Dean Kiely

Goalkeeper

Born:	Salford	10 October 1970		Signed:	30 January 2007
Nationality:	Ireland	Height:	6' 00"	From:	Portsmouth
Caps:	11	Weight:	12st 13lb	Fee:	Free

Dean Laurence Kiely was one of Tony Mowbray's first signings for Albion, when he signed on a free transfer from Portsmouth in January 2007. At the age of 36 he brought with him a wealth of experience, which was invaluable in settling the Baggies' defence after the uncertainty that came with Pascal Zuberbuhler. Deano was Albion's first choice goalkeeper for a year and a half, until the arrival of Scott Carson in the summer of 2008, making 61 League appearances. Since then he has been distinctly second choice, but his experience and professionalism have meant that he continues to be a valuable member of the squad.

Born in Salford, he trained with Albion as a schoolboy but was not offered a contract. He signed instead for Coventry City, soon after his 17th birthday, but he never made it into the Sky Blues' first team. In 1990, after three years at Highfield Road, he signed for York City; and over the next six years he made a total of 239 appearances for them - including, in 1995, a 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the League Cup. United's team included Phil Neville (then aged 18), David Beckham (20) and Ryan Giggs (21). For the return at Bootham Crescent, United recalled Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole and Paul Scholes; Kiely was unfortunately injured and United won 3-1, but the Minstermen still went through 4-3 on aggregate.

In 1996 Kiely moved to Bury, and in three years at Gigg Lane he missed only one League game. In his first season there he kept 22 clean sheets as the Shakers claimed the Second Division title; in September 1997 he conceded Paul Peschisolido's last three goals for Albion, and in May 1999 it was a Fabian DeFreitas goal that sent Bury back down to Division Two.

The Premiership years

Kiely however had made enough of a name for himself to earn a Ł1 million transfer to Charlton Athletic, who had just been relegated after their first season in the Premiership. He immediately replaced Sasa Ilic as Charlton's first choice keeper, and missed only one game as the Addicks claimed the First Division title. This was the year that the Megson revolution began at Albion, and Deano was between the sticks for Charlton on the last day of the season as Richard Sneekes and Bob Taylor scored to secure the Baggies' First Division status.

He made his debut for the Republic of Ireland in November 1999, but with a world-class goalkeeper in Shay Given to compete with his opportunities were limited. Even so he managed to win a total of nine caps, before announcing his retirement from international football in 2003.

In January 2006, after six and a half highly successful years at Charlton, Kiely moved to Portsmouth as Harry Redknapp began the job of extracting Pompey from the relegation mire. He made his debut on 1st February and played in all of Portsmouth's last 15 games; they won six of the last ten, which was just enough to lift them to safety.

In the summer of 2006 however, as Redknapp's reconstruction continued, David James signed for Portsmouth. Kiely's days at Fratton Park were clearly numbered; he made just one appearance, in the League Cup at Mansfield, before going on loan to Luton Town. His 11 appearances for the Hatters included one at The Hawthorns on the 12th of January, when two very late goals from Kevin Phillips salvaged a somewhat fortunate victory for Albion.

Albion

Eighteen days later, Deano was an Albion player. He went straight into the side against Plymouth Argyle next day, and was an ever-present for the remainder of that season, which ended in the play-off final at Wembley. He was an immediate hit with the Albion fans; the Irish theme for our last away game of the season was mainly in honour of Paul McShane (whose unjust red card at Burnley on Easter Monday had been rescinded just in time), but Kiely's Irish connections hadn't gone unnoticed either.

Deano missed just two games as Albion took the Championship title in 2007-8, and 18 clean sheets won him the Championship Golden Gloves award. The signing of Scott Carson in the summer of 2008, however, meant the end of Kiely's days as the Baggies' first choice keeper. He has kept the No. 1 shirt, but his appearances have been restricted to three in the Premiership at the end of the 2008-9 season (after Carson was injured in training) and four in the League Cup.

Shortly before Carson's arrival he had been recalled to the Republic of Ireland squad by Giovanni Trappatoni (on the recommendation of Liam Brady). He earned two more caps, bringing his total to eleven.

Dean Kiely was 39 in October 2009, and he remains very much a part of Albion's first team squad. He has now made over 650 League appearances for his six clubs, including 64 for Albion. He is not tall for a goalkeeper, but as well as being an instinctive shot-stopper he commands his box well and is normally reliable in dealing with crosses. His regular appearances in the media testify to the esteem with which he is held in the game, and when the time does come for him to hang up his gloves there will surely be a role for him either in coaching or in the media.