Newcastle put £8m Dyer up for sale
Midfielder's £65,000-a-week wages could be stumbling block to any move
Louise Taylor, Tuesday August 17, 2004, The Guardian
Newcastle United made it known yesterday that they will sell Kieron Dyer to any club prepared to offer £8m for the England midfielder, who refused to start on the right wing at Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Only last summer Dyer was being discreetly marketed at £15m and the plunge in his price reflects Newcastle's eagerness to off-load him before the transfer window shuts at the end of this month.
Some senior figures within St James' Park hope Dyer will never play for Newcastle again after he refused to comply with his manager's request to play wide on the right at the Riverside, and Freddy Shepherd, the club chairman, is also well aware that selling him now would make good business sense.
Dyer, who on £65,000 a week ranks among Newcastle's highest earners, has 18 months remaining on his contract and his sale price will depreciate swiftly. Yet with only two weeks left in which to complete transfer business time is running out and Newcastle may have to wait until January to sell him.
Matters are further complicated by the fact that Dyer, who has joined the England squad preparing for tomorrow night's friendly against Ukraine, is unwilling to accept a pay cut and would seek assurances that any new club would offer him a regular starting place in central midfield.
Nevertheless several managers, directors and agents convening at St James' Park for tomorrow's friendly can expect to be thoroughly sounded out about any interest in buying the 25-year-old. The outcome will determine whether Dyer submits a formal transfer request or endeavours, temporarily at least, to repair his strained relationship with Robson.
Last year Shepherd rejected offers in the region of £6m, one of them understood to be from Manchester United, for Dyer's services before making it clear his price was £15m, but now risks losing him for nothing in spring 2006 if he fails to agree a new contract.
With Dyer anxious to fill a central midfield role but Robson intending to pair Nicky Butt and Lee Bowyer or Jermaine Jenas in slots he craves, such a scenario appears highly unlikely.
Indeed his involvement in a series of sometimes unsavoury off-the-field incidents since Ruud Gullit signed him from Ipswich for £6m in 1999 have led to many at the club losing patience with him.
It is far from certain that the manager who succeeds Robson when his contract expires next summer would welcome the sometimes disruptive dressing-room presence of a man whose penchant for an over-active social life has regularly incurred Alan Shearer's wrath. Moreover Dyer's career has been hampered by frequent injuries and he still has a steel pin in a shin that will require removal at some stage.
But his talent is indisputable. Granted he has scored only one goal in his past 37 Premiership appearances but few coaches could fail to be impressed by a player boasting exceptional pace, adhesive close control and the increasingly rare ability to beat an opponent, who is also capable of operating in every midfield position, as a withdrawn striker and at right-back.
The problem is that Dyer believes he is a victim of his versatility with his failure to command a regular berth in the heart of midfield hampering his chances of international selection in Sven-Goran Eriksson's side - an ensemble already replete with would-be central midfielders.
As a "friend" of Dyer's told yesterday's Sun: "It can only get worse; he will not change his mind. This is a big season for Kieron and he believes he can make the breakthrough [with England] now, especially with Paul Scholes having retired.
"Bobby loves him because he can play in so many different positions but that is no good to Kieron. Everyone else appears to be allowed to play where they want except him."
Dyer's displeasure was all too apparent when introduced as a substitute at Middlesbrough, where his body language suggested he was ignoring Robson's instructions as he stood on the touchline. This impression was endorsed when his negligence permitted Boudewijn Zenden to deliver the cross from which Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink knocked in the late Middlesbrough equaliser that cost Newcastle victory.
This very public show of petulance has almost certainly lost Dyer the support of many Newcastle fans but, having agreed to remunerate him so handsomely, Shepherd may struggle to rid the club of Robson's refusenik.
Dyer's goalscoring record for the Magpies
Season 2000/01
League - 26 games, 5 goals
FA Cup - 1 0
League Cup - 4 1
Total 30 6
Games per goal 5.17
Season 2001/02
League - 18 3
FA Cup - 2 0
League Cup - 1 0
Total 21 3
Games per goal 7
Season 2002/03
League - 35 2
League Cup - 1 2
Other - 12 2
Total 48 6
Games per goal 8
Season 2003/04
League - 25 1
FA Cup - 2 2
Other - 7 0
Total 34 3
Games per goal 11.3
Midfielder's £65,000-a-week wages could be stumbling block to any move
Louise Taylor, Tuesday August 17, 2004, The Guardian
Newcastle United made it known yesterday that they will sell Kieron Dyer to any club prepared to offer £8m for the England midfielder, who refused to start on the right wing at Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Only last summer Dyer was being discreetly marketed at £15m and the plunge in his price reflects Newcastle's eagerness to off-load him before the transfer window shuts at the end of this month.
