We were delighted when Dean Kiely agreed to be the guest speaker at the CAST AGM this week.
He said he was prepared to be asked about anything as long as we were prepared to hear his answers, and he certainly didn't disappoint us.
He admitted to the charge of working as goalkeeping coach for Crystal Palace for eight years until July this year but he explained in mitigation that he had been invited to do so by Roy Hodgson who was a "football God" to him so he couldn't refuse. Before that he had been at West Brom for eight years. In fact he had had only four weeks out of work in football since 1987 and he was surprised that, having now not worked for four months, he didn't feel more "itchy". He is not chasing work and is enjoying doing other stuff but if something fell into his lap and he wanted to do it, he would.
When asked how hard it was to be a goalkeeper after two heavy defeats, he said the first thing is that you have to be resilient and thick skinned. You should examine what went wrong and ask yourself: "Are my fingerprints on it?" If so, hold your hand up. He agreed that Charlton had had a tough couple of results but "everyone's been on a poor run" and you have to deal with it. He said that, although we won't see it, the team will be working in training on solidifying the defence. When players lose confidence they tend to "ask what they should do" and he was confident that Nathan Jones will have the answers.
His best and worst games for Charlton? The worst was when we played Swindon at The Valley in March 2000. We had won twelve games on the trot and Swindon were bottom of the league. "I threw one in and we lost 1-0". He also acknowledged letting in a soft goal on the beach at Chelsea. Hard to say what was best as those Premier League years were amazing times - "a golden era for Charlton and for me". Beating Arsenal 1-0 and saving a Nelson Vivas penalty; winning at Tottenham and Chris Powell scoring a goal; probably the best was the point-blank save from Christophe Dugarry at Birmingham in 2003 for which he won the Golden Glove.
It had been an "amazing honour" to play for Ireland eleven times. It might have been twenty but Shay Given was always first choice. When first capped Dean had been a Bury player and felt "imposter syndrome" when he joined the squad but once he joined Charlton and was playing in the Premier League he felt "he had a right to be there". He enjoyed being with the squad - "it was like a club mentality". However, all the travelling with little prospect of playing was wearing. He returned from one international trip for a home game against Leeds which Charlton lost 1-6. He decided at that point to retire from international football.
The incident in Saipan: Roy Keane had given a newspaper interview criticising the training facilities for the Irish team as they prepared for the 2002 World Cup, and he had blamed Mick McCarthy. "Mick came into the room and he and Roy had a spat that was probably twenty minutes but felt like three and a half hours. Eventually Roy walked out". There was about thirty seconds of uncomfortable silence and then Dean said "Listen Mick, if you need someone to do a job in midfield, I'm your man". He stressed that, although he knows he can be very sarcastic, he didn't say it to ridicule anyone but to break the tension. It worked, as everyone collapsed in laughter.
"Saipan" is now a film but Dean's character doesn't appear in it - "I suppose George Clooney wasn't available to play me". He agreed that it felt a bit weird to watch it and he had to explain to his wife that not everything in the script is verbatim (e.g. there were no banana boats).
Dean is appalled by the new tactic of goalkeepers feigning an injury so that the manager can get the other players together for a team talk. "As a goalkeeper I would hate to do it". He thinks that players should be able to sort their own problems out. He suspects that the football authorities might change the rules so that another player must be removed from the field of play for a certain time in these circumstances.
He talked about coaching young goalkeepers on how to deal with one-on-ones. He said young goalkeepers tended to "come steaming out" which was often rash. He said that the striker was in total control and the keeper needed to try to "change the picture". The longer the striker has the ball the more pressure he is under and the keeper needs to look for visual cues as to his intentions.
He talked about improvements in goalkeeping in the women's game but stressed that twenty five years ago Pauline Cope (Charlton and England goalkeeper) would join him for training, maybe twice a week and that she was "excellent" but didn't have the platform.
He is relaxed about the fact that he isn't credited with an assist for Kevin Lisbie's third goal against Liverpool. Lisbie falls down laughing when Dean reminds him of his throw out but he is philosophical: "I know I assisted him. You know I assisted him. It isn't in the stats but we all know I assisted him".
He remembers how special the Charlton dressing room was in the Premier League days. He loved coming in to training. Everyone enjoyed each other's company and everyone contributed to the togetherness. He roomed with Chris Powell and they talked about how "lucky" Alan Curbishley was to have such a "low maintenance" squad. Looking back later he realised how "clever" Curbs was in putting personalities together to form a team.
His first goalkeeping role model was Jimmy Rimmer who he saw at Villa Park in a European game. Later he modelled himself on Clemence, Jennings and Shilton who he would try to imitate in the garden: “I was a Frankenstein – a bit of all of them.” He became a goalkeeper because he was "dreadful at running" and would often get a stitch as an outfield player. His dad told him he'd be better off in goal.
He admires the young Irish goalkeepers Gavin Bazunu and Caoimhin Kelleher and is watching their progression with great interest. The Irish performances against Hungary and Portugal were "amazing" and the fact that they have given themselves a chance of World Cup qualification is "incredible". He enjoys seeing Irish players succeed but had mixed feelings when Finn Azaz was scoring against Charlton for Southampton last week.
He readily agreed that throughout his career he had chosen to join clubs where he knew he would play regularly. Bigger clubs than Bury were interested in him when he was at York but Stan Ternant (Bury manager) told him "We need a goalkeeper and we think it is you" so he knew he'd be first choice. He said he couldn't do what, for example, Scott Carson had done at Manchester City where he was third choice keeper for four years and didn't make any appearances. "I always wanted to play, even if I had a strain or something. It is how I made 759 career appearances".
He still gets to Bury and is a great admirer of the people who have kept the club alive. He is going to see them play Mossley next month. He remembers playing for Bury at The Valley. The team stayed at The Black Prince and walked to the local pub (The George) with the manager for a few pints the night before the game. The result was 0-0 and Mervyn Day later told him his performance had convinced Charlton to make him an offer. Furthermore, the fact that Charlton stood by him when they were promoted to The Premier League was a great confidence boost.
Did Robbo really moan as much as is reported? "Absolutely, he did. In fact, if he wasn't moaning about something you'd begin to wonder what was going on. Five-a side selections, ref's decisions; food, and the slightest sign of traffic on the way to away games would all set him off. We would just smile and let him get on with it".
Did he shave his head to psych out opponents? No. His wife cut his hair (that was how they met). He gained promotion from all three divisions and he didn't want any distractions from his drive to "crack on and be the best goalkeeper". Styling his hair would have been a distraction.
What about Steve Brown as a goalkeeper? Yes, he could "fly around a bit" and was certainly a "solid citizen and closet goalkeeper". He said he was really pleased that Steve was back at the club again as he was rooted in the club and the club needs people like that.
Do goalkeepers need to be a bit mad? "Well, I once did a comedy-clown dive to try and catch a dog on the pitch at Bootham Crescent."
"Keepers need to be thick-skinned and resilient. You can't be sensitive. You are judged every minute of every day". He remembers being hated by sixty thousand people at Old Trafford in the 0-0 draw up there. "You do it for the away following". He said he always enjoyed some crowd interaction. He was once hit by a steak and kidney pie thrown from the crowd and he thought the gravy was blood at first. He liked to "give a little bit back" but that wasn't a distraction. In fact, it helped his concentration.
What did he think of Caspar Schmeichel being lobbed from the half way line in the Scotland game? "It's happening more and more because of the positions goalkeepers take up in the modern game". He encourages players to have a try because, even if it doesn't go in, it might "put manners on the goalie". He remains very thankful that Ryan Giggs's effort at The Valley hit the crossbar rather than going in – Solskjaer putting in the rebound.
Sam asked about Dean's "infamous" habit of kicking goal kicks out of play for a throw in. "Well Sam, as I used to say to Jason Euell - there's no point kicking it straight down the middle towards the two huge centre halves. But, Sam, if I send it out towards the full backs Euelly had more chance of winning it. And, Sam, if I miss a seventy yard kick by two yards and it goes out of play it is just a throw in and the groans will be at me not at Jason, and you see, Sam, I didn't care."
How important is it for goalkeepers to be good with both feet? "They both need to be workable - not the same. People say that Nick Pope isn't comfortable in possession but he can usually still get the ball to where his manager wants it. I really like Nick Pope and have you noticed he played for York, Bury and Charlton? He could have had more England caps but Pickford is always going to be first choice.”
How do you cope when the defence changes? It is tough but the work is done on the training ground. "You have to know their different attributes and their strengths and weaknesses so you can anticipate". You have to "find a way to be cohesive and gel together". He looks back at footage of himself and realises that "I never shut up. A cheap well done is massive. Every congratulatory call reinforces someone. Make a big visual fuss." Also, "If you say sorry it is very powerful."
What do you think about Rak-Sakyi playing in Turkey? "It is really strange. His loan to Charlton was an excellent move but back at Palace Olise was always in front of him. A move to Southampton fell through and it looks as if he went to Turkey so as not to lose face. But now he is out of sight, out of mind. He would really add quality to Charlton's Championship team."
The best goal he ever conceded? Patrick Berger for Liverpool.
Dean stressed how much he loves coming back to Charlton. "It's a club full of proper people and it is an example of good foreign ownership". He might even be persuaded to be available for karaoke at The Royal Oak. "I can do a very average Suspicious Minds if that is what you're after".
We'd like to thank Dean once again for a really informative and entertaining evening. As one CAST member commented:
"How good was Deano? Articulate, funny, happy to share everything and anything, and just a great guy!"
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