David Dunn

For the Scottish footballer, see David Dunn (footballer born 1981)

David John Ian Dunn (born December 27, 1979 in Great Harwood, Lancashire) is an England Association football who currently plays for Blackburn Rovers F.C..

Playing career

Blackburn Rovers

Dunn initially joined Blackburn Rovers F.C. as a trainee at the beginning of 1997 and made his debut during a goalless draw with Everton F.C. on September 26 1998. Dunn came off the bench after 70 minutes, but was taken off again on 81 minutes, due to the sending off of a Blackburn player.

Dunn's first goal came in a 3-1 victory against Aston Villa F.C. on February 26 1999, but the team was subsequently relegated in this, his first full season.

His best season in a Blackburn shirt would appear to be 2000-01 in English football, when he played a big role in helping the club to automatic promotion from Division 1. He reached double figures in terms of goals, and continued his good form in 2001-02 in English football when the club won the Football League Cup Final 2002.

David Dunn starred in Rovers return to the Premier League, putting in a string of impressive performances, notably in the 7-1 battering of West Ham and the thrilling 3-3 draw at Arsenal, where he managed to score a last minute equalizer. Many pundits demanded he gain international recognition for his fantastic form, so it was a suprise when he was overlooked by then-England national football team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson for many friendlies. However, he did play for the Under 21s and captained them in the 2003 championships.

Dunn was at one time dubbed "the New Paul Gascoigne", a testament to his flair and technical ability. A string of fine performances in 2001 put Dunn in contention for a call-up to the England national football team squad, but he did not win his first cap (sport) until September 2002, when he replaced Kieron Dyer. He impressed against Portugal but has not been given another chance on the big stage since.

Dunn began the 2002/2003 season in dazzling form but a loss of form and being made to play on the right wing did not help his cause and he fell out with then-Blackburn Rovers F.C. manager Graeme Souness. Subsequently, Dunn was ready to move on to another club in the summer of 2003.

Blackburn initially rejected offers from a number of clubs, but Birmingham City F.C.'s revised bid of £5.5 million was accepted, and Dunn moved to the West Midlands in time for the start of the 2003-04 season.

Birmingham City

After signing a four-year contract, Dunn's Birmingham City F.C. career started brightly with a debut goal in the 1-0 victory over Tottenham on 16 August 2003.

A niggling hamstring sustained in February 2004 meant that Dunn spent much of the second half of that season on the sidelines. The beginning of 2004-05 again saw Dunn quickly re-establishing himself in the heart of the Birmingham midfield and chipping in with some vital goals. A recurrence of Dunn's hamstring problems in November 2004 limited him to just a handful of performances for the remainder of 2004-05 and kept him out of the side until midway through 2005-06.

Ultimately, Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League with Dunn still not returning to fitness.

In October 2006, Dunn was linked with a return to Blackburn in the upcoming transfer window. However, both Dunn and Rovers manager Mark Hughes denied this.

Blackburn Rovers

In January 2007, Dunn looked set to return to Lancashire in a transfer to Bolton Wanderers F.C. after manager Sam Allardyce negotiated a fee for the midfielder, but on January 17, it was revealed that Dunn had turned his back on Bolton, having already passed his medical, in favour of a return to hometown club Blackburn for an undisclosed fee believed to be £2.2million. Sam Allardyce was "extremely disappointed" by the move.

He managed to play a small part in the remainder of the 2006/2007 season and managed to earn a free kick against Sheffield United which led to Rovers scoring a last minute winner. Incredibly, Sheffield United would have avoided relegation had they managed to earn one more point that season.

Dunn has the nickname 'sick note' because he is always injured or something is stopping him from playing. However in the 2007/2008 season he surprised former clubs, managers and fans alike by playing well over 30 games for Rovers.

On February 3 2007, he played his first Premiership match since his return to Rovers against Sheffield United F.C.