Gruesome Twosome Say Sorry
Disgraced Toon duo Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were ordered by
manager Graeme Souness to appear before live TV cameras to apologise
to the club, their family and to supporters... yet there was
no apology to one another.
Bowyer speaking first, said:
"I
would just like to apologise to the fans, the chairman, the
managing staff, all the players and everybody that is connected
to Newcastle, my family and everybody that witnessed what happened
on the football pitch. I am sincerely sorry."
Dyer said:
"I will touch on the same
as well. I would like to apologise to my team-mates, the manager,
the chairman and the fans and everyone connected with the club
as well.
"We are team-mates and we have disagreements, but we should
not be fighting in front of 50,000 people. I am deeply sorry
for it, especially because it is a crucial stage of the season."
Meanwhile Souness insists the pair have a future on Tyneside
but holds no blame towards Dyer, claiming he did nothing as
he saw it and describing Bowyer as "indefensible".
Souness said:
"I have been assured by
Kieron Dyer that he did not throw any punches today and was
on the receiving end, so that is the road we will be going down.
"I think Lee Bowyer is indefensible, the pictures show him throwing
more than one punch and he has to accept what punishment comes
his way.
"But we feel Kieron has an argument here. I have seen the incident
once on television and have been assured by Kieron that he did
not throw any punches and that is the route we will be taking.
"I can envisage both of them playing for Newcastle again. Players
like them do not come along every day and they are class players.
"I will have to speak to the chairman but that is my view. I
hope he feels that if it ever happened again it would be the
end for them.
"Hopefully the chairman and the board see it that way.
"It is fine, there is not a problem between them or between
any of them.
"That was something new for me at Newcastle, I have never seen
that at training."
Back Down To Earth With A Bump, Or Two...
Final Result: NUFC 0-3 Aston Villa
Just when you thought it was safe to watch Newcastle United,
this happens. Absolutely shameful scenes at St. James' Park
this afternoon as United went down 3-0 to Aston Villa, finishing
the match with 8 men and perhaps ending our season there and
then.
The game started with a round of cheers and chants for Alan
Shearer but the cheers soon turned to tears after only 4 minutes
when Juan Pablo Angel put the visitors into the lead,
after an Andy O'Brien/Jean-Alain Boumsong mistake.
From there on in Newcastle dominated the half, creating numerous
chances with Jermaine Jenas guilty of a couple of misses, firing
over at the end of the half. Villa themselves hit the cross-bar
and had a few corners and looked a threat on the break.
Into the second half and Newcastle had legitimate appeals for
a hand ball turned down and that's when it all kicked off.
Not long after refusing to give us a penalty, ref Barry Knight
gave the away side one. After Nicky Butt was dispossessed in
midfield by Darrius Vassell the Villa striker rounded Shay Given
and shot at goal where Steven Taylor who had come on as a sub
for the once again inept O'Brien had got back. The ball seemed
to have hit Taylor in the chest but the referee awarded the
spot-kick and sent off the Geordie defender much to the annoyance
of the crowd who chanted "only one Steven Taylor" as the 19
year-old left the field.
Up stepped Garreth Barry to make it 2-0 and game over.
Not long after and it was 3-0 with Barry grabbing his
second - from the spot again. This time Stephen Carr was adjudged
to have fouled Vassell.
With the game all but over you would have thought it would have
petered out, far from it. Next up came a quite shocking display
of ill-discipline from Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer
who out of nothing both started throwing punches at each other,
having to be dragged apart.
Knight flashed reds at the pair, the 5th player in which he
has sent off in this fixture. Where the pair and the club go
from here remains to be seen. Both will miss the FA Cup Semi-Final.
Teams...
United: Given, Carr,
Boumsong, Andrew O'Brien (Taylor 52), Hughes, Jenas (Ameobi
63), Butt, Bowyer, Robert (Faye 84), Shearer, Dyer. Subs not
used: Harper, Milner.
Sent Off: Taylor
(73), Bowyer (82), Dyer (82).
Booked: Carr.
Villa: Sorensen, Delaney, Mellberg (Ridgewell
45), Laursen, Samuel, Hendrie (Solano 84), Davis, Hitzlsperger,
Barry, Angel (Cole 88), Vassell. Subs not used: Postma, Berson.
