A True Entertainer?
 Roy
Keane: Saint or Sinner? Blah-di, blah-di, blah. We've heard it all before.
I'm not really interested
in which he is, or which Chinny Hill, Trevor Brooking, Mark Lawrenson, etc.
thinks he is. All I know is life would be very boring without the Man United
midfield warrior to liven it up.
Life without him would
be full of Giggsy-wiggsy ghosting past defenders to score effortlessly amazing
goals, the Neville inbreds giving 'articulate' interviews, Becks and Posh doing
something suitably nouveau riche, and Yorke and Cole doing what footballers
do, i.e. 'shaggin' birds'.
Football has been crying
out for someone like Keane since Graeme Souness stopped playing. West Ham's
Julian Dicks came close to claiming the mantle - but without the international
standing and reputation, he was like just another football league bovver-boy.
In the interim between Souness and Keane there was only one occasion a truly
famous player came close to the sort of career ending tackling Souness loved.
This was when Gazza, in the FA Cup Final no less, got over excited, like the
young pup he was, and launched himself at Gary Charles. Gascoigne didn't realise
that a shocking tackle is meant to end the career of the other player. In those
few seconds, he may have ended his own.
Keane is now amongst us, however, and if anyone needs reminding of the
fact, talk to 'dirty' Alf-Inge Haaland about this season's Manchester derby.
What a tackle. A knee-high, studs showing, stamp. Beautiful. It's not the first
time those two have clashed, either. An incident in 1997 between the two, put
Keane out of action for a year with knee ligament damage. Keane went mad for
a second and attempted the aforementioned Gascoigne lunge and got what he deserved.
Terrible.
Those of you who have
watched both men in action may wonder how I can label Haaland 'dirty' and talk
of beautiful stamping tackles from Keane. Well, you may disagree with me, but
Haaland is just a thug. Like a lot of players, he has no class. Everything he
does is off-the-ball. Elbows etc. Keane is a true entertainer. He plays the
villain at the front of the stage, even in front of the referee. As befitting
a former amateur boxer, Keane has been in trouble with referees his entire career.
He's received 8 red cards in 8 seasons with Man U.
He's not popular with
everyone though (oh, what a surprise.) According to an Irish guy I know, Keane
cost Ireland their place in the last World Cup through his irresponsibility.
You see, his cruciate knee injury, following the 1997 Haaland tackle, came at
the worst time for his country: the Republic went into the two-legged play-off
against Belgium without him, and they lost 3-2 on aggregate.
However it was a different
story 4 years earlier, during the qualifiers for the World Cup in USA. Keane
was the Irish inspiration, even Diego Maradona watching from the stands in Spain
wanted to know who this fiery Irishman was. "Buy him," said Maradona, "together
we play good."
 This,
of course, shows that there is more to Keane's game than just excellent, grimacing
fouls. He can play a bit, too. He can defend, attack, pass, cross, shoot, score,
but most of all, he has a powerful engine which sees him steaming from end to
end of the pitch, from the word go to the final whistle.
He was picked up at the
age of 18 by Nottingham Forest after applying for trials at several English
clubs. Here he made his name, appearing in two Cup finals, before Man United
snatched him for £3.6 million, then a British record fee. It must be one of
the best deals Man United have ever done.
Keane was entrusted with
the captaincy of Man U in 1997 after the retirement of Eric Cantona, an equally
despised/God-like figure. Nearly everything went well:the 1998/99 season
ended in professional tragedy for Keane as not only did he miss the Champions
League final through suspension, he was also injured in only the 5th minute
of the FA Cup final. Therefore missing out on the two biggest games of a massive
season (For those of you who don't know, Manchester United won an unprecedented
treble - Premier League, FA Cup, Champion's League.)
Only in the perverse career
of Roy Keane could such a thing happen. What an entertainer. Few would deny
that Roy Keane is the most inspirational footballer in England, and probably
worth the reported £52,000 a week he is paid.
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