zocoss

5 Dec 08, 11:13

OUT THE DOOR ... Roy Keane at his Cheshire home yesterday

Keane... a "loose cannon"

ROY KEANE ruled Sunderland with a ferocious anger and explosive mood swings that left players and staff in a constant state of fear.

Today, we can lift the lid on the remarkable dressing-room tantrums, confrontations and bust-ups that turned Sunderland into a ticking timebomb.

SunSport can reveal the former Manchester United star:

* Hurled foul-mouthed tirades at both senior and young players

* Lashed out with his arms and legs as his temper boiled over

* Blanked players for no apparent reason

* And launched into a bizarre kung-fu attack — on a training chalkboard!

It was this last episode that graphically summed up the madness of King Roy. At half-time during one game this season, Keane asked one of his assistants to set up the tactics board while he disappeared into the toilet. He returned to launch a kung-fu kick at the object, sending it flying into the wall of the dressing room. He then called three different players a ‘c***’ and took a swipe at another one, only just missing his jaw.

The Black Cats men had got used to Keane losing his rag but this was the final straw for many. There had been a number of occasions when Keane’s post-match team talk would seemingly spell the end of several players’ careers. He would say things like ‘There are four players in this room who will never play for the club again’ only for a similar line-up to run out the following week.

The reserve team were not immune to his fury either. Keano went to watch one game and burst into the dressing room at half time. He bawled this message: ‘I’ve come to see how many of you can make it into the first team one day, well I’m telling you now, none of you ever will.’

Players could find themselves blanked by Keane for weeks on end without an explanation. Training routines would often leave the stars scratching their heads.

One top boss refused to send Keane a player on loan because he thought the whole situation under him at Sunderland was too unstable. Quite simply, Keane was always too close to the edge to take the team on to another level.

This will come as little surprise to those at Old Trafford. It was a rant too far that saw Alex Ferguson part company with him on November 18, 2005. A fortnight before, Keane had slaughtered the players on United’s own TV station in an analysis of a 4-1 defeat at Middlesbrough. It was too much for them to broadcast.

Keane was called to Carrington to explain his actions to the rest of the players but he not only repeated his attack, he tore into manager Ferguson and assistant Carlos Queiroz as well.

The Irishman was furious at his exit and an apparent betrayal after 12 years of service. He accepted a testimonial the following year so he could say farewell to the fans and 69,951 turned up.

Keane addressed the crowd but, when Fergie asked if he could do the same in his honour, he told the Scot he could not, to the manager’s astonishment.

And Keano’s 2002 World Cup dream was also shattered by his own fragile temperament. Before going to the competition, he told Fergie he believed the Republic of Ireland could win the event.

In the end, he did not even kick a ball after a bust-up with boss Mick McCarthy at their Saipan training camp. He felt the facilities were not good enough and launched into McCarthy.

A newspaper interview revealing his concerns about Ireland’s preparations made matters worse. McCarthy called him to a team meeting and Keane flipped again. He felt, having got Ireland to the finals, he was the one now being persecuted.

Bring the subject up with Keane and a near demonic expression comes over his face. He fell out with Niall Quinn, the man he dubbed Mother Theresa who ended up being his chairman at Sunderland.

Keane also lost it with Ferguson at a Portugal base in the summer of 2005 leading to him being left at home when the club went on their Far East tour a week later. On the pitch he was a leader, a legend, but again when the mists came down he would let himself down.

His horror tackle on Manchester City midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland’s right knee came after a long-running feud with the Norwegian. Yesterday, as Quinn answered questions over his manager’s departure, Keane sought his usual sanctuary in the fields around his Cheshire home.

Once again he found solace in Triggs, his famous golden labrador who he took for a walk — there was a growing belief Keane talked to his dog more than he did to his players.

On the day Keane parted company with Sunderland, McCarthy was named Championship manager of the month with Wolves. McCarthy lost his Ireland post in the wake of the Saipan row, prompting Keane to say his old boss would get another job ‘if any chairman was stupid enough to employ him’.

Well, Sunderland did and he got them promoted and he looks like doing the same thing with Wolves. As for Keane, it looks like Triggs will be getting plenty of exercise for some time to come.

zocoss

5 Dec 08, 12:38

Sunderland players celebrate after Roy Keane resigns

Roy Keane's shock departure as Sunderland manager sparked celebration among the players, it emerged on Thursday night.

Gone: Roy Keane's resignation from the position of Sunderland manager appears to have sparked celebrations among the players

"He ruled by fear," said one source close to the squad, who added that Keane's hardline management methods had alienated many at the relegation-threatened club.

Keane is understood to have announced his departure by sending club chairman Niall Quinn a text message. Quinn made several attempts to contact Keane to try to change his mind, but his calls and texts went unanswered.

However, Quinn's fears were confirmed when Keane's London-based solicitor, Michael Kennedy, faxed a statement signed by his client to the club on Thursday at lunchtime.

