Roy Keane tells it like it is.

[Jacks Jackie Jackson]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/kea...ts-1528700.html

 

 

 

By Michael Walker and Nick Szczepanik

Saturday November 08 2008

 

Roy Keane came to the defence of both Arsene Wenger and Tony Adams yesterday, and in doing so launched a scathing analysis of the culture of 'short-termism' he sees as being propagated by the media, in general, and by Sky television in particular.

 

"It's the media side of it," Keane began, when discussing the immediate pressure Adams is under at Portsmouth after just two games, "particularly Sky Sports. A lot of people out there, punters, are getting brain-washed by what's real and what's not real. That gets to the players sometimes. We're on about league tables after a week; teams losing two games, it's 'a crisis'.

 

"There was a debate yesterday about Arsene Wenger on Sky. How crazy is that if you step back from it? People on Sky actually getting interviewed about Arsene Wenger, saying he shouldn't be doing this ...

 

"What that man's done for the game! And we're giving these people air-time. I wouldn't listen to these people in the pub, and yet they're on television constantly. What you've got to do is not to get sucked into any of that nonsense and try and focus on your job. But it's hard because people take notice of what's being said.

 

"Somebody said to me, 'Tony Adams has had a tough start'. He has had a tough start! He's played Liverpool away and a difficult game against Wigan at home. The average manager now, his lifespan is going down and down. I keep saying hopefully managers will be given an opportunity but the way punters are getting brain-washed every week, it's crazy."

 

Sunderland host Portsmouth today, which is why Keane was discussing Adams. Keane said he will not be doing so in a television studio soon. "I was asked last week by ITV to do the Celtic game," he said.

 

"A couple of weeks before that I was asked to do the United game against Celtic at Old Trafford. I think I've done it once for Sky. Never again. I'd rather go to the dentist. You're sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they're trying to sell something that's not there.

 

Dressing

 

"After the Newcastle game, we had Keys on saying we've never seen anything like it, dressing things up that weren't really there, just because he was in a bad mood. If you're going to watch a game of football, just go and watch it.

 

"Anytime I watch a game on television I have to turn the commentators off. They say, 'He's playing really well' and I'm thinking, 'No, he's not'. My advice to anyone is don't listen to any of the experts. Will Arsene Wenger be remembered in 25, 50, 100 years' time? Bet your life he will. Will any of these people on the television yesterday be remembered? None whatsoever."

 

Keane, who was this week charged by the FA after being sent to the stands at Chelsea last Saturday, also criticised officialdom and the Respect agenda launched at the start of the season. "Maybe it's just a PR gimmick," he said.

 

There is not much confidence either that Keane will convince the FA of his case.

 

"The last time, the FA had a murder lawyer against me and he was absolutely brilliant -- for some comments in my book about some Norwegian player at Man City. I bet he was expensive, just to make sure they won the bloody case. Not that you get a fair hearing," he continued.

 

Keane's comments will have been one of the rare comforts for Adams this week as his backroom team is now in turmoil following Joe Jordan's decision to follow Harry Redknapp to Tottenham Hotspur.

 

Adams had intended to have his new staff in place before today's match but instead, the make-up of his backroom is less clear than ever. Martin Keown, to whom he had offered the position of assistant manager, indicated that he would prefer to concentrate on media work, while a possible approach to Dennis Bergkamp did not get off the ground, rather like Bergkamp's trips to matches abroad.

 

Adams claimed he and Jordan had shaken hands on an agreement on Thursday, but the Scot changed his mind yesterday. The suspicion that Jordan will not be the last person to leave Portsmouth for North London is widespread, with players such as Lassana Diarra, Jermain Defoe, David James and Sylvain Distin mentioned as possible transfer targets in January.

 

Although Premier League rules would seem to prevent Defoe returning to White Hart Lane within 12 months of his move to Portsmouth, which became permanent in February, the odds against James heading for North London were cut from 10/1 to 5/1 yesterday.

