By Martyn Osmond
July 13 2004

Not only has Kieron Dyer been excused from the tour of Asia, but he is yet to begin pre-season training at all following his gruelling Euro 2004 campaign, in which he played a total of eight minutes. Dyer made his one brief appearance in the fixture against France over a month ago, and after an unimpressive showing, failed to make it onto the pitch for any of England's other four matches. It is now almost three weeks since England were eliminated on penalties by Portugal, and by the time Dyer returns to training it will have been closer to four. Newsflash Kieron - there's people who get payed a lot less money than you and don't get that much leave. It would surely have made sense for him to have a 2 week break and then return to training like everyone else, still close to full fitness having been training with England. However, Dyer obviously felt due to his wonderful performances for club and country over the last couple of years that he was deserving of a much longer break.

Despite this, Dyer has been granted extra holiday time by the club while every other member of the squad, apart from the outward-bound Hugo Viana, started training this week. Why Dyer continues to get the special treatment from the club will be a mystery to most fans after his lacklustre showings last season, a season in which he scored only one Premiership goal (a cross which hit him in the face and bounced over the keeper against Everton) and having scored only two Premiership goals (both in the same game against relegation strugglers Leeds) the season before last, along with his repeated appearance in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons, whether it be alleged involvement in certain unsavoury incidents in certain hotels in London or crashing his Ferrari into the high level bridge. His apperance on Channel 4's 'Football Diaries' did his reputation no favours either, especially as it featured him and club colleague Titus Bramble and Jermaine Jenas flying to the U.S.A. mid-season to meet some professional wrestlers and show off their watches and cars.

Dyer had been quoted in the press saying he felt he 'owed it to the Geordie people' to stay at the club and show us what he could do. He was also quoted as havign said he wanted to finally fulfill his potential. For a player who promised so much in his early United career, delivering goals, assists, pace and hard-work, making him a favourite with many fans, including myself, at one stage, there now appears to be very little 'potential' left in Dyer, other than the potential to act like a teapot (twice - once in the Nou Camp making us a worldwide laughing stock and arguably costing us any chance of a place in the Champions League quarter-finals) or run like a headless chicken (constantly).

Most fans, including myself, would be quite happy to see Dyer sold off to the highest bidder, and the money used to bring in a proper right-sided midfielder such as Steed Malbranque of Fulham or Shaun Wright-Phillips of Manchester City. The chances of this, unforunately, are minimal, due to Dyer's status as one of the blue-chip brigade. The Toon army will just have to hope that Dyer can prove his many critics wrong and finally achieve something of note in his career and fulfill the famed potential.

However, staying away on holiday while everyone else is playing pre-season games in Asia or working hard to overcome injuries and reach full fitness back in Newcastle is exactly the kind of stupid, selfish act which has prevented Dyer fulfilling the potential which he at one stage appeared to have.