It has been reported that Keiron Dyer will now not be available for selection for the Sunderland match. This is due to a new hamstring injury picked up in training earlier this week. He is likely to be out for a further 3 to 4 weeks.
Dyer has to be one of the unluckiest players ever with injuries. His playing record at his previous club, Newcastle Utd, was somewhat chequered, with long periods spent out injured. However, that pales in comparison to his current record at the Hammers.
Since signing in August 2007, Dyer has made a mere six starts for the first team. He took much longer than expected to recover from the double leg break, suffered against Bristol Rovers in a 2nd round Carling Cup Tie. He has since endured a series of muscle and hamstring problems that have conspired to further restrict his availability.
It must be absolutely devastating for the player. No professional choses to have this sort of injury record. We should remember that when Dyer signed for us he was a current English international and very highly thought of in the England set up. Zola is quoted as stating that Dyer is extremely low about this latest set back, especially as he had just recovered from a previous hamstring injury and was confident of an appearance on Saturday.
The real shame is that Dyer is undubtedly a class midfielder, with pace, excellent technique and a real attacking flair. Since coming back, he has shown brief flashes of the quality that he possesses and the positive attributes that he could bring to the Hammers first XI. Yet, injury keeps preventing him from getting a decent run of games to regain his form and match fitness.
On the other hand, one can completely understand the fustrations of the Hammers fans. They know that in Dyer and Ashton we have two of the best players in the PL, who could make an enormous contribution to club’s success. Yet, both appear to be virtually perpetual non-playing members of the squad! At least Dyer’s progress and injury set backs are reported, the situation with regard to Ashton is rarely referrred to by the club these days. It really begs the question, what stage has Ashton actually reached in his recovery from his ankle injury?
So, do you believe that Dyer is a class player who will eventually make a significant contribution to the first team? Do you sympathise with his terrible injury record and feel that we should show him patience in light of this latest set back? Or do you take a somewhat harsher view of Dyer’s continued non-availability?
SJ Chandos.
I think everyone rightly questioned signing dyer when we did for this very reason. No footballer deliberately picks up a long term injury but his record at Newcastle showed that he had a tendency to pick up injuries regularly but then the same could be said for Upson and he didn't turn out to be too bad at all. So i guess he was one of those players who was risky but he did want to come to the club and i don't think he was very expensive. With regards to Ashton, the club should really give the fans an update or progress check, I'm not very optimistic after all this time that he'll be back anytime soon if ever.
I am sick of him to be honest! SIX starts since 2007! Come on, how long can this average player sit on West Hams bench and sponge off them???
There has to be a time when the club will say enough is enough and pass him on or try to sort out some kind of retirement and insurance deal with him!
And don't get me started on Ashton! lol
This is money we can't afford to be throwing away every week! Dyer is one of our higher earners and so is Deano! All this monet every week, for what???
Time to say goodbye me thinks!
Matt
king of the sicknotes!!
He know's he will never play he's milking it,who ever signed Dyer must be an complete pratt.
What is the difference between Dean Ashton and Kieron Dyer 10 stone!
Dyer's injury record at West Ham is tragic for both the club and the player.
There were always question marks over his ability to complete a full season when we bought him and that decision can rightly be criticised.
However, I am staggered at the insensitivity of people who appear affronted by the fact that a footballer has the temerity to get injured.
When I read comments like : 'How long will he sponge of us' and 'King of Sicknotes', I realise how football has the ability to warp people's ability to empathise and destroy their reasoned thinking.
While being frustrated that Dyer cannot do the business for us every Saturday, I have to accept a few solid facts. Namely:
*The player didn't deliberately become injured.
*He is doing everything possible to regain his fitness.
*He has a contract with the club that suited us as the time of signing.
*We do not kick people out of work because they have been hurt carrying out the work that we pay them for.
*The club has a responsibility to support and protect it's employees through good times and bad.
Matty, you posted on here recently that you had been attacked and injured whilst carrying out your job as Ambulance crew.
If you were to take your comments about Dyer today and apply them to your situation, they would appear pretty harsh, uncaring and from another age.
Would you or your union be prepared to accept your employment being terminated if you were unfortunate to be hurt at work. Of course not.
Football plays havoc with our emotions at times but we have to keep a sense of what's right and wrong.
i agree, i have more sympathy for dyer than lard arse ashton, at least dyer is attempting to come back albeit not very successfully, but if what we are lead to believe about dean, he is refusing to accept the clubs advice regarding the injury and seeking his own path. at what stage do we stop and say contract terminated. unless it is a elaberate plan to get a free transfer and money spinning move to stoke!
