keane dosn't create problems 4 other players, he inspired the team to get to the world cup wit amazing performances against holland, portugal and remember the one-man show he put on away to cyprus? - i think some so-called fans forget roys' contribution to the irish team when it mattered. Without roy keane Ireland have no chance of getting to Euro 2004. Thats a fact. Roy Keane has expressed a wish to play 4 ireland again, and im sure the new manager will bring him back into the squad, for albania/georgia in march. The majority of irish fans (in ireland) want keane back, and that aint no crap.
Who can forget his memorable performances in the World Cup Finals culminating with two fabulously well taken goals to beat Brazil in the final?
We need Roy Keane in the team. With him, we get better playing standards on the pitch and better standards off it. Without him we get a weaker team and a weaker setup because no one else will speak up if things are not done right behind the scenes. I do not particularly agree with Keane's way of getting his message across but I am glad that it happened because now we know what a shambles the FAI are and what a shambles aspects of McCarthy's management were. The recent report into the FAI validated almost everything that Keane said. The way forward is to bring Keane back into the fold and get a manager and backroom staff that can manage a football team properly. And a few competent bodies in the FAI would not go amiss either. Then we will have a professional setup that will prevent any future crisis like the one we witnessed at the World Cup.
Do you even know what the word "bigot" means? Idiot. And what hype? Anyway, back on topic - this is one of those "there's only one way to find out" situations.....the problem, however, being that if he does come back, it could prove even more destructive than the situation we're in now. If he returned for the next qualifiers, it *could* have a galvanising effect on the rest of the team, and bring us to Portugal. On the other hand, it's not too hard to imagine a situation where there's a bust-up on the pitch after he gives out ************ one too many times to someone else who didn't desert the team (as they, at least, would see it) in the Orient. I don't think anyone in the team will ever see him the same as they did before. We have a chance for a clean break now with a new manager. We *should* be a better team with him on the pitch, but who knows how it would actually turn out.
What are the alternatives? Kinsella is past it, Holland has been quite frankly absolute rubbish in our last two games and most Ipswich fans want shot at him, he is so over rated it is unreal, he's just not motivated anymore. Delap should be in, but who else is there? Putting personal differences aside even a blindman can see that Ireland with Keane will achieve better results then Ireland without Keane and would have done the same at the world cup, you may hate him, but if you deny we need him you're only fooling yourself. Team spirit may suffer? It never did when he was in the side for the qualifyers, most of the squad (Including McAteer, supposedly his bigggest enemy) Say they want him back and we need him, so team spirit isn't an issue. It's a straight choice between Keane, Holland or Kinsella and anyone who picks one of the latter over Keane is letting personal issues get in the way of what would be best for our team, plain and simple.
Newsflash! Keane doesn't always say what he means and has been known bytimes to even deny saying what he said. He did claim he was going to retire after the WC. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that he spoke of a return to increase the pressure on McCarthy without ever being serious.
Newsflash! There has been no evidence from any party involved in the Irish set up or Keane himself that he wouldn't return, add to that Keane is one of the most patriotic and proud Irishmen currently playing today. He said he was retireing after the world cup because he didn't want to play with Mick anymore, so that quote isnt relevent anymore. Therefore, speculating that he might refuse to return to the squad, despite the squad saying they want him and he saying he wants to go back, is pretty pointless.
