Irish stopper Dunne has fingered the Chelsea hitman as one of
the Premier League’s top conmen and is worried referee Mike Riley
could be duped.
Drogba was labelled a diver by his former Blues boss Jose
Mourinho last October and has also been blasted by Liverpool
manager Rafa Benitez for his antics.
Now Dunne has spoken out in a bid to highlight the Ivory Coast
frontman’s manipulation of the rules and has warned City’s players
not to lose their cool when they see him tumble to the ground.
He is worried Drogba’s antics could foil City’s bid to flush
last season’s 6-0 drubbing out of their memory by pulling off a
shock win on Chelsea’s home turf.
Dunne said: “Drogba seems full of confidence at the moment. He
is such a big, strong fella that he is always a handful.
“You also get the odd time he wins free-kicks. He plays the game
well, I suppose.”He is a clever forward, he knows what he is good
at and what he's not.
“I certainly don’t admire the way Drogba goes about things. It
is part and parcel of the game, though. Every team has players who
win free-kicks. There is nothing you can do about it.
“You just have to make sure you are careful when you are making
tackles and just try and do your job. It is frustrating for
everyone when you feel your opponent is conning referees. It is the
same now when you play in Europe.
Dunne admits it is hard to keep your head as a modern day
defender when strikers like Drogba are getting away with murder and
he is being penalised for honest errors.
He added: “You just want a bit of common sense to be used. The
problem is that if someone is going for the ball and the
centre-forward is good enough to beat them, even if it’s not a
dangerous tackle but just a little bit late, it’s a yellow card
straightaway.
“That happens even when there is no intention, it’s just good
play from the forward. It happens but it is very difficult for
defenders because it’s not us who are diving or jumping around but
it’s us who are getting booked and sent off.
Dunne admits it is hard to keep your head as a modern
day defender when strikers like Drogba are getting away with murder
and he is being penalised for honest errors.
He added: “You just want a bit of common sense to be used. The
problem is that if someone is going for the ball and the
centre-forward is good enough to beat them, even if it’s not a
dangerous tackle but just a little bit late, it’s a yellow card
straightaway.
“That happens even when there is no intention, it’s just good
play from the forward. It happens but it is very difficult for
defenders because it’s not us who are diving or jumping around but
it’s us who are getting booked and sent off.
“A bit of common sense from the referees would make the game
more enjoyable, not just for defenders but for fans as well. It’s
very hard now to try and make a tackle in the box. You are just so
wary of giving things away.’’
Dunne’s team-mate Robinho is the one who got away from Guus
Hiddink.
The Chelsea chief said: “Robinho is a very attractive player. As
a matter of fact, when I was manager of PSV Eindhoven I wanted to
sign him when he was just 17 and went to meet him in Brazil.
“I was close to succeeding but at the last moment Real Madrid
came in and then you are out of the game, of course.”
One thing is certain, however, and that is Robinho will be a
serious threat to Chelsea’s revival under Hiddink when he arrives
at Stamford Bridge.
Hiddink added: “He’s one of the players who can hurt us. What
will I say to him? I don’t know. Maybe just ‘keep calm,
please!’”
