Apr 05
Roy Keane on leaving Manchester United
In an interview with the Irish Times (via SS), we hear what Roy Keane has to say about his departure from Manchester United.
I’m not going to sugar-coat this or give you a preamble – have a read.
Roy Keane:
“The day I left United, in hindsight, I should have stopped playing really. I lost the love of the game that Friday morning. I thought football is cruel, life is cruel. It takes two to tango also. I am fully responsible for my own actions but some things are wrong.I left on a Friday and they told me certain things before I left that day. I was told the following week I couldn’t sign for another club. I had been led to believe I could. There were certain things I was told at certain meetings that were basic lies.
That was part of the exit plans, I am convinced. Especially with my pride, I wasn’t going to accept that. They had a statement prepared and they were thanking me for 11 and a half years of service.
I had to remind the manager [Manchester United chief executive] David Gill I had been there 12 and a half years. I think that might have been part of the plan.
Then the financial stuff was mentioned. I was thinking, my God. I am happy to leave. I won’t go down that road. A week later they announced £70 or £80 million profit after telling me I hadn’t played for six weeks and so they weren’t prepared to do this and that. I told David Gill I had broken my foot playing for Manchester United against Liverpool. Pretty sad.
I look back and thing I should have said this and I should have said that. It is like Mick McCarthy at the World Cup. I always think when he said if you don’t have respect for me you can’t play for me, I should have said to him what I felt. I am not playing for you I am playing for Ireland. It is easy to be wise afterwards.”
The departure was painful for Keane but not so much so for the club – and after such a long association, it’s understandable that Keane is unhappy about how things went. It reminded me of Cantona – he ended his career before he was booted out. Keano’s only failing could have been that he banked on emotional attachment from the club when his value to the club was less than his cost to them.
He was dealt with by David Gill – i.e. the financial arm of Manchester United as opposed to by the manager. Keane has already criticised the board for their penny-pinching ways, but on the other hand it is what makes Manchester United so successful on a financial level. It makes sense that the board deal with such issues, and once you see contract wrangles in this light it’s easier to understand why certain things happen the way they do.
And as always, best of luck to Roy Keane for Sunderland’s game against Fulham today, and hope to see him in the Premier League next season.
Oh, and Keano? Will you buy Silvestre and Saha? Please? 
Related items from Red Rants:
- Roy Keane sings a song for Ronaldo
- The Scholes-Sunderland connection is BS
- Preview: Reds vs FC Ireland (a.k.a Roy Keane’s Sunderland)
- Which Players Should United Sell?
- Brazilian Twins Spotted at Old Trafford | Neville to Play Liverpool | Anderson to Porto Fantasies | Keane Tips United Over Arsenal
Tags: Manchester United News · Manchester United Players
April 5th, 2008 at 12:06
Can anybody understand why Keane is so obsessed still with Manchester United?. He NEVER stops talking about the club. He never stops going on complaining about us. If it is not Fergie he is having a go at, it’s the board!. He hardly ever talks much about other teams and managers, HIS MAJOR GRUDGE IS UNITED. All this when Fergie helped him into the prem by loaning him our best young players – what an UNGRATEFUL sod he is!. The number of times United stood by him, when he got into all kinds of trouble both on and off the pitch. Time he focused on Sunderland and looked on getting things right with them. I know quite a few United fans who are sick of Keane’s gobbing now, and are turning their backs on him. If he keeps on, I believe he will get the same kind of welcome at Old Trafford as Paul Ince.
April 5th, 2008 at 12:21
agree with you craig mc. i don’t know where his bitter feelings come from
April 5th, 2008 at 12:37
How can you say that his departure was not painfull for the club (unless by “the club” you do not include fans)? It was horrible; that was the first time I though that Ferguson should go. As for his major grudge against United, try this: dedicate a decade of your life to a cause (any cause), let’s say making a chocolate recepie. Then after you made it, your boss come there and says “thank you very much for that but now get the fuck out!” How would yo feel? That is how Keane feels. He is aggrieved at the club and who can blame him. The way they treated him was a disaster; maybe he had it coming but there were other, better ways to get rid of him. I think in essence it was just Ferguson showing off his power.