Booked: Hitzlsperger, Mellberg.
Goals: Angel 5, Barry 73 pen, 80 pen.
Att: 52,306
Ref: Barry Knight (Kent).
Full match report, player ratings and post match reaction to
follow...
Alan Shearer: The Impact Of One Man
So the big man is staying on. I worked all day with a smile
yesterday. Is he right? I think so. I spoke to a lot of my friends
back home in the (Tyne) valley's and they are feeling good too.
You see Alan Shearer is just something else. Something in football's
great history. Off the pitch Alan has been a true role model.
Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney are just two of the thousands,
maybe millions of youngsters who are brought into the beautiful
game because they worship and are inspired by one man. Sure
they had bags of talent and so would have made it anyway, but
both would openly admit, Alan Shearer was and and still is the
best centre forward in the world. And both have admitted huge
admiration for the No.9.
Sure we know the Ronaldo's, Pele etc etc etc etc. But Alan is
bigger than them all because he is OUR boy. A local lad, the
sheet metal worker's son who lived to carry the whole of Tyneside
on his shoulders whilst holding the world in his hands. He gave
his god-given talents to his own people, people he knew were
desperate for success.
The North-East was taking a long long time to recover from the
Maggie Thatcher era and Shearer has without doubt played his
part in getting most of through some hard situations in our
lives. When times have been hard, seeing Shearer running with
his raised fist has always filled our minds with happiness.
It's very nice to hear good news coming from the camp for a
change and from all of us Alan, thank you for everything.
 |
Has The Penny Finally Dropped With Dyer?
Keiron Dyer was pouring his heart out
to The Independent in a recent interview. Dyer, 26, let
down his guard to reveal his "deep regret" for the part he certainly
played in the down-fall of Sir Bobby Robson. He also spoke at
length about his own personal demons and the moment he found
out that Graeme Souness was to replace Robson among other things.
Dyer said:
"I was shocked when I first heard he was the manager.
"When Sir Bobby was sacked, there were loads of names put forward
and Graeme Souness was not one of them. I was away with England
when I was told. It was totally out of the blue. He was brought
in to get the discipline in the dressing-room right. There had
been a few problems in that respect and think it did need to
be sorted out.
"The lads in the England squad didn't give me much stick at
first, but they did laugh when they saw the bookies had made
me one of the favourites to be kicked out. I think it was me,
Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert.
"We first met him after we'd beaten Blackburn Rovers on the
Saturday. He and Dean Saunders came in and introduced themselves.
They didn't say very much at all on that occasion. But I became
impressed with him. I'd read and heard all these stories about
how he was coming in to kick us into shape. But all he emphasised
was that he has his way of doing things and if we followed those
we'd be fine. He said everyone started with a clean slate and
I just thought to myself, is he serious?
"My first time alone with him was not ideal. We had to go down
to a police station to receive a caution because I'd been caught
on CCTV urinating in an alleyway. It wasn't the best way to
introduce myself, especially considering my reputation, which
I obviously feared he'd believe. The fans were booing me and
I honestly felt he'd get rid of me as soon as he got the chance.
"We were in the car on the way to the police station. I was
in the back seat. He was in the front with the driver. He just
suddenly turned round, looked me straight in the eye and said:
'If you ever do anything like this again I will bin you.' That's
all he said. He drew his line and I knew if I crossed it I'd
be out."
"There was a stereotype of him and that was probably the manager
we thought we were getting. I'd read and heard that he was the
sort of manager who would come in, hammer everyone and totally
change things. But, I've very rarely seen him lose his temper,
I think the only time he has lost it with us was in the 3-1
defeat at Anfield. He is actually very calm and collected. He
tells us what he expects, but, if you cross him, he will get
rid of
you."
Dyer on Craig Bellamy:
"I had my warning. You only have to look at the Craig Bellamy
situation. I begged Craig not to go on television and call the
manager a liar, but he was so frustrated.
"It was sad for me because Craig was one of my best friends
at the club. I could see both sides of the argument, but there
was only going to be one winner and that was the manager. If
you cross him, if you don't believe in what he's doing, he'll
get rid of you."
