It was obvious from the start that Keane wasn’t his usual self in Saipan – Bonner
AS Packie Bonner reflects on the seismic events in Saipan, the bust-up, the fallout, the recriminations, he makes an observation that sheds light on a dark moment for Irish football.
‘From the time we were in Dublin, there was something nagging at Roy (Keane). I don’t know why. We were going to a World Cup but he wasn’t the usual Roy from day one.’
As the Irish goalkeeping coach, and a senior member of Mick McCarthy’s staff, Bonner’s brief was to ensure the three keepers, Shay Given, Alan Kelly and Dean Kiely, were ship-shape for the finals.
‘We were loyal to Mick. What he had to go through was horrendous. It was probably horrendous for Roy too. Roy was going there as captain. It should have been a wonderful occasion for both of them to go to the finals and excel.
‘The negativity, the why, what, who was at fault and so on, it went on for months. Even to this day, people are divided about it. I wish it never happened.’
But it did happen, and Bonner understands any chat about his life and times can’t ignore the explosive events on a Paciific Island 18 years ago this week.
Often overlooked is that Keane was hauled back inside the Irish tent by McCarthy’s powers of persuasion after saying he was leaving. Less than 36 hours later, the flaps were blown open again and he was sent home.
Bonner’s expert eye-witness account is delivered without fear or favour. ‘Roy wasn’t happy that week,’ he recalled.
‘He was walking up and down the beaches on his own. We had the barbecue night with the media and Roy wasn’t happy with that either.’
It was at the midway point of the week-long stay when Bonner tangled with a moody Keane.
The Donegal man arrived early for training and worked the keepers hard.
‘When the session was over, Alan (Kelly) felt the keepers had had enough. I agreed and told Mick.
‘At that point Roy kind of lost it a little bit because there were no goalkeepers for the practice match.’
‘They had gone to re-hydrate under the tent we had beside the pitch when Roy shouted about having “No bloody goalkeepers.” I said to Roy, “Forget it, the boys worked hard.”
‘It wasn’t one of those “You eff off” conversations at all.
‘Roy had a plastic bottle of water. He threw the bottle. There was one photographer there and he took the snap. It looked like the bottle was going towards me; in fact it was going in the opposite direction.’
When the photo appeared in print the next day it looked a lot more damning than it was. By then, wild rumours were circulating that Keane had quit the camp.
Again, Bonner was on the spot. ‘When we got back to the hotel after training, Mick, Ian (Evans) and myself were getting off the bus. Roy came to me and said “Where’s Mick?” I said “He’s round the other side of the bus.”
‘That’s when Roy said to Mick he was going home. He was all set for that, and Mick had to talk him out of it. People forget that. Right then, it was all put to bed.’
The next morning, Keane had agreed to interviews for two newspapers and RTÉ radio, when Bonner arrived slightly late for breakfast.
‘Everyone else was gone, bar Alan and Roy, sitting at the table. Apparently Alan had some words with Roy in the tent the day before. I didn’t know that. I said to Roy, “Do you know what’s going on back at home?”. “Ah,” he says, “forget the media”. That was it. As far as I was concerned, it was all dead and buried. Then it kicked off again. That interview was the cause of it all.’
Bonner felt McCarthy was placed in an impossible position following Keane’s verbal assault in front of the Irish party, which led to his dismissal from the squad.
‘Mick felt he had to clear the air. All the players and ourselves were on the one page with Mick after that. Did it affect us (losing Keane)? We lost a brilliant player, and we lost our captain.
‘People keep saying “we might have won the World Cup if Roy had played”. But we may not have done as well as we did with Roy there. Who knows? Maybe we got motivation from it (Keane’s exit) too.’
Bonner wasn’t alone in thinking ‘if only’ Keane had made it to Japan where the pitches were perfect, the security water-tight and everything went like clockwork.
‘When we went to Japan later, everything was fantastic. Roy missed out on that. If he’d held on a little bit longer he would have realised Japan was something special. It was unfortunate for him.’