April 5th, 2008 at 12:39
In hindsight, I should have left in the request to *think* before commenting.
Not my place to defend Keano, but if you could read, you’d realise that this is a) an interview, so someone must have asked him) and b) comments about the United board, not the fans or manager or other players.
Keano gets asked about United the most (and not playing for Ireland). And when has he whinged about Ferguson? I hope you didn’t buy into the ABU bs when they linked his ‘hypocrite’ comments to Fergie (totally unrelated, by the way, just an assumption on the media’s part)?
April 5th, 2008 at 12:44
The way he talks, I think it was the board who pushed him. They were paying him a lot, he was old and injured, etc etc. The players he criticised later said that they accepted his criticism and had no problems with him. If the players don’t have a problem and he’s still a source of motivation for the squad, why would Fergie push him?
The downside of having the manager in the limelight all the time is that they get credit / criticism for things they aren’t responsible for.
April 5th, 2008 at 12:49
united>keane, lets not forget him arguing with saf, mocking his own team-mates and saying he’s “prepared to play elsewhere” after his contract runs out. what type of captain does that to the club he’s played for more than decade, what type of captain belittles his own players, what type of player tries to act bigger then man utd, and what player would WANT to cross SAF. Those are his true colours, he’s a pure dick head. rant over.
on a side note, i hope for a liverpool win today(that sends chills down my spine) and hopefully frabregas can get a yellow card as-well to rule him out of the match.
April 5th, 2008 at 14:48
Andrei – Who are you referring to mate?. Who said Keane’s departure was not painful for the club??????.
I said in a thread yesterday, what I thought about Fergie pushing players out the door and hurting the club thereby. – but I do not believe Keane is one of them!. Roy knew the clubs policy about not going public about internal issues, or about other club colleagues, but he was gobbing off REGULARLY to the press about both. So yes, it did get up Fergie’s nose – obviously.
Ahmed – Even if Roy was responding to questions in an interview, so what?. There is still such a thing as answering in a way that doesn’t cause offence. Being asked is not an excuse for mouthing off in my book – sorry!. Fergie hasn’t mouthed off about Roy’s misdemeanors has he, and he could have done with some justification in Roy’s case. I think his behaviour pushed the board into a position where they had to act. Beckham, Ruud, Stam were out the door, and they never gobbed off a fraction of what Roy did!. He didn’t get the terms he wanted when he left, poor sod, so he continues to remain bitter about it.
April 5th, 2008 at 15:05
I can declare Arsenal are definetly out of the premier league race.Itslooking more like Chelsea and united to the wire.Hope fully will come out on top.Arsenal-Pool(1-1) the final score for those who don’t know.Crouch really scored a sublime goal pity rafa doesn’t play him often.Advantage united then lads.
April 5th, 2008 at 15:24
off topic:
anybody else think that if keegan makes the right signings in the summer, castle will be a premier league force next season, it will be to soon for a CL place, but i can see them in the uefa cup definitely.
April 5th, 2008 at 15:27
Ahmed Bilal, the ABU bs? What’s that referring to?
April 5th, 2008 at 15:35
DAN- Have to say as far as im concerned Keanos comments bout the team not being at all good enuf were totally justified.
Fair enuf he wasnt too tactful bout it but its keano, what else would u expect.
I loved his reaction as it brought up a serious issue. The fact that mediocrity was creepin in…….when you look back at the state of the team at that point its shocking. richardson, fletcher etc. Was no wonder we didnt qualify for champs league that yr!
I truely believe it gave the club a kick up the arse to some extent as we went on to make better signings which has resulted in this “super squad” we have now!
Feel much better bout nxt weeks game vs the gunners now……well done liverfool
April 5th, 2008 at 16:18
Keano ruined it for himself. He criticized his own teammates on tv and that got the whole ball rolling. I love Keano but his big mouth went against the wishes and the guidelines set up by Manchester United. No player is bigger than the club and not even a warrior like Roy should ever speak ill of the club or it’s player, especially while still playing for them. I don’t think the club had any other choice. And how can we really criticize the club and Fergie? Look at the club today. It’s the best team in the world. They know what they are doing and I would think twice before criticizing them. I hate players like van Nistelrooy who bad mouth the club after they are gone but I love players like Beckham who no matter what are red forever.
