Former Town boss Roy Keane has been speaking about his attempt to bring Sol Campbell to Portman Road in 2009 after the former England centre-half had left Notts County after a brief spell.

Keane expressed his interest in recruiting Campbell, then 35, in September 2009 after the former Arsenal and Spurs man had left the League Two side only a matter of days into a five-year contract.

Despite having walked out, Campbell was still contracted to the Meadow Lane club and would have had to have joined the Blues on loan. Ultimately he rejoined the Gunners for training in the October, then in the January on a permanent basis.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Campbell recalled meeting Keane and Blues owner Marcus Evans for talks.

“We met in London at the owner’s house. It was alright, a big house in the Boltons, which is a nice area in South-West London. He had one of those big villas,” he said.

Keane was asked whether he was disappointed not to sign Campbell: “Obviously we were meeting him, we’re trying to chat, of course we were thinking if we could get Sol into the building, great, a bit of experience.”

Quizzed on whether he enjoyed his time at Town by Campbell, Keane, who endured an unsuccessful 20 months at Portman Road between April 2009 and January 2001, said: “It would have been better if you’d signed, maybe! It was tough going but you would obviously have been a bit of help.

“But obviously we knew it was going to be a bit of stretch to get you down.”

Photo: Action Images

MVBlue added 14:48 - Mar 25 The Dark Lord. Clearly no love lost for his time here.
4

flykickingbybgunn added 17:40 - Mar 25 Keane's stay with us was 20 months too long.
5

KMcBlue added 17:59 - Mar 25 Roy who?
0

Thegeniusofmuhren added 18:55 - Mar 25 I liked Sol as a player but he seems a bit in love with himself post football. Most of these ex-footballers who podcast/tour seem a bit full of themselves and it's a bit boring but I guess if the demand is there.
2

Radlett_blue added 19:25 - Mar 25 Keane was so inept that he could have got Messi in & kit wouldn't have made much difference.
1

groundhog added 20:53 - Mar 25 Did he meet him for a chat in the carpark after a game.
1

Bluearmy_81 added 22:01 - Mar 25 Could have got Pep in, with an owner as truely hopeless and awful as Evans was it wouldn’t have made any difference
2

Radlett_blue added 22:27 - Mar 25 Not so Bluearmy - Keane inherited a squad which had just missed out on the play offs. Evans gave him a large transfer budget, which he squandered on misfits like Lee Martin & Tamas Priskin.
6

CookStar added 22:51 - Mar 25 Strange old boys the pair of um.
0

bobble added 23:56 - Mar 25 Yawnnn,,,.....
2

JewellintheTown added 09:14 - Mar 26 A stretch? Did Keane & Evans think a 35 year old Sol Campbell signing on loan from a L2 club he had walked out only after 5 days at was a good thing for the club then? Says it all.
3

BlueySwede added 15:36 - Mar 26 Keane was a strange appointment from the beginning. Didn´t understand the family feel at the club and tried to change everything that has made us "unique". As a manager he was probably one of the worst for us, but I must say that I enjoy him as a pundit. And I almost salute him for asking for a meeting with that fan at the car park, he seemed like a total bellend. It has been almost 15 years since he was sacked, we have come a long way in the last few years. Let´s move on.

3

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls