The (other) one that got away

There are probably very few people who have looked wistfully at the face of Martin Keown and thought 'what if'. In fact, maybe I am the only one.

We recently reviewed Keown's new book, On the Edge, on the Ademola Bookmen Podcast. It's an okay book. As my co-presenter Al said, it's a fair reflection of how Keown was as a player; it does the job.

From an Irish point of view, the book opens one big question.

It's well known that Keown is from an Irish background. His parents come from either side of the northern border meaning he could have chosen to represent either of the teams on this island.

In the book, he explains that he didn't so much as choose England as they chose him. In 1983, he was picked for their under-17s. He says that in those days, once you went with one country, you stuck with it. You couldn't "do a Declan Rice".

By 1985, he was playing in the Arsenal first team, but it wasn't until 1992 that he earned his first England cap.

Keown says in the book that ahead of Italia '90, Jack Charlton wrote a letter to FIFA asking whether Keown could switch to Ireland, given that he hadn't yet played for the England senior team. Keown says that had FIFA given the greenlight, he'd have made the jump. But FIFA's answer was no and that was the end of that.

Keown eventually played 43 times for England, even captaining them once during Howard Wilkinson's spell as caretaker manager. But his England career was not a particularly memorable one and he spent most of the bigger games either on the bench or in the stand. In the case of Italia '90, he watched it on the telly.

More to the point, Keown is not a particularly beloved character in England. He was undoubtedly an excellent defender, but he is probably best remembered for screaming in the face of Ruud Van Nistelrooy when the latter failed to convert the penalty that would have prevented the 2003/04 Arsenal team from going the season unbeaten.

Had Keown played for Ireland, things might have been so different. This was the heyday of our national team after all. In the space of Keown's career, we qualified for four international tournaments. The team was adored at home and well liked abroad too.

Keown is a teetotaler who has never tasted a cocktail. There is no doubt that he would have been a bit of an odd-one-out in those Ireland squads when it came to socializing. But he could have been wonderful for us on the field, lining up beside Paul McGrath. Not only would he have been loved here, I can't help but think he would have been more well-liked in England too.

But it wasn't to be. That's a shame for Ireland but it's even more of a shame for Martin. In the book, he quite rightly looks back on his England career with pride. But he is also searching for validation from others, notably in a chat he had with his long-time Arsenal team-mate Tony Adams, which is included in the book.

If Jack had had his way, Keown would not only have felt validated; he would have felt loved. Oh Martin, what might have been…

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