Keane lost his Irish temper and that is why he was kicked out of OT with a handshake. And even if Mick McCarthy is a muppet, he let down his country because his pride and his temper got the best of him. I totally understand how he felt and I probably would have had a similar fate due to my Greek temper. Still, there is nothing to be bitter about because he basically wore out his welcome at a time when he was done as a player anyway. I wish him well and who knows, after several more years as a manager he could become good enough to eventually make his way back to OT as a manager or coach. Despite his harsh departure, I’m sure he would be welcomed back with open arms. United only forgets those who turn their backs on them and who betray them. Keano is a Red Devil for life and he knows it.
April 5th, 2008 at 16:29
Dan; Think about this for a second. After everything that has happened at Newcastle this season both on and off the pitch, what sane players of quality would want to sign with that shite outfit? He can wave all the money he wants, he is only going to be able to sign tier two players and players nearing the end of their careers. If he can actually sign just one big name, it will be a minor miracle. Quality players don’t just want to win and be paid well for it. They also want to be part of a winning organization and an atmosphere that breeds success and pride. Newcastle is so far from that, that I cannot envision them being able to sign subs from the big sides. Nevertheless, we shall see. But I wouldn’t hold my breath for a side in such poor form on and off the pitch. They are in such disrepair.
April 5th, 2008 at 17:04
management and owner sticking with keegan during his loss/draw streak shows loyalty and commitment, newcastle getting 3 victories in a row shows coming in form, thats on and off the field.
April 5th, 2008 at 17:11
Grudges? Ungrateful? Bitter? Dickhead? Some people have memories on par with goldfish and gratitude to match. He may be lacking in tact but Keane is rarely wrong in anything he says. At the stage of his rant, the team and club needed told some home truths, albeit not on TV. That said I’m pretty sure Roy knew the interview would never be broadcast, so it wouldn’t have been in the public eye if someone hadn’t of leaked it. As for this season we have all seemed to forget his numerous bouts of praise for United in various press conferences and interviews and what must still be an excellent relationship with United given the loan deals. As for him gobbing off, he did it plenty prior to a degradation in relationship with the club. I often got the sense that Keane was saying things that the manager felt he wasn’t in a position to. And why did he get cut more slack than Stam, RVN and Beckham? Because he was a better player and more important to the club than any of them.
Ultimately Roy’s departure was a blessing in disguise. As we have discussed previously SAF can be prone to nostalgia. Well here it was on display with Keane, SAF did not want to cut lose his old war dog. The signs were there from his hip operation in 2002 that Keane was a declining force physically. We should have been getting ready for life without him at that point but we persisted with him for too long. Ultimately Keane forced the manager’s hand and he was let go. It may have been messy but it was the clean break the club needed.
April 5th, 2008 at 17:40
Craig, I was not reffering to you in the first part of the post, rather to Ahmed:
Then, I said:
That is when I started reffering to your comment.
Now, as for his comments on MUTV, they seemed to work, didn’t they? Fletcher played very well in the following game, and for much of the season after that and O’Shea filled the midfield gap to the best of his abilities. Whether his comments were reasoable or not, he did his job as a captain and that was his very last action for United. He could have gone on to criticize them, comment about how he wished they burn in hell or whatnot, but in all honesty he was a perfect professional and now that he is a manager he is playing his mind-game much in the same way that every other top-fligh manager does.
Ahmed, as for the board kicking him out rather than the manager, I think you are a bit off. Ferguson said in an interview about how this discussion with Keane was one of the hardest things he had to do as a manager, but how it was time for Keane to go because of blah blah… Whether or not it was his decision to release him he admitted doing it and hence he will receive any sort of criticizm or praise for that action deserved or not.