Chief…I believe both players are desperate to play again but agree with you that the Ashton situation is quite strange. I'm not sure this is all part of an elaborate plan to get a transfer to Stoke, but the deafening silence about his injury from the player and the club is not usual.
Having said that, if his injury is career ending and they are currently working with the insurance company's medical advisers, the lack of information would be understandable.
You do know he was injury prone before we signed him?
Completely agree, Lofty. I have nothing biut sympathy for Dyer – anyone who believes a professional footballer doesn't want to play football is living in land cuckoo land!
Ashton's a different case. I was told at least a year ago that he would never play football again – for a while I thought that information maybe incorrect. I now believe it to be true. One can only speculate as to why the club is staying so quiet on the matter – mybguess is that there is legalities involved, considering he was injured whilst on England duty.
Dyer would be a massive asset if he were to gain fitness, I hope he does.
Lofty, sorry mate but you are way off here. I was at teh 7/7 bombings in Aldgate and one of my friends was 1st on scene there, he received substantial physical and mental injuries.
He still isn't back at work, but…….he received full pay for 5 months and now received income support! He is still employed by LAS but doesn't reveive pay from them. He is part of a union but these are the rules.
So should Dyer still be at West Ham? Debateable at best! Should he be paid by West Ham? NOPE!
Matt,
Like many topics we'll have to agree to disagree but as for your friend and colleague, please wish him well.
I have to say I am shocked by the set of circumstances he finds himself in. Sounds totally unfair and quite shameful.
In my business world, we have continued to pay staff for over a year while they have been off through sickness, mainly stress due to the nature of the job.
For you guys to paid for no more than 5 months having been put out of action due to the job is shocking.
That's what this place is about mate! Opinions
All good 
Yep, they do have a sickness scheme in place, but they are very careful and picky about what it covers! Yet they are happy to suspend someone on FULL pay for 12 years (to date) for sexually abusing a patient while it goes to ocurt for the 3rd time! Nice eh!
Billy (my friend) is doing ok, had a few burns and a lot of psychatric problems now but he's coping!
Cheers 
Matt
for a while we signed a lot of players that were more likely to be more at home at a A&E department look at lungberg he was always injured the likes of Ashton too
I would love to see Kieron regain his fitness. I am sure he is as frustrated as we are about his injury problems, but some players seem cursed by these things.
People say we should sell him. But who do we sell him to? We could only sell him if he regained his fitness and by that time Mr Zola would put in him his side every week.
I tend to go with Matt and Chris on this one. Yes, perhaps chris' language is a bit harsh but it is only borne out of the frustration I know that we all feel.
In the public sector we have recourse to incapability through sickness; i.e. someone is simply not able to perform the task for which they are employed and as a consequence is incapable in the purest sense of the word. This may result in their dismissal. It is not personal, merely a hard nosed recognition that any organisation is only able to carry a passenger for so long without it detracting from the organisation as a whole. In both Ashton and Dyer's case, the money that we are shelling out on them means that situation is reached in my view. Certainly with Ashton, it should have been game over long ago. I guess, frustrating though it is, I would probably give Dyer until the new year but at some point, incapability has to come into consideration.
Headmaster…Football by nature is almost a contact sport and injuries are an accepted part of the business.
Most contracts are for no more than four years these days and often less. I don't feel it is unreasonable for clubs to be expected to stick to those terms and give players every chance of regaining their health.
I think that principle should not be compromised just because the players are lucky enough to earn many thousands of pounds each week. The jammy sods.
I can see where you are coming from Lofty but, for me, the money does come into it. I guess it fails the 'reasonableness test' for me. My point is that these long term injuries are essentially crippling the club and preventing any further expenditure. So, it is a double whammy; we don't get the players and we can't afford to replace them. I thought that is what insurance policies were for? On the face of it, why we have not been able to cash in on Deano is beyond me.
Headmaster. The Deano situation does seem remarkably drawn out.
The final decision on a player's career will obviously be taken by medical experts working on behalf of any insurance company. Presumably, they won't pay out unless they are 100 per cent convinced that the player is knackered. I know how hard it is to get these buggers to cough up for a £200 claim, let alone a £10million one.
All the union reps who are supportive of injured staff are to be commended but just of late there seems to be a lot of political correctness and lack of football speak.We all wholeheartedly support our club and after a while the whinging and abuse that is seen on here amongst certain elements is off the point of the radar so please can we show some respect and get the Hammers talk back to the positive,many thanks!
Certainly there is no place for abuse on here Graham but I do think that debate over whether or not the club should continue to stand by its long term injured players is both legitimate and relevant and in no way betrays a lack of support.
Sorry Aussie…just for you.
