Northampton Town: Advice of agent cost Dyer his Cobblers career
Alex Dyer admits he ‘probably made a mistake’ which cost him his Cobblers career, writes Tom Vickers.
But the midfielder, who is now strutting his stuff for Isthmian Premier League side Wealdstone, refuses to harbour any regrets about his departure from Sixfields.
According to Dyer, he was offered a new deal by Town boss Ian Sampson but failed to sign on the dotted line.
That led to his release in May, alongside Luke Guttridge, Gary Mulligan, Joe Benjamin, John Curtis and Stephen O’Flynn.
But it was the decision to let go of Dyer that grated the most with Sampson, who said at the time: “There were probably six players I wanted to get rid of, mainly down to budget cuts, to be honest. Probably the hardest one was getting rid of Alex. He’s a decent little footballer but he’s had two years to try to develop and get in the team.
“I’ve got another player coming through, Michael Jacobs, who is a similar type of player, and maybe Alex was standing in his way a little bit for Michael to progress so that was the reason behind that.
“I like him as a player but next season I can’t see him displacing the other midfielders.”
After being made a free agent Dyer had a short trial at Kettering, where he played against his former club in a pre-season friendly.
But then Kettering boss Lee Harper failed to tie the 20-year-old down to a deal and Dyer soon moved on to Wealdstone in a bid to play first-team football on a regular basis.
He endured a slow start but is now beginning to find the form which could lead to a Football League return in the near future.
“I’ve just settled in now and I think my performances are starting to show that,” said Dyer. “It’s just nice to be playing week in, week out – it’s what I needed to further my career.
“I think I had a few years where I stagnated, I didn’t progress as much as I’d hoped, I think through lack of games because there’s only so much reserve team football you can play.
“I think here, with competitiveness, things can only get better.”
However, the youngster could still be playing in npower League Two had he not been swayed by the advice of an agent.
Dyer explained: “It was a bit of a shock after the season finished because we had a few problems, there was a contract but then an agent sort of got into my head and I probably made a mistake.
“But I don’t have any regrets, I just move forward and move on with what I’m doing here.”
Dyer’s balanced approach should stand him in good stead, so don’t be surprised to see him back in the big time sooner rather than later.
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Saturday 18 May 2013
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