Dyer on Graeme Souness' man management and his form:
"If you look at Laurent Robert, the fans loved him. But the
manager didn't think he did enough defensively so he didn't
play him until he was willing to do as he was told. Now you
look at him, and sometimes Laurent is playing as a left-back.
He's back in the side and he is playing well. The manager has
got the best out of him and he is getting the best out of me.
"It would have been the easiest decision in the world for him
to get rid of me, but he wanted to keep me and he was willing
to stick his neck on the line because I was hated by a lot of
the fans. He has been fantastic for me.
"In August I thought it was over, but Graeme Souness has given
me a new lease of life, even though I'm playing on the right
wing. I still prefer playing in the centre, but I've learnt
it's not about me, it's about the team and doing what the manager
asks you to do.
"I'm happy with my form at the moment. I think I'm finally fulfilling
my potential. The confidence is back. I'm a better winger now,
but I think Stephen Carr has been a massive help to me because
he is a proper right-back.
"The biggest thing, though, is that the new manager has given
me the freedom to express myself. In the last few years even
my friends have been saying to me, 'How come you don't take
people on any more?'
"But the new gaffer has told Laurent and me that we're the creative
spark. We're the ones who have got to make things happen. He's
let me do what I want in the final third, he lets me express
myself on a football pitch. The fans here have responded to
that because that was what I was like when I first came to Newcastle.
"I'm running at players and beating them. Newcastle fans like
that. They like someone who makes things happen, someone who
is willing to take a risk. They don't want to see me passing
the ball the whole time."
Dyer on his play-boy reputation:
"I've had this reputation for ages now. But I'm 26. I'm not
a kid any more. The playboy label, the 60 clicks tag, the stupid
boy, they are all lazy labels which fit people's stereotypes
of me. I mean, last year, when the rape case thing broke, everyone
assumed it was me and they convinced themselves it was me before
they'd even asked me. Even when it was shown it wasn't me, people
still thought it was because the label stuck.
"People keep bringing up Ayia Napa (home-made blue movie with
teenage girls, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard), but that was
in 1999.
"The other lads have been able to move on, but, the older I've
become, the less trouble I've been in and the less I go out.
But it doesn't stop the stories and the rumours. There was a
story last month saying I got beaten up by five blokes over
a girl. I had my agent, my mum, my friends, all asking if I
was OK I wasn't even in the nightclub it was supposed to have
happened in. I laugh about it now, but I suspect it is something
which will always be thrown at me."
Dyer on being booed at St. James' Park while playing for
England & the support of his family:
"It was the most difficult period of my life. I was booed
by my own fans playing for England at St James' Park. I couldn't
walk along the street. I couldn't go anywhere. I just suffered
in silence.
"My family were very important at that time, as were my team-mates,
because they never turned against me. I remember going back
to Ipswich and seeing my son, Kie. He helped me through it more
than anyone. He's four years old and when I saw him laughing
and giggling, I knew that he was the most important thing in
my life. It put what was going on into perspective - I needed
that. I went back to Ipswich a lot. I'm a local lad whose done
well and I always received a lot of support.
"I'd love to finish my career at Ipswich. I'm only 26, but,
when I play for my final club, I want it to be Ipswich Town.
They got me started and I owe them a lot. It's still home to
me."
Dyer on Sir Bobby Robson:
"When I think about it now, I feel like I betrayed Bobby.
That's the worst thing about it. He treated me like a son and
I let him down. I have to take some responsibility for him getting
the sack.
"There were things which went on in the build-up to it (the
Middlesbrough game) that people will never understand, or know
about. I'd spent the previous season playing out of position,
filling in wherever there was a gap. It always seemed it was
me who did everyone a favour.
"I was being told by critics that I was rubbish and had lost
my way, but nobody ever mentioned the fact I wasn't playing
in my best position. I had a poor season, I admit that, but
there were reasons for it.
"He knew I was frustrated from the previous season, but I should
have just played that game. He had stuck by me through everything
and he even tried to defend me after the Boro game. He told
the press I had a tight hamstring, he tried to shield me and
when I think about that, how I let him down, it's the biggest
disappointment of my career. I'll have to live with that feeling
for the rest of my life.
"It hurts me. When he got the sack, he told me I was one of
the only players to ring him and wish him the best. I said thank
you for all he'd done, but that's little consolation. I regret
letting him down so much." |
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