Come on you Irons. We will win 0-1 today. Anton is rubbish. Franco will score. Behrami is great. Green worries me. We have turned the corner. We won't go down. Spuds are scum. Zola is wonderful.
How's that?
like it, Lofty!
I've been very disappointed that we haven't seen what Dyer can do. However, if he ever gets fit, I think that in our current situation we should offload him to whoever will pay. He has always been fragile, and when a club is in the financial state we are in, we just can't afford such players.
It's possible that he is not entirely blameless in the situation, and nor is the club. Often clubs suffer higher rates of muscle injuries because they do not train the players as well as they can, often players do not help themselves by staying as fit as they possibly can while injuries heal, and therefore induce new injuries on their return or take longer to return to first team action.
Should the club look at its training methods? I'm not an insider, but other clubs don't seem to suffer as badly as us with injuries? Maybe it's also the propensity to play the 'Hospital Pass' once a game is geting away from a team! Do teams in trouble suffer more injuries, or do teams with more injuries soon get into trouble?
Ashton is a different story. I have always doubted his quality, and he has yet to prove himself at the Hammers, even when he has played. Yes there have been sparks of talent, but will he ever get himself fit enough to run for 90 minutes? I have my doubts as to whether he is motivated enough for premiership football, but I would dearly love to be proven utterly wrong.
All do yourself a favour fly out to sunny Queensland I will take all you Hammers down the pub on Tuesday and we will watch Bart Cummings win the Melbourne Cup stay and watch us smash Villa and the Toffees fly home and chill out, life is short and serious lets get mangled drunk in the sun and be happy!
I'm in..
I'll come as long as you guarantee NO SPIDERS!!!!
do me a favour, find me a job and get me out of this shithole
no player purposely gets injured,with dyer he has always been an injury prone player who we should never have bought.the fault lies with curbishley and the board for buying him.i think it was curbishley.re ashton i think that the club should be a little more forthcoming with the situation. i dont think either of them will ever be an asset to the club and we should find someway of releasing them
Quick change of subject. Hilarious story in today's Sun. Apparently several of the 'photographs of suspects issued by police following the Millwall nonsense are of actors appearing in the film The Firm.
Lots of red faces for the boys in Blue.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2707700…
Does that now mean we will be found not guilty and cleared vof all charges by the FA??? Lol!!
FA will let us off AND give us a BAFTA.
No that was Paramount & Warner Bros filming part2 Lol!!
I can't believe people are finding excuses for the Dyer purchase,That purchase plus the signing of Lungberg was a disaster waiting to happen,and so it's proved,when I heard we were going to sign Dyer all those years ago! I screamed NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Sorry guy's,but there's no one on here gunna tell me Dyer's not pulling a fast one.He's been injured every month since 2004,I still can't believe we signed a player on 80,000 a week with an injury record like he had.
Pulling a fast one?
So you think he is conning the club, conning the medical team, conning the fans, conning his team mates and conning himself.
Sorry to shatter your illusion, but I for one am 'gunna' tell you he is NOT pulling a fast one.
He may be injury prone and we probably should not have gambled on a player with his medical history. But I am not having it that he is a liar and a cheat.
Not only are your comments objectionable, they are probably libellous.
With you on this one Horters!
absolutely.
ChrisChris: There is not one message on here making excuses for the Dyer purchase. We are discussing what should happen to him now.
Do keep up!
My best wishes go to Dyer that he can recover and hopefully come back and play for West Ham. Today against Sunderland I believe Stanislas has earned a starting birth with Parker out. I do think Kovac will start in place of Parker, although I'd prefer Stanislas at the moment.
Bent and Jones are quick strikers and Stanislas is a player who could shut them down and would be a very good counter-attacking option.
Retire him to a Dud ,I mean a Stud farm!
To extend on my previous post, if Kovac starts this game then his strength in the air will be useful for free kicks alongside Cole and the other players inside the box.
Is It Dyer's Luck or Hammers luck (or lack of it) I sympathise with any footballer whose career is ended by injury. However with Dyer and Ashton are 2 players
who have been consistently plying their trade in A&E instead of on the pitch.
Ashton is someone who receives an injury whilst on England duty in 2006.
He then (whilst out injured) is given a new contract until 2013. Whoever sanctioned that deal should be shot. At least get the player back fit and playing before offering an improved new contract. With Dyer out now until the end of November again it is not good for both player & club but at least when fit does put in a good period of service when picked. He still has about 2yrs on current contract and should be moved on at earliest opportunity. As for Ashton we still await the return of the invisible striker if at all and no update from the club as to when. We hope that when this saga is finally resolved we are able to sign some decent strikers etc to compliment CC & the younger generation.
