Roy Keane is still the man

So what would you be thinking this morning if you were in Brian Kerr’s boots? In a press conference last week, the great Roy Keane – and I say it advisedly – opened up speculation about a possible return to international football. The prospect is a tantalising one, which must be preying on the mind of the Irish manager even as you read this.

What Keane said at the press conference was clearly contradictory in some respects – and therefore not clear at all. You could parse and analyse it till the cows come home, and not be fully sure which way he was leaning. But the germ of a come-and-get-me was certainly there, in the indication that it would ultimately be up to Brian Kerr whether he played for Ireland again or not.
Not for the first time, you could argue that Roy has put the Irish manager in an invidious position. Following the World Cup debacle, at the time of the new manager’s first game in charge against Scotland, Keane reached a private agreement with Kerr, that the occasion would be used to announce his re-integration into the Irish squad. Then, before the game, without consultation, he issued a statement that he would not be returning to international football because of a concern about his injuries, plunging Kerr into an unnecessary crisis.
So right now, if you were indeed in Brian Kerr’s boots you might be feeling ‘here we go again – but I don’t want to go there’. In fact you might even be tempted to write a song about it, full of heartache and regret – but underpinned with a steely resolve. The kind of song Johnny Cash would have done a good version of…

It would be perfectly understandable if the Ireland manager felt that it wasn’t worth the possible damage to his authority – never mind his dignity – to get involved. But then Brian Kerr is not the kind of man to let a matter of pride divert him from the potential for footballing glory. And bigger rifts than this, by a long shot, have been healed in the past.
It’s a scenario that Brian Kerr must have played out many times in his head in the privacy of his own solitude, since Keane finally seemed to bring the curtain down on his Irish career. What if? What if? What if?
Watching the United captain in action over the past few months has been a revelation: clearly feeling his way in the wake of the hip operation he underwent during the summer, he was uncharacteristically tentative at the start of the season. But he has gradually grown again in confidence and authority, and recently he has been playing superbly, back at the peak of his powers, running the show and getting up and down the park as of old into the bargain.
He is still the dominant presence in the United team, and only Patrick Viera is a genuine rival for the title of best midfielder in the Premiership. On this form, that he would bring to the Irish team exactly what the Irish team needs is without question. Experience, muscle, tactical nous, mobility, the ability to keep the ball and to make passes, penetration, goal scoring potential – but most of all leadership and the capacity to inspire the players around him.
Brian Kerr must have watched his side doing their utmost against Brazil and wondered for the hundredth time: what can I do about the centre of midfield?
Graham Kavanagh came in and did a passably good impression of what Roy might be like in about five years time (and that’s not a reference to his grey barnet!). Which is not to dismiss Kav as an option: to me he looked good, took responsibility, distributed the ball well and added real bite in the challenge, making him a far better prospect in the role than say Mattie Holland. But in terms of grades, he’s a 70% man against Roy Keane’s 98%.
Not to put too fine a point on it, Roy Keane is still the man.

So if I was in Brian Kerr’s boots, I’d be thinking that it was time to give the man a call. I’d ask him was he serious – did he really want to slip on the green jersey again? And if the answer was yes, but only in competitive games – which we all know is one bottom line for Roy Keane – I’d say that’s fine I can live with that. I’d tell him that I was going to clear the lines with the captain Kenny Cunningham, and make sure that the rest of the team were on board. And I’d tell him that, fitness permitting, he’d be in the squad for the matches against Cyprus and Switzerland in September.
I’d have a draft statement at the ready, and the prep work done, I’d read it out to Roy and fax it on, and get it into the public domain straight away, with both names at the end of it. And then I’d wait and hope that no one gave Keane a big kick in the opening Premiership exchanges of next season…
I know that there are commentators and former players who are opposed to Keane’s return and a certain amount of flak would be inevitable. But, as Keane himself admitted, there really is a feeling of unfinished business about the way in which his international career ended.
Both for Ireland and for Keane, his return to the fold would allow us all to finally banish the ghost of Saipan. And if the sporting gods were with us, it might just provide the platform for a great World Cup campaign, during which the likes of Liam Miller, Andy Reid and Sean Thornton – all good players in the making, and just maybe great ones – would have the opportunity to come through to challenge Roy for his place at the heart of the Irish midfield, come finals time.
Now where did I put his mobile number?