If there's one thing that sells an Irish football autobiography, it's a quick jaunt back to the heady summer of 2002 and a little island called Saipan.
This time it's Packie Bonner's turn to bring us all back to that wondrous time with his new book, The Last Line. The former Ireland goalkeeper was a key member of Mick McCarthy's backroom team in 2002 and, in the pantomime that has been constructed around that period in the intervening years, Bonner has been put firmly in the anti-Keane camp.
How much of that is true is up for debate but Bonner is certainly willing to bring it all back up again with his thoughts on Keane's return to the Ireland squad under Brian Kerr in 2005.
The Donegal stopper was still Ireland's goalkeeping coach at that time and he made it clear to the Ireland boss that he felt Keane's return would be bad for the group as a whole. That advice was effectively ignored and Bonner contemplated resigning rather than working in the same squad as Keane once again.
However, he decided to stick around and his rationale for that decision can only be taken as a very pointed swipe at the now Ireland assistant manager.
I was not the one who left the squad and it was never in my make-up to consider putting myself before my country. I had a serious job to do, to help the international goalkeepers, guys who turned up without question or favour when selected and worked endlessly to achieve success for the cause.
Delightful. That's the kind of squabbling we've come to know and love whenever Saipan is brought up in conversation. It's almost comforting at this stage.
