‘What are you on about? – Martin Keown scolds Simon Jordan as pair clash in heated Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo comparison

Martin Keown had to pounce on opponents’ mistakes as a player, and it’s no different for the Arsenal legend in the talkSPORT studio.

The former centre-back frequently clashes with former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan on the radio, but couldn’t help but go two footed on a rare mistake from his fellow presenter.

Discussing England’s 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland, Keown began discussing the performance of Harry Kane, saying: “Are we getting the best from our captain? 

“I’m looking at Cristiano Ronaldo last night playing for Portugal at almost 40 years of age, he’s loved and put on a pedestal and we already want to get rid of Harry Kane.

“I think we should be hanging onto those players and we shouldn’t be dismissing them, he’s [interim manager Lee Carsley] going to need to work with all these players and get the best from them, but, from a tactical point of view – find a way for us to get the ball in midfield and develop the play.”

Jordan then interjected, saying: “They didn’t play Ronaldo during the Euros, he was on the bench a lot of the time.”

Knowing an error had been made, Keown was quick to pounce on it, saying: “What are you on about? He started every game! Where were you, on your boat? Don’t comment on that then if you don’t know.”

“I don’t think he did,” Jordan replied. “My recollection isn’t that he started every game.”

Unfortunately for Jordan, Ronaldo did start every match, and completed the entirety of four out of five of Portugal’s games at Euro 2024.

Nevertheless, he was keen to hammer home the point that comparisons can’t be drawn between Kane and Ronaldo.

“What you’re saying is that Harry Kane should be beyond reproach, but Harry Kane is not in the same zip code as Ronaldo,” he continued. 

“The comparison between those two is ridiculous, and up until relatively recently Ronaldo has been impactful in pretty much every game he played in. 

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“Harry Kane hasn’t been recently, so I think it’s a fair assessment that he shouldn’t be beyond reproach, and I’m pretty sure Ronaldo wasn’t in the line up, or as regularly featured as before during the Euros, so there is a comparison between two. 

“What you’re saying is, ‘England fans, pack it in, you’ve got a hero’, yeah, absolutely right, but we live in a world in the here and now and footballers have to deliver on every occasion. Ronaldo is a different animal to compare him to.”

Keown couldn’t help himself, responding: “It’s interesting, your recollection of the Euros is different to mine, for me he started every match and never scored a single goal in the competition.

“We’re comparing and we want to write off Harry Kane when Portugal are quite happy to hold onto their star player who’s past his best.”

Jordan had his final say, dismissing that point by arguing: “Not at all, you’re taking it to the extreme. What we want to judge Harry Kane by is the same standards as every other footballer – you’re in that team on merit, you want things in life on merit so Kane must be on merit, but he’s not playing well at the moment.”

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