute to have at your disposal than the big man?All that said, I agree the noises coming out of the club and the Dub don''t sound promising. I''m sure his heart is in the midlands, and I wouldn''t expect anything less, he''s a midlands lad, born and bred.I''m just glad I got to witness first hand his masterclass this season, and I''m pleased Dion proved his doubters wrong as I predicted.A committed professional and a bloody good bloke by all accounts. If I was mayor he''d be granted the freedom of Norwich City tomorrow.

[Bigmarkcanary 0]

DD has been superb since he came to us in October, but it''s a sad state of affairs when one of our best players is a 38-year-old.

Having said that, I really hope he signs up for next season[:D]