Keane later put out a brief statement which read: "I would like to thank my staff, players, Niall Quinn and, in particular, the fans for their support during my time at Sunderland, and I would like to wish the club every success in the future."

zocoss

5 Dec 08, 13:00

An Interview with Roy Keane's dog Triggs.

Triggs: Roy's going to make my life hell

Roy Keane’s dog wore a worried expression last night. “This couldn’t have come at a worse time for me,” said Triggs, speaking near a Cheshire lamppost. “Have you felt how cold it’s been over the last couple of days?”

The faithful retriever said that he feared another of the periods of intensive dog-walking that have traditionally been the stormy Irishman’s recourse in times of trouble and reflection. In 2001, after he was sent off for pushing Alan Shearer, Keane admitted that he “walked Triggs a long way” while he considered retiring from the game. As Triggs confirmed yesterday: “Five hours we were up there on that moor. I was cream crackered, I don’t mind telling you.”

The lead came out again when Keane stormed out on Ireland in 2002, and again after his departure from Manchester United in 2005. “Don’t get me wrong — I like a walk as much as the next dog,” Triggs said. “But this is on another level — the pace of it, the swearing, the throwing things. Not for me to fetch — just throwing things.”

Keane once said that he wouldn’t trust most football pundits to walk his dog. Triggs confessed that there were occasions when he regretted that policy. “I wouldn’t have minded Richard Keys, say, getting the nod, once in a while,” the dog claimed. “I don’t think we’d have gone anywhere near as far, nor as fast. And the language might have been better.”

The dog maintained that he could sense the pressure and the fury mounting for Keane in recent days. “There were definitely signs after Sunderland’s 4-1 defeat by Bolton on Saturday,” the dog said. “If you hear Roy put his car in the garage without opening the door first, you know you are in for a bit of an evening. Rough and tumble doesn’t really begin to describe it.”

He said he was standing by him, though. “It’s a cliché, but at the end of the day, I’m his best friend,” Triggs said. “And I’m loyal, and he respects that, because, by and large, loyalty has gone out of the game.

“I always say to him, ‘Hey, Roy, what’s the secret of great management?’ And then we’ll both answer, ‘Winalot.’ He loves that. Cracks him up, every time.”

The dog added: “I probably won’t be using that line for a while, though.”

Laughing

brokenluv

5 Dec 08, 13:02

sunderplayer players and staff : "yay~ the tyrant is gone!"

NoobUnited

5 Dec 08, 16:00

Sunderland seem to have forgotten who was the person who brought them out of the relegation zone in division 1 and into the premier league..

Obviously the sunderland players are below what was expected of them for keano to be angry at them.

Sunderland sucks without keane, let's welcome sunderland back to division 1

youyayu

5 Dec 08, 16:49

Big Sam to take over..

maskedangel

5 Dec 08, 16:55

time to put ur money against sunderland!

redDUST

5 Dec 08, 16:56

keane is not ready for premiership management yet.

he should manage a championship team for a few more years.

in fact, i don't think he is manager's material.

like king eric, they are extreme left. their ingenuity means their make-up is not meant for football management.

NoobUnited

5 Dec 08, 16:58

Originally posted by redDUST:

keane is not ready for premiership management yet.

he should manage a championship team for a few more years.

in fact, i don't think he is manager's material.

like king eric, they are extreme left. their ingenuity means their make-up is not meant for football management.

Hmm i beg to differ, i just think the players in Sunderland lack the correct mentality when going into matches.. Keane's something like a perfectionist and wants to win games, the players are just content for a draw and stay in the premier league

But that's my opinion

redDUST

5 Dec 08, 17:39

if players are professional, they play to win. that much i know. no one plays for a draw. if the manager cannot galvanize his troop with belief and passion, he might as well walk away.

keane did the right thing.

time and again, there have been instances where the same group of players performed at different levels when there is a change. spurs is the latest e.g.

Jezmeister

6 Dec 08, 01:22

I think the dog sums it up.... oh come on people it was in the sun - it's hardly a great pillar of reliable reporting, the local news has very different things to say as do the sunderland fans, niall quinn and the sunderland players. as for this season they've been unlucky but they'll bounce back, and they probably would have if he'd stayed too.

I-like-flings(m)

6 Dec 08, 01:27

Originally posted by NoobUnited:

Sunderland seem to have forgotten who was the person who brought them out of the relegation zone in division 1 and into the premier league..

Obviously the sunderland players are below what was expected of them for keano to be angry at them.

Sunderland sucks without keane, let's welcome sunderland back to division 1

i was just thinking of sayin actually that... ya lor... bye bye lah only loser cannot tahan keano... cos keano never wan to lose.... so ya let them celebrate lor... soon they will be celebrate for being the champion of division 2 lor..

theyj

6 Dec 08, 01:42

goodbye keane goodbye sunderland...

omgukilledkenny

6 Dec 08, 14:55

The reason for Roy Keane’s failure

Wondering how Roy Keane’s fortunes changed? It wasn’t anything to do with overspending, tactics or confidence, it was all down to his ambivalent attitude towards facial hair. Observe: