Wow, I miss the soccer news yesterday and then find this?!! Keane was are one of the greatest United players ever and the greatest DM of his generation. I'm sad that he is gone, sadder that he left out the back door instead of getting the grand farewell that he deserved, and saddest of all that United never got back to the European Cup Final to give Keane a chance to win one while on the pitch. Farewell, Keano. We will never see another like you.
No, Keane's departure was inevitable.. but his departure NOW.. at this point of the season, by "mutual consent", as not inevitable. And that is sad.
Not likely. It seems like it didn't go above David Gill. They would not do anything so stupid, I don't think. Besides, as owners of an NFL franchise, they've certainly seen much more objectionable behavior from athletes (Keyshawn Johnson, anyone?).
Far be it from me to speak up on behalf of Ferguson but there's a few things that need to be said. 1. First of all ferguson it was only Ferguson that made the club what it was till a year or so ago in the first place. Frankly, he WAS bigger than the club because the club was some distance behind others. 2. It's a bit much to slag off Ferguson's temperament and treatment of players when that is precisely what has motivated others to produce over the years. Personally I can't help thinking that Keane leaving might be a good thing in the long run because others might 'step up to the plate', as the saying goes. 3. It's unrealistic to think of ManU, (or the arse, for that matter), challenging Chelsea because, bluntly, we've got more money than you and players know that. It's exactly the same situation as you had over us and the others a few years ago. Players know that we're going to be more likely to compete for other top players and that's why they want to come to us. Regarding Europe... well, let's be honest for a second, shall we. In recent times you've only won it once and THAT had a certain element of luck attached to it in that you scored twice in the last 3 minutes and the other side had no chance to come back. You HAVE competed since... yeah, OK... but to talk of you being a 'serious threat' is a little way off the mark, dude. You weren't that much of a serious threat before and that was WITH Roy Keane. Sorry, but these things have to be said. In the past 15 odd years Ferguson has made your club what it is. Personally, I think he should be given a bit of leeway. I'm on record on here as saying that the season is a LONG, LONG way from over and that the bookies paying out on us before the season started, (or whatever it was), was just a publicity stunt. If Smithy can continue as he's been doing the past couple of games and young Rooney can continue his form I fully expect you to be there or thereaboouts come the end of the season and a significant factor in that will be old red noses management skills. I think we'll win it again this year but I also believe Mourinho's idea of us winning it on the last game is probably right.
SAF stated that he would be the one who decided when Keane would leave. We all thought that he meant that Keane could be at United after this season. We were wrong. One this about this whole (alleged) incident: it demonstrates one of SAF's most admirable traits, loyalty as long as you produce on the field and follow the rules off of it. SAF is ruthless when it comes to making decisions about the team and many of us have wondered about SAF's loyalty to players who don't deserve it. This shows that things still have to be done Fergie's way, no matter who you are.
I'm not at all surprised that this happened, especially after the scathing remarks about his teammates. Instead of being an inspirational and positive force, Keano became a distraction. Now that he's gone, the team can focus on what they need to do better. And if they don't do better, they know they'll get a tongue-lashing from Fergie instead.
Much obliged to all those that replied. Think I'll have a little mooch about RI. I always knew there was a reason I was never particularly anti Man U. In light of Billy's observation about everyone turning Japanese - Me thank you long time! Or is that Thai?
Most Spurs and Man United fans have got on for the most part, I have found. Haven't been over to your board in a while though, might give it a visit in the coming days... As for turning Japanese, I meant something entirely different. Remember that 80s song that turned out to be about masturbation?
It's one thing for Fergie to dress down someone who's underperforming or even a young player just learning the system, but to get into it and ultimately sack the guy that was the heart and soul of your club for over a decade? From an outsiders perspective, it strikes me as being, at the very least, counter productive and, at worst, totally divisive. And let's not forget that those criticisms ultimately preceded your best performance this season, so they couldn't have been too much of a distraction.