 

Defeat today against Sunderland will certainly heighten the pressure on Adams, despite his embryonic period in the manager's hot-seat. If he is looking for sympathy, a post-match chat with the opposition boss might just cheer him up. (© The Times, London)

Edited November 8, 2008 by Jacks Jackie Jackson

[John am Rhein]

  Jacks Jackie Jackson said:

You're sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they're trying to sell something that's not there.

 

Well said Keane!

 

(the c*nt )

[ManxRed]

So glad someone's come out and said this.

 

Just a shame it had to be that tw*t Keane.

[RP]

All the Premiership Managers should get together and tell Sky to sort their lives out.

Edited November 8, 2008 by RP

[Jacks Jackie Jackson]

  RP said:

All the Premiership Managers should get together and tell Sky to sort their lives out.

 

I wouoldn't have thought it was up to Sky to sort the Premiership manager's lives out.

[aka Dus]

All that c nt has said it was the rest of us have known for years. Or anyone with half a brain.

 

I'm sure such an insightful, well read, balanced young intellectual like Roy Keane can appreciate the not insignificant role Sky had in creating the hype that glammed up Manchester United to help propl them in their rise from 25 years of being also rans to GREATEST AND RICHEST CLUB IN THE WORLD. And that that hype machine had a role to play in players such as himself joining Manchester United over other clubs of greater pedigree. And helped their overt corporate strategy succeed in the era of hyper capitalism in football that generated the revenue which helped them take so many titles when clubs which weren't so media savvy failed to exploit.

 

So funny now that he's on the outside looking in, when he sees the imbalance in the league that Sky help and are interested in maintaining from the other side, when he sees the crass, ridiculous, hyperbole of Sky that he says it's a bad thing?

 

The t** has plenty of medals which Sky helped him a little bit to win, it's typical of him now that he would turn on them just because he's seen the light.

[smithdown]

Tony Adams is sh*t though.

 

Who the feck is he calling 'punters'? He can feck off with that.

 

Oh, and some Norwegian?

 

Keane is the arrogant pr!ck he always was. He won't go on sky cos he won't get half an hour to give his endlessly whinging soliloquys without interruption.

[Mike]

like keane, always have

[Jacks Jackie Jackson]

His name's not Robbie Keane, it's f***ing Keano.

 

Hey, someone could turn that into a song!

[Buzz]

  aka Dus said:

All that c nt has said it was the rest of us have known for years. Or anyone with half a brain.

 

I'm sure such an insightful, well read, balanced young intellectual like Roy Keane can appreciate the not insignificant role Sky had in creating the hype that glammed up Manchester United to help propl them in their rise from 25 years of being also rans to GREATEST AND RICHEST CLUB IN THE WORLD. And that that hype machine had a role to play in players such as himself joining Manchester United over other clubs of greater pedigree. And helped their overt corporate strategy succeed in the era of hyper capitalism in football that generated the revenue which helped them take so many titles when clubs which weren't so media savvy failed to exploit.

 

So funny now that he's on the outside looking in, when he sees the imbalance in the league that Sky help and are interested in maintaining from the other side, when he sees the crass, ridiculous, hyperbole of Sky that he says it's a bad thing?

 

The t** has plenty of medals which Sky helped him a little bit to win, it's typical of him now that he would turn on them just because he's seen the light.

I really never thought I'd defend him, but, to be fair to Keane, he did have a go about all that sort of stuff and the players it attracted to the clubs/premiership when he was still a united player.

[Stevie H]

what is he trying to achieve and / or who is he trying to impress? he might well be right but he's the same self-regarding gobsh*te as a manager that he was as a player.

[Ed the Wool]

Great article and bang on the money. Apart from occasional raving mad outburst, Keane talks a lot of sense. I quite like him as a manager, not least because he told United to get stuffed.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

  Mike said:

like keane, always have

you could get banned for that

[Rory Fitzgerald]

He's nailed on in one respect. How can Warren Barton, Jamie Redknapp, Dion Dublin etc pass judgement on people like Wenger and Ferguson.