That literally made me laugh. Where do you get the idea that Keane is any more proud to wear the green shirt than Mark Kinsella, or Steve Finnan, or even Kevin Kilbane? Let's try and keep basic crap levels to a minimum please. And going back to that last post, it's not like only only choices currently in the centre are Kinsella, Holland, and Delap - how does Healy, Carsley, McAteer and Reid grab you? I'm not saying any of them are at quite the same level as Keane, but until I'm told otherwise, he's retired. I still haven't heard any reasons why he hasn't come out of retirement yet if he's so eager - what's that? He's waiting to see who the new manager is? Very patriotic. The way I see it, if he wants to play, grand. If he doesn't, grand. I'm sick of the whole thing at this stage, and considering that he'd only be here for another year or two anyway, I'd just as soon start afresh if he's going to keep acting like *he* is the Irish football team. And Slash, please for the love of God stop accusing people of letting their "personal feelings" get in the way of saying that Keane should be brought back. Who has personal feelings for him? As far as I'm aware, no one on these boards has ever even met Roy Keane, let alone is so friendly (and unfriendly) towards him that they have personal feelings. He's the best Irish player still active. That, however, does not necessarily mean that it will benefit the national team to bring him back. The two aren't commutative.
1) From his preformances on the pitch, nobody was ever more commited and passionate to the cause then Keane and that's not because the others didn't care 2) They don't 'grab me' as much as Roy Keane that's for sure. 3) He's not in retirement, he was sent home, he never retired, we've had no matches while hes been fit so how could anyone pick him? 4) When has Keane acted like this? He's barley said a word on anything that's happend since the Saipan situation and before that as captain *he* had the responcibility to bring up those issues to the manager. 5) Alot of people seem to have drawn pretty personal feelings towards him regardless, such as wishing a cruciate ligamend injury on him, so you tell me? 6) The only reason they wouldn't be is if it would upset the applecart, if the players didn't want him back. Since a majority of the squad has publicly stated they want him back and they need him, most interestingly this includes McAteer, supposedly his biggest enemy in the camp, then those two things are very much commutative so long as the next manager feels the need to pick him.
I'd love to have my captain back on the team after he walked out on me when my team needed him most. Funny how the other 22 players didn't find the situation so objectionable that they felt like they had to quit. Twice.
I'm not sure on the names but a few players, Connolly and Finnan were two of them I think, admitted they backed up Keane all the way but said they didn't speak up because they felt their places in the world cup would have been put under treath, and as captain it was Keanes dutys to make those players feelings known to the manager. Secondly, the Saipan issue should be put to bed, all that matters is the squad want him back and he said he wants to go back, whatever happend there wont exactly make a difference to our future results.
Dear God Slash, where do you get your information from? The generalisations you make are astounding at times. On pretty much all of the comments you have made subsequent to the above I am in agreement with Smarkand & Leto's rational thinking responses. With regard to the Holland situation let me assure you, as an Ipswich fan of nearly 25 years, that most Ippie fans do not want to see the back of Mattie. It's true he had a poor couple of games in the qualifiers, but he is not alone in that. You constantly show your support for Steve Finnan, and a fine player he is too, but nobody had more of a shocker in Moscow - and I was there looking at him - and it's fair to say his early season form for Fulham was ropey at best. Since then however he has gotten his form and probably been their best player. These things happen, Giggs, Van Niestlerooy and Henry have all gone through bad patches this season, but will Wales, Holland & France dispense with their services as a result? Will they hell! I'm pretty sure you know 'eff all about Ipswich and their players this season, apart from whatever hack journalist you read who is as out of touch as yourself. Matt Holland has been in great form for his club of late and has been one of the key elements in the climb up the First Division. During a defensive crisis he has even slotted in as part of a back three and been outstanding. There is a good chance that the club will still have to sell him out of financial necessity, and I can assure you that "most Ipswich fans" will be seriously upset by such an action. At the moment neither himself, nor Mark Kennedy can expect to be the number one choice for the midfield, but to dismiss both of them, considering the number of good performance by both in the past, is madness. They are no older than your beloved Keano!
Well I must have been talking to the wrong Ipswich fans because the two I know want to cash in as he's not preforming, and Kinsellas problem seems to be his constant knee injuries have limited his mobility somewhat, it can be seen all year in his few Villa and Ireland preformances, not just early season form.
comeback? Just read a report saying Roy stated on a Dublin radio station last night that he would talk to the new manager about the possibility of returning. He also said someday he would like to go into management!