April 5th, 2008 at 17:58
Keane, individually lost it all. how do you go public criticising your fellow players. however midiocres they are, that’s not the way to go about it worst enough when you are the team captain. we’ve already seen how detrimental that is to the team, remember the Galas incident after arse drew with the Bram.
the lad lost it to the extent that the players he criticised are the same players he rushed to sign, the likes of Richardson and Miller, recall he wanted fletcher and Smudger. the last time i checked they had lost to a certain boro, now if they aint good enough to beat boro while in united, how are gonna be useful to him,coz these are the teams he needs to beat to remain in the top flight.
Gaffer, just sulk from your bed not in public again coz you are going to end up making a fool of yourself and loosing all the respect you had from all Red Devils.
April 5th, 2008 at 18:07
this question is completely off-topic, but my curiosity is killing me. IF cristiano ronaldo wins the ballon d’or, will he be the first player to win it WHILE playing in the premier league? What i mean is that the topic of no one winning it from the premier league, do they mean if theyve EVER played in the premier league, or do they mean CURRENTLY playing in the premier league?
April 5th, 2008 at 18:25
he wont be the first, micheal owen won it while playing for liverpool. remember that season when liverpool won 5 trophies, if am not mistaken its the 2000/2001 season. but of cristiano wins the fifa world player of the year award, he will be the first person to win it while playing on the english soil and ofcourse no english has ever won the fifa world player award except the ballon d’or(european player of the year) which has been won by bobby charlton, george best, and michael owen.
April 5th, 2008 at 18:37
its was more like a double of crap cups with an important club jj, the charity shield is a nothing competition and is meant to show the beginning of the new season, and who the hell cares about a super cup.
April 5th, 2008 at 18:41
so frustratin lookin at our situation in the league……1 win from either city OR west ham tie woulda had us untouchable by this point.
Shame………….
April 5th, 2008 at 18:46
Dan(u-o.l) am not ready for this argument, i didnt mention it anywhere that they were marvellous cups all i said was 5 trophies and indeed they were trophies not glasses or mugs, i just wrote that to help our pal know when owen won the ballon d’or,
and i think those cups you call funny helped him reach that milestone which no united player in our era has reached, David Beckham failed on two occasions.
in any case why raise dust, as far as am concerned, the super cup is always listed whenever they talk about SAF’s and united’s success, so then what are the double standards for?
April 5th, 2008 at 18:47
off topic:
Lahm not leaving Bayern? Shame!
April 5th, 2008 at 19:50
Lahm not leaving may be true or not but to be honest, I always expected him to stay at Bayern because all players close to Juergen Klinsmann will stay so that they can play for him next season. Therefore, I expect Posolski and Schweinsteiger to stay too, even though they have been crying about leaving due to lack of playing time under Hitzfeld.
As for United, it’s looking more and more like they will have to settle for Bosingwa. He’s a decent talent but I think he is very overrated myself. I have said on numerous occasions that I would be more than happy to see Hargreaves play that position next season. But I don’t think that will happen. A summer off will go a long way to helping Hargo finally get better from the knee tendinitis he has been playing with all year. Fergie will be hard pressed not to include him in the holding midfield position on most occasions next year.
April 5th, 2008 at 19:55
As for Roy Keane. I loved Keano but he should look at himself in the mirror a bit. He apparently has maintained strong tie with United and with SAF but then this past week he opens his big mouth and refers to Fergie and managers like him as hypocrites for their rants and antics against referees. Even if he was right, you don’t bloody the nose of your friends and those who helped get you to where you are now. Unless they really deserve it. If anybody deserves to stab Fergie in the back or criticize him it is Beckham and he has not done so, out of loyalty to him and to the club that he loves to this day. Rant all you want Roy against Rafa, Wenger and all the others but never turn on Fergie.
April 5th, 2008 at 19:59
im not trying to start an argument mate, im just pointing out a few things.
