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 Tuesday
September 27 2005 By Kyzer Sosay
Dyer signed a 7 year contract and no-one blinked an eyelid, the talent was there for everyone to see, we all knew he’d be the man to bring glory to the club, with him flying down the right hand side we knew the Sexy Football that Gullit promised was well and truly on it’s way. Our faith was mirrored by those of England’s coach who called him up for his full international debut. His Newcastle career was still in the blossoming period when suddenly the boss changed, from the dreadlocked deadlock under Gullit, to a resurgence under Robson. The weight of expectation and hope was born upon far wiser, far more experienced shoulders now. Robson returned attacking flair and excitement to SJP and Dyer was integral to this. Dyer was one of the most promising players in the English league and yet another starlet rolling off the seemingly never-ending talent-factory operating under the Pseudonym "Ipswich Town FC". His ability to make headlines on the pitch, is, unfortunately, dwarfed by his ability to get back page spreads for less acceptable behaviour off it. Tales of "roasting" and "ménage a trois" do not refer to a cooking show… mores the pity. Mind you that’s one show I’d wager we’d all tune in for. Just think Delia Smith, Anthony Worrel-Thompson and Jamie Oliver. "Pucker", "I’m trying but she’s all slippery!". Anyhoo… So his misdemeanours outside of St. James’ Park had greater influence on the opinions and reactions of many football fans, not only were his performances beginning to wane under Rob son, but his off-field antics seem to be slapping the average fan in the face. How dare this playboy take our money, play shit and still go out and get automotive oral sex on the swing bridge (I doubt there could be a more apt location)? It’s true that injuries have muddied this once shining star’s career, but fans were furious at the nonchalant actions, anything but a hat-trick would be seen as typical of a man whose flagrant disregard of the men, women and children who at one time idolised him. At one time Dyer was a shoe-in for the next big thing, he’s was definitely going to help take Newcastle to glory, and it was certain his pace, skill and energy would carry him and England to great things. Yet, as is more often the case, the “next great hope” becomes the “great great hype!”. He did shake off injuries to have an exceptional 02/03 season, recalled into Sven's World cup Squad and it once more, looked like there was nothing but blue sky ahead, then came the cataclysmic loss in cabin pressure, a nose dive and Kablooey, Dyer’s career is yet again a greasy smear on the back of England's plentiful tabloids. In refusing to play right wing for Sir Bobby Robson he did 3 stupid things. 1. He disobeyed his manger 2. He refused a chance to play at St James’ Park… unforgivable to Geordies one and all. 3. He, in one fell swoop, confirmed everybodies worst fears, he was simply in it for the money, he didn’t care about the club and his bling was bigger than his bite! Fans could not, would not forgive him this infraction, boos and jeers followed him everywhere, even when he pulled on the England jersey, the Newcastle fans would not let him forget. Luckily for him this brought a remorseful response, his effort on the pitch was impressive, his behaviour off it improved and slowly but surely the public was again treated to some exceptional instances of attacking football. So when I was browsing the Newcastle Online Forum (it’s very nice, you should go visit, they’ve got tea and biscuits and every Wednesday there’s a tombola) I saw a thread asking whether or not Kieron Dyer is a great footballer. And that’s what lead to this… I hesitate to call it a rant, or and article… so how about a freeflow of thought? Okey dokey, lets move on and back to the question, is Kieron Dyer a great footballer? Well if you're talking about all professional footballers everywhere, then yes he is a great footballer. However in the modern Premier League he's at best "Decent", certainly an asset to most teams outside the top 2 or 3, his pace, energy and eye for the right run would assist every Premiership club. I know a lot have questioned his ability to read the game and foresee the best position to get himself into, but if we had players around him who played the passes into those spaces, we'd have seen a far far better Dyer than we witness most games. Add to that his inability to truly make one position his. He’s another poor player stuck with this “utility” label, lost in the ambiguity that is he’s the jack of all trades and the master of none. He's not, as has been claimed, a right winger, nor is he a forward, he's not central, nor is he a right back. His best position In my opinion is a right sided midfielder who's "job" it is to drive to the by-line, hang a 90 degrees left turn and dribble along the by-line, pulling it back for Shearer/Owen/etc. Is it any wonder his best games came alongside an in form Solano? Nobby's eye for the game brought the very best out of Dyer, that standard that had the great and good bringing their beady eyes to bear upon our king of bling. His blinding pace and boundless batteries have defenders wishing that the match only lasted 45 minutes. He truly is a worry for the opposition defence because not only can he turn the defender, but he can do it for 90 minutes! He can link very very neatly with short sharp passing, the like favoured by Parker, Emre, Solano and Luque... well that's handy as those four will be involved heavily in the Newcastle United team for this season. I understand that a lot have questioned his goal return and I suppose that a fair question, but it's difficult to measure his other contributions to the team, despite what folk say, other players do like the kid, his best performances have come when given the captain's armband, indicating some willingness to lead. This might be yet another way to fluff his over-egged ego... but perhaps this is something that Souness could/should take advantage of? I don't know I don't spend 5 days a week with him, but what I see on the pitch is a man clearly talented, however, one that is reliant on the actions of others almost as much as Big Al. The differences are clear of course and I'm not comparing Alan to Kieron in any way, other than to note they both need other players to bring the best out of them. All I know is that I’ve seen games before his arrival and I’ve seen games without his contribution and Newcastle United is a better football team with his agility and mobility upon the pitch. Kieron is not a great player, but there are very very few great players and the moniker is thrown about far too often. Shearer is great and exactly how many Shearer's have we seen? I’ve been fortunate enough to watch some of this generations really great footballers, Del Piero, Ronaldo, Shearer, Henry.. Kieron doesn’t come close to these few, but that’s not necessarily fair on Dyer. He’s good, certainly good enough to play for a club with European aspirations, but great is the wrong word. © Kyzer Sosay
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Kieron Dire?