WITHOUT THE INJURIES.Lol!!!
Paolo Di Canio backs the Hammers to come good but talking about injury prone players is Terry Dixon gonna make when the spuds give up all hope?
When Dixon gets fully fit he is going to be a welcome boost for us. Lets hope it is sooner rather than later. As for PDC I fully back his comments as he feels that we are in a false position andthe quality of our squad will soon show where we are.
Fish, there is no question, we ARE in a false position! That's not the argument? The argument is what are we going to do to get out of it!
I don't know either Dyer or Ashton as individuals, but I can't believe that either of them are relshing the current situation. They are both lucky enough to be gifted sportsman who could have represented their country at the forthcoming World Cup if things had worked out for them. I am sure both would rather be plying their trade on the football pitch rather than lying on the physio's couch.
So, what can the club do? I say we have to stick with Dyer for as we don't really have too much choice. If we terminate his contract then he will still walk away with a large payoff, so we may as well stick with it and try to get him back in the team. As for Ashton, I am sure that the silence must reflect an ongoing dialogue between the club and the insurers. If that is not the case then there can be no excuse for the clubs silence.
Oh well, on a more positive note I think we can get a result today, but I am worried that GZ will not be positive enough, we will see. Hoping to have been there today, but my daughter is currently in labour, so it's off to Stoke hospital, rather than Sunderland.
Have a good day everyone.
Good luck today mate! (both your daughter and West Ham
)
My wife is due on Boxing Day!
All the best!
Cheers Matt. Well after 45 hours in hospital, our eldest has given birth to a 7lb 7oz granddaughter. Shame that the day couldn't be capped by a win, but to be honest, the Hammers were at the back of my mind today. Let's hope you have a Christmas to remember!!!
i think you'll find that ashton is shot in the paddock, to be out this long and no correspondence from the club says it all to me, as for Dyer, give him this season, see how he get's on, then if still throwing in the sick notes, sell him to the spuds
Shropshire best wishes, hope we are all Happy Halloween Hammers tonight!
Cheers Aussie Graham. 7lb 7oz granddaughter finally here after 45 hours in hospital for our eldest daughter. Shame the Hammers couldn't cap the day with a win.
Totally off topic – Bondz N'Gala has joined Scunthorpe on a one month loan.
DO the boy good! A bit of first team action!
Likewise, best wishes for your daughter.
Come on you hammers!
I think we will play well against Sunderland, but hopefully we can get the points (3) to match it hopefully!
Cheers Dujon. Granddaughter finally arriived this evening after 45 hours in hospital. Well worth the wait though. Another Hammer to swell the ranks!
Ummmmm where is Celtic? Has his arm got stuck in his Abacus and he's lost the ability to type??? lol
Regarding Ashton:
"
West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola admits he has no idea when Dean Ashton will start training.
Striker Ashton is still no nearer a comeback following a long-term ankle problem. He is not training with the first team and there is no date set for his likely return because of the nature of his injury.
"It is another frustrating situation for me," said Zola about the forward who has not figured at all since September 2008."
Please Zola if you have got no money and need a fit striker Im watching a very fit Robbie Fowler score and play well for North Queensland Fury at the moment ,wow he would feed off of Carlton Goal!
Please tell me that is the Aussie sarcasm mate! lol! I don't care how well he is playing, the guy is about 45 and is injured more than Dyer! lol
No thanks!
Dyer and Ashton are taking the mickey out of this club but who would not with that idiot Nani in chage thats who they should sack now
I feel for both players, they are not able to do a job they love and was always their dream.
It must be a soul destroying situation for Ashton, and I have nothing but smpathy for him.
He was in my opinion a great player and had the potential to be one of the greats.
Dyer injury I can understand as I am not a player of any standard, but I got a calf strain playing football 4 months ago and the three times I returned I the injury returned.
I know this may not be a direct comparison , but it just shows how the healing process is so complicated.
Final point I would like to hear some news about Ashton and am very surprised when there is so much rumor and tom tit spread in the press about the club, that nothing has come out about him.
I hope so SJ. I'll only be able to judge Kieron Dyer when his days as a player with West Ham come to an end. Until then I have high hopes of the coaching, medical and physio teams at the club to get him fully fit and firing.
I think that Dyer is really good player but he doesn't play enough games,so realistically he should go as he is just costing us too much money and is a drain on the coffers.
Let him go on a free or something or put him out on loan till the end of the season then get rid.
Business is business, as they say. You would not keep a van that broke down before each delivery. Ashton and Dyer are unreliable vans and as such it's about time that they had the comfort arm around the shoulder whilst being told "enough is enough 'ol son"