April 5th, 2008 at 21:09
Roy keane’s statements are unfounded and hypocritical.He was the most hated player by referees till rooney came and 2 call a model professional is bull.However Saf is no saint either and is an even bigger hypocrite.The way he dealt with RVN and becks was not necessarily 4 the good of the club.Rvn was described by all in football as a professional and the only reason why becks got kicked was because of his status.In fact becks is a pro in the mould of scholes and even better.Saf has major pride issues
April 5th, 2008 at 21:36
JB – Errr who called Keane a dickhead?. I can’t see that word in anybody’s post, unless I hit a blind spot!. Keane is gobby, and everybody knows it, so no point in the denial. I often wondered myself why Roy got away with so much stuff other players at the club would have been pulverised for. Maybe he didn’t?. Maybe Fergie gave him some lambastings behind closed doors. We all know that Fergie is not a gobshite regarding his players!. As for short memories, I was never a big Keane fan, and especially didn’t like when he went out to deliberately maim Alfie Hyland – and had the barefaced gall to admit wanting to cripple him. He might not have been a dickhead, but he certainly had something missing in his head at times. You obviously loved Roy JB along with many others, and perhaps I am one of the few who wasn’t foaming at the mouth over him. He is bitter though, and if you couldn’t see that in the article, then I don’t get it!. Anyway, each to his own, we all got different likings for different players, and that’s what makes the rantings on here so good.
Andrei – No mate I didn’t think you meant me, I was just trying to find the post you were referring to LOL. I am a bit dense sometimes, just don’t tell the girlfriend – OK?.
April 5th, 2008 at 21:37
Sorry Jay Jay, got mixed up between the two awards. Thanks anyways
April 5th, 2008 at 22:12
This whole post on Roy Keane is getting rather boring. Lets move on to tomorrow’s game.
April 5th, 2008 at 22:40
[Craig mc]
You hit a blind spot there mate. Dan called Keane a dick head (comment No. 6).
[And everyone]
About this whole Keane debate let me add my two cents of rubbish to it. I was tempted to write a whole article but I think I’ll air it right here.
Keane was, in many ways, the on pitch manifestation of Fergie. A glare due to a missed pass is enough for a player to up his game. And this is something many would have told you.
Roy Keane did make some bird brained acts in life, but he was one of the few players that mixed desire-commitment-work-rate with performances that counted for us. He drove the team on when they were not doing well and usually, when he made some forthright remarks on his team, he almost always got them right. There is a difference between Keane saying something and anyone else doing so. Keane commanded respect from his players and when he did say it the players would take it knowing he meant for them to improve and not because he had some ulterior motives.
The other fact about Fergie not tolerating gobshitting, I think, is where people tend to oversimplify things. Fergie is smart and he recognises the value of a player to the team. He weighs player importance to the team if said offending player is moved on vs him staying. He moved Ruud because he believed the team could play despite his absence and was proved right. He only blundered with Stam and he admitted it. He moved Ince, Hughes and co and yet was vindicated because he was of the firm belief that the people who stepped in could do a job.
I bet he does a mini-cost analysis in his mind. Keane lost much of his powers over the last couple years of his career with United, blighted by injury, and Fergie realised, albeit a little late, that his position was untenable after the MUTV outburst.
I personally thought the outburst was right and justified especially after the dreadful game against Middlesbrough where Mendieta just stomped over us. There was a rot that was threatening to spill over and it was something Keane recognised.
However, Keane, having lost most of his own ability couldn’t quite command the same amount of respect because there was little he could do as a player. And Fergie felt it right to move him on, which again proved to be a blessing.
The final thing I wanted to address was about Keane being bitter about United based on the article that Ahmed quoted. I think he was expressing more regret than anything else about the way his career at United ended. He is United through and through, a great player and as die-hard a fan as (maybe even more than) you or me. His regret may not have come across as well. I am surprised how some of you think he has been bitter about United ever since he left. He has been only effusive in his praise. Shares an excellent rapport with the club as the loan signings demonstrate. And also recently tipped us for the title saying, “I know how that feels in the dressing room. And I can’t see past United for the title.” or something to that effect. Those of you who believe Keane calling Fergie a hypocrite, I’m sorry, go ahead and read up those articles again and give me a link where he directly names Fergie so. And again, I don’t think he is too wrong calling managers hypocrites in general. All managers make such generic remarks and we shouldn’t be paying too much attention to these — the compulsory pre-match press conferences can draw tired statements from time to time. To his credit, Keano has usually kept his head as a manager.