Some senior figures within St James' Park hope Dyer will never play for Newcastle again after he refused to comply with his manager's request to play wide on the right at the Riverside, and Freddy Shepherd, the club chairman, is also well aware that selling him now would make good business sense.
Dyer, who on £65,000 a week ranks among Newcastle's highest earners, has 18 months remaining on his contract and his sale price will depreciate swiftly. Yet with only two weeks left in which to complete transfer business time is running out and Newcastle may have to wait until January to sell him.
Matters are further complicated by the fact that Dyer, who has joined the England squad preparing for tomorrow night's friendly against Ukraine, is unwilling to accept a pay cut and would seek assurances that any new club would offer him a regular starting place in central midfield.
Nevertheless several managers, directors and agents convening at St James' Park for tomorrow's friendly can expect to be thoroughly sounded out about any interest in buying the 25-year-old. The outcome will determine whether Dyer submits a formal transfer request or endeavours, temporarily at least, to repair his strained relationship with Robson.
Last year Shepherd rejected offers in the region of £6m, one of them understood to be from Manchester United, for Dyer's services before making it clear his price was £15m, but now risks losing him for nothing in spring 2006 if he fails to agree a new contract.
With Dyer anxious to fill a central midfield role but Robson intending to pair Nicky Butt and Lee Bowyer or Jermaine Jenas in slots he craves, such a scenario appears highly unlikely.
Indeed his involvement in a series of sometimes unsavoury off-the-field incidents since Ruud Gullit signed him from Ipswich for £6m in 1999 have led to many at the club losing patience with him.
It is far from certain that the manager who succeeds Robson when his contract expires next summer would welcome the sometimes disruptive dressing-room presence of a man whose penchant for an over-active social life has regularly incurred Alan Shearer's wrath. Moreover Dyer's career has been hampered by frequent injuries and he still has a steel pin in a shin that will require removal at some stage.
But his talent is indisputable. Granted he has scored only one goal in his past 37 Premiership appearances but few coaches could fail to be impressed by a player boasting exceptional pace, adhesive close control and the increasingly rare ability to beat an opponent, who is also capable of operating in every midfield position, as a withdrawn striker and at right-back.
The problem is that Dyer believes he is a victim of his versatility with his failure to command a regular berth in the heart of midfield hampering his chances of international selection in Sven-Goran Eriksson's side - an ensemble already replete with would-be central midfielders.
As a "friend" of Dyer's told yesterday's Sun: "It can only get worse; he will not change his mind. This is a big season for Kieron and he believes he can make the breakthrough [with England] now, especially with Paul Scholes having retired.
"Bobby loves him because he can play in so many different positions but that is no good to Kieron. Everyone else appears to be allowed to play where they want except him."
Dyer's displeasure was all too apparent when introduced as a substitute at Middlesbrough, where his body language suggested he was ignoring Robson's instructions as he stood on the touchline. This impression was endorsed when his negligence permitted Boudewijn Zenden to deliver the cross from which Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink knocked in the late Middlesbrough equaliser that cost Newcastle victory.
This very public show of petulance has almost certainly lost Dyer the support of many Newcastle fans but, having agreed to remunerate him so handsomely, Shepherd may struggle to rid the club of Robson's refusenik.
Dyer's goalscoring record for the Magpies
Season 2000/01
League - 26 games, 5 goals
FA Cup - 1 0
League Cup - 4 1
Total 30 6
Games per goal 5.17
Season 2001/02
League - 18 3
FA Cup - 2 0
League Cup - 1 0
Total 21 3
Games per goal 7
Season 2002/03
League - 35 2
League Cup - 1 2
Other - 12 2
Total 48 6
Games per goal 8
Season 2003/04
League - 25 1
FA Cup - 2 2
Other - 7 0
Total 34 3
Games per goal 11.3
