In the world of media trained footballers, it is a refreshing change to come across one who speaks his mind – and Kieron Dyer is someone who does just that.
The former Newcastle and England midfielder’s career at West Ham lasted four seasons but scarcely 20 matches, as injuries wrecked his time at the club, ultimately bringing about a premature end to his career.What should have been the dawning of a brave new world for both club and player ended up crashing and burning in spectacular fashion, and in an interview with Blowing Bubbles magazine, Dyer does not hold back in his opinions.
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“When [manager Alan Curbishley] came to see me and sold the club to me, it really felt like the club was going to push on and find themselves battling at the top of the league, and would go on to win things…. I don’t think if I were 28 again and West Ham came in for me now that I would join," he said.
"I’m not sure you see the same calibre of playing that I was seeing when I joined….. West Ham are not too far away from beating the likes of Everton to be 'best of the rest' but when you look at the amount of money the two Manchester clubs are spending, I don’t think Sullivan and Gold can compete."
Dyer lifts the lid on how he should not even have been playing in the game where he picked up the injury that wrecked his career – ‘there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t regret that decision’ – his own estimation of how he fared – ‘I will probably go down as the worst signing ever for West Ham’ – and his admiration for the supporters who backed him, no matter what happened.
To read more about this, as well as exclusive columns from ex-Irons legends Phil Parkes and George Parris, fans’ views on the club’s recent transfer ins and outs, what the future may hold for Michail Antonio and James Collins, the fall-out of the Tony Henry scandal, and the latest from the simmering stand-off between West Ham fans and the club’s owners, pick up a copy of the new edition of Blowing Bubbles magazine – out now.
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