Martin Keown played for Everton between 1989 and 1993, making a total of 108 appearances.
Keown’s exceptional performances earned him a move back to Arsenal where he went on to win three Premier League titles.
The former England international has been reflecting on his glittering career over the last few weeks as he promotes his newly released autobiography On The Edge.
Interestingly, Keown has already stated that he probably shouldn’t have joined Everton.
He discussed more of his Everton stories on Peter Crouch’s podcast on Wednesday and shared a quite mind-blowing story about Howard Kendall that’ll shock supporters.
Martin Keown shares the injury struggles he had at Everton
Everton fans are well aware of the current injury issues plaguing their side, and it was the same for Keown during his time at Goodison Park.
Speaking on Crouch’s podcast, Martin Keown revealed that he suffered with a chronic back injury during his spell at Everton.
“Howard was brilliant for me. Again, trusted me, believed in me, pushed me,” the 58-year-old explained.
But in that period at Everton, I had a chronic back injury. And I was in agony with my back. I’d go home and lie on the floor.
“For two years, I was doing this. I was playing for England and I couldn’t stand up straight if I bent down. So I went through all that period at Everton, somehow managing to get on the pitch.
“But strangely, lads, I don’t know if you’ve had this, but less was more because I had to pick and choose. I couldn’t run around like an idiot anymore. I couldn’t make all these tackles.
“I became more like a Rolls Royce. And I thought, and then suddenly these rave reviews, what’s happened to Keown, his performances are getting better, he’s picking and choosing, he’s more calmer. I was in agony, but it made me a better player.
Keown says Kendall used to allow him to just do boxing training
Keown revealed that Kendall used to just let him do boxing training.
“I didn’t train in the week,” he revealed.
“I used to run on the beach, down at Freshfield Beach, Formby, round on the beach down there. We’d be on a bike, I went to the spit and saw, there’s boxing clubs, me and Norman.
“We’d go in a front room, they’d ring a bell. I did that, and then turn up, and Howard used to say, don’t have to train Martin, just do what you do every week. And that was what happened.”
Quite incredible really, but clearly it worked for Keown, who enjoyed a productive spell on Merseyside which led to a trophy-littered career at Arsenal.
After all, Keown didn’t get on with Kevin Ratcliffe during his time on Merseyside, as the Everton legend wasn’t very welcoming when he joined.
