Everybody has their breaking point – whether it’s a dirty plate in the sink or a cheating spouse – but we all experience them in distinct ways.
Some people ignore the symptoms, letting stress build up until, all of a sudden, they explode. Many of these individuals overreact to situations that might feel normal to anyone else. Think Roy Keane ranting about sock tape on Super Sunday.
Other people resist being under pressure, and they immediately turn off. These individuals are so laid-back they spend their entire lives horizontal, shrugging off slights with a smile and a booming laugh.
Dion Dublin lies firmly in the latter category. Whether he’s speaking about football or investigating stairs going up to the bedrooms, the former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker is universally regarded as an absolute gentleman.
But everybody has their breaking point and Dublin’s came during a Second City derby in 2003. The results were spectacular…
Tackle
In their infinite wisdom, West Midlands Police decided to stage the first top-flight match between Aston Villa and Birmingham City at Villa Park for over 16 years on a Monday night, allowing fans to load up on lager before kick-off.
And, judging by the tackles flying in from both sides, the players themselves had enjoyed a pre-match banquet of Red Bull and smarties.
A fractious game boiled over after the interval when Dublin saw Robbie Savage dawdling in possession and sensed an opportunity for footballing immortality.
Charitably described as a “late challenge” in the BBC match report, the striker scythed down Savage with a tackle that’d carry a prison sentence in much of the world.
“The challenge itself was a red,” the former Birmingham midfielder told Open Goal. “I was quite clever, I saw him coming. I knew he was gonna launch in. If my legs were planted, I’d be in serious trouble.”
Dublin, unsurprisingly, saw things differently. “I was about three seconds late,” he said in 2019. “I wasn’t just a bit late. It was a rubbish tackle. I was bang out of order and I deserved a yellow card. It was absolutely my fault.
“But there was no contact at all. Robbie saw me coming and leapt into the air – he was almost in orbit he was that high off the ground!”
Headbutt
The limb carcass on the Villa Park turf miraculously recovered to square up to Dublin and massage his wounded male ego. The Aston Villa forward read the room and professed his views in a polite and civilised…
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