The name Kieron Dyer has become a byword for a football career blighted by injuries, a case made especially sad when one considers the talent he had at his disposal. Many players have suffered from careers dogged by injury, who knows how far Ledley King could have gone without his chronic knee problems, and Dyer has been one of the most notable of these in the modern game in England. Dyer has at least had the fortune of not having to have retired from the game altogether, but through no fault of his own he is now is a pale shadow of the player that exploded onto the scene at Ipswich and Newcastle. If he had remained fit, there is no telling how far he could have gone.
Kieron Dyer announced himself as a special talent at boyhood club Ipswich, where he came to be regarded as one of the top young talents outside the Premier League. Dyer broke into the first team as an 18 year old, and in the following season he became a key player for the side that reached the play-offs. Recognising Dyer’s talents, Ruud Gullit brought the 20 year old to Newcastle for a not insubstantial £6m.
At Newcastle Kieron Dyer established himself as one of the most exciting players in the league, and was a regular for the club as soon as he had signed. Dyer’s electrifying pace constantly tormented Premiership defences, with his direct and dynamic running always giving the opposition something to think about. It was not long before he received his first international call up, and Dyer would go on to feature regularly in the England side, he would later be taken to both the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
In his later years at Newcastle however, when Dyer should have been in the prime of his career, he began suffering the repeated injuries that would so damage his career. First team appearances became infrequent and Dyer, who was once a jewel in the crown at Newcastle, was sold to West Ham in 2007. Dyer’s time at Upton Park has been full of woe, since signing for the club he has played only 26 games, suffering a broken leg and multiple hamstring injuries.
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Dyer’s injury problems are a dreadful shame, and have held him back from fulfilling a career that had promised so much. Kieron Dyer was lightning quick, a mazy dribbler and a terrifying prospect for defences when he was running at them, he was also more than capable of scoring goals. I have no doubt that had Dyer not suffered so many injuries, he could have become one of the best attacking midfielders in the country, and surely moved to one of the top clubs in the land. Dyer has 33 caps for England, but this would certainly have been added to, and David Beckham might well have got a lot less caps had Dyer been consistently available to play.
Kieron Dyer’s story is a sad one not just for him as an individual, but for football in general. After such a promising start to his career the sky was the limit for him, but the curse of injuries just never went away. On one positive note, Dyer has made a few appearances for West Ham so far this season, and hopefully he will be able to string some games together. Now at 31, Dyer can still have a few more seasons if fortune favours him a little more kindly.
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