On the face of things, the signing of Richard Keogh was a surprising one.
Ipswich are well-stocked in defence, with Luke Woolfenden and George Edmundson maturing players with big potential, Janoi Donacien a safe pair of hands and Cameron Burgess around to come into the side if needed. He brings physical qualities the others don’t have.
Then there’s Corrie Ndaba, a left-sider with a high upside, while Dominic Ball, Greg Leigh and even Kane Vincent-Young are able to fill in if needed.
This isn’t a squad crying out for a new centre-half but, when you begin to think about what Keogh can bring to the side, the more it makes sense.
The experienced campaigner, who turns 36 today, has played 695 matches in his career. More than 450 of those have been in the Championship – only Albert Adomah (now of QPR) has played more second-tier games as an outfielder since the second tier was rebranded in 2004.
That’s more than Town’s starting back three of Edmundson (157), Donacien (284) and Woolfenden (164) have played combined at any level.
He has 26 Republic of Ireland caps, too.
He played 31 matches in the second tier for Blackpool last season and 21 for Huddersfield the season before that, joining the Terriers from MK Dons midway through the campaign, having already made the same number of appearances for the League One side.
That’s 73 matches in the last two seasons. Impressive for any player, let alone one of Keogh’s age.
Chances are Ipswich won’t require him to make 30 or 40 starts this season, with the veteran coming in to push the young core forward and both raise and maintain standards around Portman and Playford Road. When he is required (and he will be), he clearly has the quality to compete at this level.
The reviews from Blackpool are good, with Keogh passing expectations in Tangerine. As he has been throughout his career, he proved himself to be a defender who battles away, enjoys a physical contest and is also comfortable in possession. He takes care of the ball – crucial in a Kieran McKenna side – and reads the game extremely well.
Could he be the Sone Aluko of the backline? We know how highly-regarded Aluko is at Portman Road, both in terms of what he adds on the pitch and his value off it. His signing last summer wasn’t one which instantly excited but he’s gone on to be vital.
Keogh could do the same. Edmundson and Woolfenden are defenders of great potential. A season or more with Keogh may just be the finishing school they need.
There are shades of Tony Mowbray about this signing, too. The centre-half joined George Burley’s Blues in 1995 as a 31-year-old, acting as a calming presence. Then, in 1999, he effectively came out of retirement at 36 to help shore up a Town defence which needed tightening, as Ipswich pushed for promotion. We all know what happened at Wembley at the end of that season and the part Mowbray played.
Keogh’s arrival may well mean a temporary exit for Corrie Ndaba, too, with another loan all part of the young Irishman’s development. He recently signed a new, long-term, deal with the Blues but Ipswich see another season of regular football as vital for the 22-year-old, given the progress he made at Salford a year ago.
The 36-year-old's deal is initially for a season. There’s every chance his association with Ipswich is longer than that, with a potential role as a coach in the future surely not an impossibility.
Knows the club
Keogh’s move to Ipswich brings him back to a club he knows well.
Born in Harlow, Keogh was part of the Ipswich youth set-up from eight until his release in 2003 at the age of 16.
“I was at the club from eight years old and it gave me an amazing upbringing on how to play the game,” he said.
“It’s been a few years but I’m finally back here, so it’s an amazing feeling to finally be back at the club. So many great memories are coming back to me and I can’t wait to get out there at Portman Road and represent Ipswich on the pitch.
“It still feels the same in many ways but the club has moved forward a lot. It’s great to see the club moving in a really good direction.”
He then moved to Stoke and impressed in the youth set-up before, following a brief loan spell in Iceland with Vikingur, Keogh turned down a new contract to head to Bristol City to finally get his senior career off and running.
His time at Ashton Gate included loans to Wycombe, Huddersfield, Carlisle and Cheltenham, though he did make 40 first-team appearances in Bristol, doing enough to win the Robins’ young-player-of-the-year award in 2006/07.
Carlisle was his next stop, spending two years with the Cumbrians and winning individual honours again before his long career in the second tier began in 2010, following his move to Coventry. Again, he won player-of-the-year awards in Warwickshire. It’s been a theme throughout his long career.
Two seasons there brought about a move to the club he is synonymous with, Derby, where he played eight seasons and captained the Rams during a period where the Pride Park club were regular challengers for a Premier League place.
During this time he was extremely durable, starting 316 of a possible 330 Championship games.
Promotion never quite happened, though, as the Rams lost two play-off semi-finals and two Wembley finals before his association with the club came to a painful and controversial end.
Car crash
The events of September 24, 2019, rocked Derby County and threw Keogh’s life and career into turmoil.
A team night out went horribly wrong and ended up with former Ipswich loanee Tom Lawrence crashing his car into the back of team-mate Mason Bennett’s. The pair then fled the scene of the crash, leaving Keogh inside the wreckage of Lawrence’s car, having been a passenger.
Lawrence and Bennett would later be arrested and plead guilty to drink driving, ultimately being sentenced to community service and avoiding jail.
Keogh suffered a nasty knee injury in the crash, which doctors told him would sideline him for 15 months and potentially threaten his career, but the pain didn’t end there.
The defender was sacked at the end of October while his two convicted, younger, team-mates were fined and kept on by Derby. The Rams’ case for termination centred around Keogh’s failure to wear a seatbelt, the fact his judgement had been impaired by alcohol and the decision not to use taxis the club said they had offered to provide.
Keogh challenged his sacking in the courts and won, having already recovered from his knee injury quicker than the initial prognosis and continued his career away from Derby.
The incident had taken its toll on the defender, who admitted in a deeply emotional interview with the Guardian that he had likely been suffering with depression and ‘was pushed to the limit’. It’s an interview I’d strongly urge you to read.
But he’s firmly back on his feet and has enjoyed a good career since.
Exceptional references
Former Rams boss Steve McClaren described Keogh as ‘the best defender in the Championship’ during the pair’s time together at Derby.
But, from an Ipswich perspective, his journey since his departure from Pride Park is more of interest.
The managers he’s worked for during that time could not speak any higher of a man who has played nearly 75 matches since recovering from those events which turned his life upside down.
“Keyesy has been fantastic,” former Blackpool manager Neil Critchley said of the veteran.
“He’s a top, top professional and a brilliant person first and foremost and that’s before you start talking about his playing qualities.
“He’s a top person and he’s been invaluable for us and our squad.”
Former Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan, said: “Richard is a player with an amazing background and a lot of experience in the Championship. He has regularly played over 4,000 minutes per season and you need the combination of his experience alongside our young players to create a competitive team.
“The competitive character he has, and the respect he has for his job, are very important values within our group.
“He is a good defender and he helps us to play out from the back. His ability to play on the left and right of central defence is something we need in the team too.”
Russell Martin, Keogh’s boss at MK Dons, said: “He’s huge for us on, and off, the pitch there's no doubt about it. Big character, big leader, a top, top player.
"He turned down more money elsewhere, he's excited by the challenge, he's so hungry to prove he's still a top player so I'm really excited by it.
“His mentality and what he's come in with already makes me even more excited for what comes ahead in the season and he'll be huge for our younger players."
High praise indeed.
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