As the second hald of Manchester City vs AS Monaco was about to kick off with the leaders of Ligue 1 sitting on a 2-1 lead and two vital away goals, Richard Dunne expressed his sympathy for John Stones as the Englishman has to play alongside the hapless Argentinian Nicolas Otamendi.
Otamendi is a liability.
You have to feel for John Stones because he's playing alongside someone he can't trust.
The fact that John Stones would go on to be well and truly bullied for Monaco's third goal did not aid his argument, which in itself saw a bit of backlash on social media as many wondered how the English defender could be defended, but there was something else on the minds of many Man City fans.
Otamendi's performance was so haphazard that there were calls for big Richard Dunne to polish-up the boots and get back on the pitch.
Fuck Otamendi get Richard Dunne on please
— Danny Culverwell (@dannyculverwell) February 21, 2017
Richard Dunne > Otamendi
— Zeshaan (@ZM92) February 21, 2017
Drag that clown Otamendi off and get Richard Dunne out of the press box and onto the pitch. Lads out of his depth. #MCFC #poorplayer
— Troy Hill (@troyhill91) February 21, 2017
Bad penalty decision or not we need to sort out the back line. I'd rather get Richard Dunne on the pitch now than Otamendi.
— . (@CityMatthew) February 21, 2017
We're all for it.
Unfortunately, along with the calls for a return to his playing days, many couldn't let Dunne's sympathy for Stones pass without taking a dig.
Bad penalty decision or not we need to sort out the back line. I'd rather get Richard Dunne on the pitch now than Otamendi.
— . (@CityMatthew) February 21, 2017
City OG "legend" richard Dunne & his fellow BT bluffers spent half time saying it must be tough for stones playing with otamendi pic.twitter.com/Zsp3uOWuHc
— Stevie G (@StevieGrainger) February 21, 2017
But Richard Dunne was saying he feels sorry for John Stones because he has Otamendi next to him lool
— Femotelli (@FemPDT) February 21, 2017
The timing wasn't great in fairness.
While the possibility of Dunne coming out of retirement may be a non-runner, it's clear that City are going to have to completely overhaul their defense if they want to compete on the highest stage.
As for the big man's punditry, he's still finding his feet, so we'll let him off having a young defender's back considering how much stick he got early on in his career.