 

The only kind of people that can come close are guys like Dalglish.

 

Loved the fact he highlighted Sky

[aka Dus]

are we finally so cowed? first Anny and D hodgson start the YNWA Ferguson Society, then this. i suppose this must be te saddest aspect of accepting being knocked off our perch.

[Cam]

Charlie Nicholas analysing how G&H (when they were still the good guys) should have financed the takeover was my parlicular lowlight. As someone said on here - "what the feck does he know about LBOs?".

 

We're again talking about cancelling Sky this week and, for once, I'm not kicking up a fuss about losing Sky Sports; I'd rather watch the games online and skip the experts/eejits.

 

I don't mind the obviously bias of guys like Gray. So what if he prefers another club? I know I'd be biased if I was on Sky. And at least he had a career to be proud of - won little but gave his all for relatively little reward in an era when fans and effort mattered - and had a crack at coaching. It's slimy, sly, hypocritical, gutless, comfy wasters like Merson and Redknapp that wind me up.

[Duncan Disorderly]

At least Souness tells it like it is when he's on Sky.

 

As Buzz said, Keane was already banging on about this while he was still a player and he's certainly not afraid to bite the hand that feeds him. At least he's being honest and not kow-towing to Sky like all the other spineless managers that do.

[surf]

  Jacks Jackie Jackson said:

I wouoldn't have thought it was up to Sky to sort the Premiership manager's lives out.

 

[Walrus]

  Jacks Jackie Jackson said:

"It's the media side of it," Keane began, when discussing the immediate pressure Adams is under at Portsmouth after just two games, "particularly Sky Sports. A lot of people out there, punters, are getting brain-washed by what's real and what's not real. That gets to the players sometimes. We're on about league tables after a week; teams losing two games, it's 'a crisis'.

 

"There was a debate yesterday about Arsene Wenger on Sky. How crazy is that if you step back from it? People on Sky actually getting interviewed about Arsene Wenger, saying he shouldn't be doing this ...

 

"What that man's done for the game! And we're giving these people air-time. I wouldn't listen to these people in the pub, and yet they're on television constantly. What you've got to do is not to get sucked into any of that nonsense and try and focus on your job. But it's hard because people take notice of what's being said.

[Flanders]

  Cam said:

It's slimy, sly, hypocritical, gutless, comfy wasters like Merson and Redknapp that wind me up.

In particular Merson. If you are ever unlucky enough to catch this c*** pontificating on soccer saturday you won't forget it. Listening to him telling the managers where they are going wrong must wind the likes of Keane up no end!

 

I've cancelled sky sports, partly because of this and also because half the games aren't on sky anymore and I'm not subscribing to setanta as well. The days of subscription tv printing their own money is hopefully over, perhaps with a bit of a downturn in subscribers to the sports packages they might have a rethink and sack the likes of Merson and Le Tissier. I was paying £67 a month and watching the free to air channles more often than not.

[Guest Ant]

THEY ALL HATE US

[betterman]

He's right about Sky.

 

But they are also the company giving him huge amounts of money to spend on s*** players.

 

Seems to me Roy Keane is more intent on getting headlines for his 'this is the way I see it' press conferences than he is for stringing some decent results together.

Edited November 9, 2008 by betterman

[muleskinner]

Take what they offer, don't be afraid to criticise. The people in the game who actually matter would be involved anyway regardless. The likes of Keys can't be criticised enough.

[Guest RedLegend]

Souness was laughing at Keys yesterday when he mentioned Keane's comments.

[Coyler]

Laughing at Sky is great. Laughing at Keys is great. But if you saw him slip in old dog s*** you wouldn't feel the need to bend down and lick the stepped-in remnants of the turd. Enjoy the right things.