And on a final note, unless you started watching Manchester United from 2005, you couldn’t possibly call Roy Keane a dickhead. Or it would be really ungrateful. Surely, you must be kidding right?
April 5th, 2008 at 23:03
hey dan hav any idea on how post a link?
April 5th, 2008 at 23:06
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April 6th, 2008 at 0:16
RR, on the other hand, Manchester United finished that season with one fit, recognized central midfielder. Surely having had Keane in that team would have made things better wouldn’t it?
April 6th, 2008 at 2:07
Keane had a go at teammates because they were crap in a game where they got raped by middlesborough, whats wrong with that?There’s absolutely nothing wrong with his attitude, and he’ll always be honest in his opinion and never afraid to speak up. He never let his country down and the only times he let down united were the times he was sent off for being an idiot. There was nothing wrong with him criticising his teammates – he wasn’t out to make friends. Like fergie, he would tell it like it is and he had all the players’ respect.
Ruud wanted to leave about a year before he did. He handed in three transfer requests over the course of the season or a season and a half, but never went public about it. Fergie never let him leave, for the good of the team. Ruud never moaned about it to the press so don’t say you hate him for badmouthing united. As for beckham, he was a prick and is still one of the most overrated players in the world.
We were playing a boring 4-5-1 formation at the time – tactics influenced by quieros. Keane disagreed with his negative tactics and was a firm believer in having two up front. We had ruud, who wanted a strike partner, and we had rooney, who didn’t want to play out wide but through the middle. Fergie got it wrong. Ruud got fed up.
Also, fergie wanted keane to return as a coach but couldn’t have it as keane had conflicting opinions with quieros. Keane never liked his tactics.
Also, how was keanes departure a blessing in disguise? Do you really think fergie wasn’t looking for a replacement back then? Had keane not had an outburst and he had not been hurried out the door i think we still would have made more signings. Do you think keane would still be in the team now or something?! We played with o’shea and giggs centre mid for a season, with fletcher as back up. Not good enough. We bought carrick, who, for me, still wasn’t a good enough player. I don’t think fergie seen him as a long term solution but just another quick fix. Someone to fill the gap for another year, because we lost out with john obi mikel. I like hargreaves though. I like his style – one of the best holding mids around, plenty of energy and aggression. It would seem, however, that he has either been unimpressive for the manager, has disciplinary issues or his knee is bothering him. Maybe after his injury last season he won’t get back to full fitness. Maybe his best days are behind him. He’s not really doing it at the moment anyway.
April 6th, 2008 at 5:04
Tevez; It’s not so much what he said about his teammates, it’s the fact he went out to the media and told them. You keep that kind of shite in the dressing room. You show your teammates proper respect and you confront the ones that you feel were awful and tell them what you think as a captain behind closed doors. You do not embarrass them and make yourself out to be the savior while sitting on your ass recovering from one of many injuries his team had to endure late in his career.
Roy Keane was a wonderful player who I personally loved and supported passionately. I still love Keano and I still pull for him and Sunderland because I want to see him do well. His personal success matters to me as I am loyal to him and grateful for his years of service and his outstanding contribution. What I won’t listen to however, is his veiled insults directed at Fergie (and if you read the article you will see that right after his “hypocrite” statement Fergie’s name came up). He certainly was thinking of other managers as well as Fergie when he made those comments. And regardless of the mistakes that Fergie has made, (and he has made a few) Keano is no position to question the man who along with Brian Clough, had the most to do in making him a legend. Whether they be personnel moves or tactical, Keane and certainly all of us are in no place to question SAF on how to manage the club. Ruud might have gotten fed up but his plane ticket to Madrid got stamped when he cried like a baby after being benched for the League Cup final. As we all know, Fergie does not tolerate it when players question his methods or decisions. Roy was not in any protected position when this rule was in effect. He arrogantly made the mistake to question players and make a stink, while thinking Fergie and the club would take that lying down. Stupid Irish pride I say.
