My guilt over Sir Bobby
EX-TOON SCHEMER KIERON FULL OF REGRET FOR BUST-UP WITH ROBSON
KIERON Dyer has revealed he still has a guilty conscience about the way Sir Bobby Robson’s time as Newcastle United boss came to an end. The legendary Toon manager was sacked by Freddy Shepherd after a bad start to the 2004/05 season just months after failing to qualify for the Champions League with the Magpies. Dyer had refused to play left-wing against Middlesbrough in 2004 and his team could only pick up a 2-2 draw at the Riverside, meaning Robson was under immediate pressure at the start of his last campaign in charge of United. A training-ground argument had also been captured on camera by the media, Dyer admitting he was trying to dictate which position to play in. He said he felt he was the one who sparked the chain of events which led to Robson being sacked. Dyer said: “Yeah I do. We played Boro and he wanted me to play left-wing and I did not want to play there because my head had gone. “My reasons were that earlier in pre-season another player was basically pleading not to play left-wing. “I ended up playing there instead because it was in a friendly and the buzzer had
sounded to go out for the second half.
“Everybody else seemed to get to pick where they wanted to play and we had just signed James Milner.
“Then five games later the manger was sacked.
“I always to this day take full responsibility.
“Even when it broke in the paper (about the argument) he was still wanting to protect me.”
Dyer stayed at Newcastle and played under Graeme Souness and then Glenn Roeder, but he said Robson continued to show his human qualities even after his controversial exit.
He added: “He would still ring me up and still have chats.
“We had a father-and-son relationship but it did not make things easier. “I always look back and think if I had played the Boro game and we had won he might have kept his job.” Souness’ arrival was supposed to bring players like Dyer, Craig Bellamy, and Lee Bowyer back into order, the former Ipswich Town midfielder saying: “The press had a field day when Souness came in because they said he would sort out the ‘Brat Pack.’ “He told me he would beat me up if I stepped out of line.
“He took me into his office and said he could look back on his career and say he had given his all.
“He asked me if I could and we both laughed because I knew I could not.
“We were labelled the brat pack.
“However, we were friends and it showed on the pitch.
“We had a special bond and we excelled.”
Dyer, however, did have some special memories of his time at Newcastle - not least playing in the Champions League in a black-andwhite shirt.
He reflected: “We qualified for the Champions League and lost the first three games against Kiev, Juventus and Feyenoord.
“It had never been done before that teams lost three games but still went through.
“Lo and behold we beat Juve at home, then Kiev.
“At Feyenoord, we won 3-2. I should have been the hero with a one-on-one but Bellamy scored the winner.
“Our fans took over the stadium in Holland that night.” I always look back and think if I had played the Boro game and we had won he might have kept his job Kieron Dyer