Roy Keane still bitter over ‘lies and propaganda’ surrounding Irish legend’s Manchester United exit
Keane claimed last week that he was booted out for appealing a £5,000 fine for his behaviour and everything else was untrue
AS CAPTAIN of Manchester United Roy Keane was all about moving on to the next challenge.
Forget what has just gone it’s the next season that is most important.
Yet it feels that Keane has been unable to move on himself since his distinguished playing career came to an end.
You have to wonder just how much joy he has looking back on his time kicking a football so consumed is he at the way he left Manchester United back in November 2005.
It came up again this week as Keane spoke at a charity event back in Ireland.
It is well documented but briefly Keane, who was injured at the time, slaughtered his teammates in an MUTV analysis of a 4-1 Premier League defeat at Middlesbrough.
The club blocked the interview going out and Keane was called in to face Sir Alex Ferguson and the rest of his players to explain himself.
It didn’t go well and Sir Alex had simply had enough.
An incredible career ended one Friday morning with Keane, Ferguson, David Gill and Keane’s lawyer sat round a table.
He has never been able to let this go.
It seems that 12 years of hurt felt by the ignominious nature of his exit has still not fully gone.
I attended his book launch in Dublin back in October 2014 when scowling down from a top table he eyed those of us who had charted his time at United and accused us of siding with Ferguson.
Keane said: “Ferguson had pals in the media. I can spot em a mile away. There’s a few here today.”
Yet nobody had sided against him and many of us believed his treatment was shoddy, I still do.
To be fair to him he was also engaging company that day later laughing at the fact the first record he bought was Karma Chameleon by Culture Club.
Another ‘Evening with Roy Keane’ at the Old Trafford cricket ground on his book tour again brought out the bitterness over his departure, interspersed with other digs at United and, to be fair again, some great tales.
But this is it with Keane his mood suddenly swings when either his United exit or his departure from the Republic of Ireland World Cup camp in Saipan in 2002 comes up.
I remember having an interview booked with him back in April 2003, but given United had just exited the Champions League the night before to Real Madrid I was expecting the call to say it was cancelled.
It wasn’t and Keane was charm itself and joked with the Sun photographer, that I had probably given him a higher mark out of ten than he deserved in that morning’s paper to make sure he still turned up.
The change in him when I brought up Saipan, however, was marked. He was full of anger.
You see that World Cup was there to be won in Japan and South Korea.
Keane said as much to Sir Alex before as he headed out there he really believed in that Republic side.
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But he was furious with the poor training facilities in Saipan said as much and then did so publicly in a newspaper interview.
It lead to another showdown with a manager and teammates and another exit.
You often wonder in the cold light of day if his frustration ends being as much with himself, that he blew his top instead of biting his lip.
That, in the end, the only one who really suffered was himself.
He should have graced that World Cup stage at the very peak of his powers.
His exit from Old Trafford should have been at the end of a season with hugs from the boss and his teammates.
He did in the end return for his testimonial and got a roar like you have never heard when he came out from the tunnel at Old Trafford.
At the end of the night he took to the microphone to thank the crowd and his teammates.
Alongside him Sir Alex asked him for the microphone to make his own tribute, Keane would not let him.
Even at this moment he could not forgive or forget and it seems he still can’t.
Once again the only one who will be suffering will be Keane himself.