Red Ranter is correct when he says that Keane was the manifestation of Fergie on the field. He now has to become the manifestation of Fergie off the field too. That means keep your personal feelings about United or the players you played with to yourself unless it’s directing praise and appreciation. Roy should not burn his bridges when it comes to United. Although the article does not uncover a man who is bitter, it does uncover a man who is capable of moments of stupidity and poor judgment. Roy, don’t step on the toes of those who love you.
Tevez, one does not replace a Roy Keane easily. So lets get off of the backs of the players like Carrick who have had the unenviable duty to try do do so. And John Obi Mikel is a fucking tosser and useless dirty prick of a player. Anyway, Keano thanks for the memories and the years of service. Now kindly shut your yap and stop putting your foot in your mouth and save Sunderland from relegation.
April 6th, 2008 at 7:21
Grognard (comment no. 30) is absolutely right. This post got boring. We should be discussing the ‘Boro game and United’s greatness.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:50
exactly grognard, as a captain you should be pointing out things your players are doing wrong, then encourage them so they can do better, your not suppose to go to the media and publicly embarrass them, if i was a manager and my captain did that, it doesn’t matter how long he’s been with the club he would get dropped and sold. why should we respect someone who bad mouths his former club and his teammates, we might as well just make peace with bloody scouse, you just cant do what he did. bottom line.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:29
Dan, but what he did on MUTV was motivational, we were going through a bad spell, he was out injured so couldn’t motivate his players on the pitch. Other than that Keano didn’t badmouth us he still loves he club and everyone knows that.
Grognard, “and if you read the article you will see that right after his “hypocrite†statement Fergie’s name came up”, but thats the thing, Keano never made any statement with the word hypocrite in it, as Ahmed said, it was just an assumption made by the media.
April 6th, 2008 at 21:19
Conor; English is plain to understand if one is educated. The inference to hypocrisy was clear as daylight. And players do not get motivated when their friends and teammates put them down in the media. Fergie for all his shoe throwing and blow dryer usage has never berated or criticized a player or players like that to the media. Keane was being a flat out jerk and a bit of a traitor to his own teammates and was also calling into play the lack of tactical saavy by Fergie and Queiroz. Even that idiot John Terry wouldn’t do that. Or would he? Still I love Keano but he better shut the fuck up about Fergie and United. Only the esteemed posters at Red Rants have the right to criticize SAF and United. RIGHT? Ah come on guys, I’m supporting all of you here, work with me!!!!! (an obvious joke)
April 6th, 2008 at 21:40
I’m taking that as an insult aimed at my lack of English skills, but ah who cares I never really was the best while studying English in school
but Red Ranter and Ahmed both pointed out that Roy Keane never called him a hypocrite, and I don’t see Keane intimating it anywhere in the interview. I think as Keano’s rant was justified then I’m not going to hold against him, however rash it was. Grognard two jokes on one thread, are you feeling ok? 
April 6th, 2008 at 21:44
Grognard: At the stage of his outburst something needed to give. There was something wrong with the club from top to bottom. SAF and CQ needed to hear a few frank home truths, as did the players. It is harder to tell with managers, but IMO, at the time SAF was as off form as his players. It was unfortunate that the dirty laundry was done in public but the club badly needed that slap in the face to get it back on track.
Unfortunately, despite the fact it hurt, Roy was right far too often. I think it says something about the man, that he identified the malaise that set in after the treble win whilst the other players were still celebrating the achievement.
April 6th, 2008 at 23:45
Conor; Trust me mate, that was not an insult meant for you or you English, which by the way, I have no problem with. I was just referring to the fact that the article was written in plain enough English that one could easily read between the lines and figure out the inference very easily. And as for joking, what can I say, I’m just a funny guy. Rowan Atkinson and Ricky Gervais have nothing on me.
JB; I have no debate on whether Roy was right to criticize both the team and Fergie, he just needed to do so in the privacy of the dressing room or the boardroom. That dirty laundry had no business to be hung out in public for all to look at and have to smell (bad pun). And yes, Keano was right quite often. I too have disagreed with many moves Fergie has made over the years. But then who am I to be taken seriously anyway, when it appears they didn’t take Roy seriously either.