I don’t think there has been a Newcastle United player in the last decade who has divided opinion as much as Kieron Dyer. Vital playmaking cog for some, over-rated playboy for others, but here’s a thought...
Did you know that when Kieron Dyer’s contract runs out in just under three years time he will be entitled to a testimonial after ten years at St James’s Park?
Should the 27-year-old remain on Tyneside for that long there is unlikely to be the same out-pouring of hero worship seen at Alan Shearer’s farewell bash in the summer, but Dyer, for all of his injury problems, off-field scraps and apparent ability to provoke controversy in an empty room, is absolutely vital to Glenn Roeder.
Graeme Souness made plenty of mistakes as Newcastle manager and some would say giving the notoriously injury-troubled Dyer a lucrative four-year contract was one of them. But, so good were his performances, that if you ask the Scot today what cost him his job at St James’s Park he will say Dyer’s hamstrings.
That will probably bring a vague nod from some of you and a splutter of indignation from others, but, if I may play Devil’s Advocate, I don’t think anyone can question that, with United in caught up in an unwanted and acrimonious relegation scrap, the England international’s return from injury is a rare cause for optimism in an otherwise dark campaign.
Let’s get something out in the open straight away. Yes Kieron is a friend of mine and has been since we were kids, but I am looking at this as objectively as I can.
It is not so long ago that some of Dyer’s harshest critics were calling for the midfielder to get in his expensive car, drive over the Tyne Bridge (being careful not to crash into it on the way), and never darken the doors of St James’s Park again. There is a certain irony that those same people probably now see the former Ipswich prospect as Newcastle’s potential saviour.
Having refused to play on the right wing - only after Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer had done exactly the same thing - under Sir Bobby Robson at the start of the 2004/5 season and then (Kieron denies this ever happened) refuse the captain’s arm band when Alan Shearer was substituted at Middlesbrough, his most vocal detractors insisted he had committed one of the worst crimes ever seen by a Newcastle player.
To be fair to them, it wasn’t his finest hour, in fact it was disgusting behaviour, but it was also the turning point in his career. With a hate campaign running again him, he was booed for weeks by his own supporters as a pantomime villain and looked doomed as a Newcastle player.
But, with Souness’ support, Dyer won back the fans with his performances on the pitch before a hamstring tear in the second leg of the Uefa Cup quarter-final against Sporting Lisbon (Newcastle were 2-0 up on aggregate at the time) begun an 18-month injury nightmare, a nightmare he is only just waking from.
There are some supporters - who will also point to the on-the-field punch up with Bowyer - who’ll argue Dyer’s injury problems are karma for being an arrogant little so and so off the pitch, but people grow up and they learn from their mistakes.
Trust me, I’ve fallen out with Kieron plenty of times in the last few years, but he is more mature and a more rounded person than ever before. He just wants to play football regularly again.
Alright, if he gets into more trouble off the pitch or has another fight with a teammate on it, he will deserve to be criticised and undoubtedly some will want him packed off to Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers or some other rehabilitation club for repeat offenders.
But, in a team short on confidence, creative spark and pace, a fit and on form Dyer could be the difference between Championship and Premiership football next season. It is a heavy burden to carry, let’s hope his hamstrings can stand up to it.
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