Uh oh, here we go. People are starting to point to the Glazers: Did Glazers give Keane the push? Story Tools: Print Email XML Nick Webster / Fox Soccer Channel Posted: 14 minutes ago Roy Keane and Manchester United parted ways on Friday in typically explosive fashion. More specifically, Keane and his manager Sir Alex Ferguson split and in the process shook Old Trafford and the Red Devils' empire to its very foundation. It was perhaps the only way the most successful relationship between a player and manger in English football could've ended — quickly and in clinical fashion. However, I can't help but wonder whether an American influence wasn't responsible for this stunning divorce. Around the same time that Keane was delivering a shotgun blast of vitriol to be aired on MUTV to his United teammates for their pathetic showing against Middlesbrough a few weeks ago, on the other side of the Atlantic, Philadelphia Eagle receiver Terrell Owens was doing exactly the same thing to his teammates and organization. As we all know, TO was unceremoniously booted off his team in double-quick fashion by his coach Andy Reid and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. You can bet your bottom dollar that Tampa Bay Buccaneers and United owner Malcolm Glazer took a close look at the Eagles situation because Owens, regardless of his talent, was a cancer that was ripping the team apart. Is it possible that the Glazers forced Sir Alex Ferguson's hand in this matter? Up until Friday, the Scotsman's Sergeant-at-arms supposedly wasn't going anywhere until at least the end of the season. If we look back on the partnership, Fergie has always given his captain a fair amount of freedom. It has been well documented that Keane was a wild man when he first arrived in Manchester with a taste for the old 'amber nectar'. Yet his manager chose to overlook that fact. The Irishman's 2002 World Cup shame brought support only from his boss while the numerous suspensions have had Fergie raging at the football authorities instead of his captain's behavior, which at times has been disgraceful. Without a doubt, Keane has been the beating heart of United and SAF has made that known over the years. You could even say the recent downfall and lack of league titles for the Red Devils has co-incided with the lessening of Keane's powers, which is a point that has been bemoaned by Fergie. In fact, his fruitless search for the Irishman's successor in the past few seasons (think Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djemba) was probably one of the reasons why Keane felt so emboldened to make his caustic comments and observations of club and teammates. I find it strange that so far throughout this saga, the Glazers' name has not been brought up. If I were the owner of a club I would certainly be closely involved in a decision to remove — or shall we call it what it really is — sack one of the most popular players ever to grace the Theater of Dreams. Yet no one has brought this issue up. Was it really all down to SAF — was the MUTV interview the last straw — or did Keane manipulate the whole episode as one of the rumor mills is now churning out? Or could it have been an unseen hand from across the pond? The Glazer takeover of Manchester United was deeply unpopular and the demonstrations that followed were passionate — just imagine what would happen if they were also behind the departure of Keane. But surely they must have been consulted. Can you imagine New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick sacking star quarter back Tom Brady without consulting Robert Kraft? I didn't think so. I'm sure over the next few weeks more details will eventually leak out of Old Trafford and we'll get to hear the whole story because at the moment all parties concerned are towing the safe, conservative line. Without a doubt, there is more to this than meets the eye and for the conspiracy theorists amongst us this is manna from heaven. Until then, get the beers in...
That story has to be one of the stupidest stories that I have ever read. Glazer may have gotten rid of Keane because Lurie got rid of Owens. Please. Is this what passes for soccer journalism here in the US?
Webster is phoning it in... His little intro and outro blurbs for the FSC broadcasts are comically awful. And the goals recap from this weekend.... "master class goal this and that" on deflected shots. What a complete moron. Damnit, I can fake a Manc accent and provide better football insight than that twaht!
I heard something interesting today from a friend but have no link for it, so take it FWIW - I'm not saying it happened, just repeating the rumour, but... ...apparently when Ferguson confronted Keane in front of the other players about the MUTV interview, saying how divisive it was, Keane brought up the Rock of Gibraltor affair and accused Ferguson of the same thing. At which point he was stripped of his captaincy. It could be complete bollocks, but at the same time it's plausible, and would explain the suddenness of his departure better than that he wasn't allowed to play in a reserve match.
My personal favourite rumour, is the one where Keane cuts off Quieroz in a meeting and says "Don't speak to me about loyalty! You f'd off to Real Madrid for a year!" Oh to have been a fly on a wall there... About the only way you can put any of this on Glazer is that it was his decision not to offer Keane a new contract, which actually, was the catalyst after all...
come off it MM... next you'll be blaming Glazer for the weather in Manchester... I'm not saying it wasn't him, but we've got nothing to say it was and u can't just blame EVERYTHING on Glazer/s.