Maybe the hour long documentary on his mental state and the numerous ongoing newspaper claims of him being a psycho. Keane doesn't complain without good reason. What happened with him and Neville at the start of the season at sunderland was nothing, Neville even said so. It wasn't a bust up it was a shake up to concentrate on the game. Van Nistlerooy said at the weekend that everyone at United has the upmost respect for him and he could be the next United manager such is his ability of reading a game and seeing what has to be done if he's good enough and wise enough to lead United why not lead Ireland. He left Saipan as a statement to do things right in the future if thats what it takes to get things done all credit to him he sacrificed the pinacle of his career to see things done right and all you can do is take a uneducated 1 dimensional view and say he deserted the team. Yes he left the team but if he didn't do this there would be no Genisis report and no shake up in the way things were done and will be done in future.
You say that like it proves something about how other players feel about him. Of course anyone and everyone associated with ManUre is going to say that. This last part is almost certainly true. But Roy Keane had no altruistic or future intentions when he quit (he did not "leave"). He wasn't making any statements except that he was more important than Ireland, more important that the other 22 players on the squad. Things certainly didn't go bad over night, so why did he wait until the eve of the world cup to quit? I know, I know, the field was bad. The equipment didn't arrive. But what all you Keane apologists forget is that they were only at this particular location for TWO days. They moved on to much nicer facilities at the weekend. The reason why he quit is that he didn't like his coach. Period. And the way he acted reminds me a lot of how my nephew acts when he wants something he can't have. He's 5 years old.
to add to that you could mention that the reason they were in Saipan was to rest and get used to the new climate and time zone, not to train. The irony of it all was the day Keane left the island the squad left before him early that morning to go to the training camp in Japan, where the facilities were world class.
Who was right and wrong in Saipan is an argument that is not only tired but also completley irrelevent to weather Keane in our squad would improve our chances of making euro 2004. If I were the new manager, I'd hold a secret ballot between the squad to see how many want him back without them putting their careers on the line, but since most everyone has come out in support of Roy and their profressionals who know were better off with him, I'd imagine that it would be an over wheling majority in support of the Cork man, then he can come back with no problems and a clean slate, and everyone knows as a player we're better with him then without him. That is all that matters.
Dearie, dearie me! Where do you come up with these broad sweeping generalisations? Starting with the fact that it's nigh on impossible measure one man's patriotism and pride against another, let's look at Keane's record when it comes to playing for his country. 1. He was made captain by McCarthy immediately when he took over in '96. Keane's reply? He got sent off in his first game and didn't bother turning up for the next. 2. He didn't bother going to the US Cup in the summer of '96, having previously said that he was going, and then not bothering to turn up or tell anyone he wasn't going. Anyone remember him sitting, watching cricket at Old Trafford when the Boys in Green were playing in New York? 3. He admitted that he picked and choosed his games, and that friendlies were beneath him. He decided that he didn't want to, or didn't care to play in the second leg against Iran. He is bigger and more important than his country, apparently 4. The whole Saipan debacle. Where he allowed years of perceived resentment build up to such a point that he first walked out on his country, then took it back, then prevented a fellow countryman from getting a WC call up, then plunged his camp and country into needless handwringing and had everyone bending over backwards and more besides to accomodate the poor bruised, slighted ego of the ever delicate Roy. This patriot then walked out on his country (even as he was pushed). He then accused anyone who dared disagree with him - Quinn, Kelly, Staunton, etc. - of being lap dogs and cowards. Another fabulous way to get his country focused on preparing for the WC. 5. Roy Keane, a patriot and proud Irishman? Well as I said this is always difficult to measure, especially one man versus another, but I saw many thousands of Irish fans in Japan and Korea who were happy to be there, spending thousands of their own money, unlike Mr. Keane. If Roy Keane is a patriot and proud Irishman, then he keeps it rather well hidden, especially when it comes to the big stage. But perhaps he is, though it does appear that Roy Keane only cares about the Republic of Roy Keane.