Keane's apology - take him back or not?

Rufus T Firefly

Well it's all over the papers. Keane admits he was wrong and wants to play in the World Cup. There will be very few people who wouldn't have him back in a flash. There are however some questions.

Does Roy seriously expect Mick to take him back? A cynic might suggest that this is a rather smart PR route for Keane to take. By letting it be known that he still wants to play - and all the time knowing Mick doesn't want him back - Roy puts all the pressure back on Mick. Everyone's screaming 'accept the apology and let's get Roy on the next plane to Japan!' If Mick doesn't take him back, it's then all Mick's fault. But that's a cynical analysis.

Here's another one. Roy plays from the heart. He loves his country so much it hurts and when he doesn't see the team being given the best possible chance to succeed, he loses his cool. In a calmer moment, Roy realises that the good of the team is more important than his well-documented spat with Mick. He apologises sincerely.

But even then, some more questions follow. Does Roy think that he's the only one who cares? That Mick doesn't? That the other 22 players don't? Does he know how to manage and prepare a team better than his manager? Does he think he can call someone a 'f***ing w***er' and and an 'English c***' in public and expect it all to be forgotten?

Most worrying of all, Matt Holland is quoted in today's Mirror as saying that everyone was so relieved when Roy left, that the players were singing with joy on the coach when they left the hotel. This doesn't sound like a captain who has his team with him every step of the way.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Roy back in Japan. But Roy himself has a lot of bridges to re-build, most noticeably with his team mates. And in any event, I don't think Mick will have him back. That team meeting was a length of rope for Roy to hang himself with and Roy duly obliged. Mick got what he wanted. He's not going to take a backward glance now.

gandalf

At this stage I would say no. Bringing him back no would do nothing except cause disruption to the preparations for the Cameroon match.

He had his chance to sort things out before he flew back to England.

Gandalf.

SheroN

I say take him back.....he's a pro...the other players are supposed to be pros they should acknowledge the fact having him in the team improves their chances of doing well.

online

don't be pessimistic: Roy Keane can play for Ireland in Japan up until about 2 days before our fourth and last group game –if man can walk on the moon - key football personalities can get over themselves, and give a little,

SheroN

exactly online!....suppose he misses the cameroon game...the next game isn't till the following wednesday.....!

Bateman

his well-documented spat with Mick

Its not a well-documented spat. Its different. They HATE each other. Always have.

You'd easily know Ipswich were relegated by What Holland has been saying. He won't have to play against Keane next season! Coming from a man who has sung "God Save the Queen" at a Wembley playoff a few years back. I still refuse to take Keane's side, but Holland is a tosser.

jd

Mcateer seems pretty happy too-having a go at keane in some of the papers

What are you doing?" I asked.

"Are you training?" He seemed angry.

There was an edge to his voice.

"You all just go with the flow," he spat.

"What do you mean?"

"What goes with the flow?" he asked.

I thought, 'here we go again.' He's been hitting me with all these one-liners 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail' all week. Sometimes I think he thinks he's Alex Ferguson.

"I don't know," I replied. "What goes with the flow?"

"Dead fish," he said.

I thought 'Wow! P-R-O-F-O-U-N-D. The messiah has spoken.' And then he walked out of the room."

- Jason McAteer (The Sunday Independent)

GoneShootin

but but but

The Republic of Ireland squad will revolt if World Cup bad boy Roy Keane is brought back to Japan. They made that loud and clear in late night meetings with manager Mick McCarthy on Sunday, after rumours swept the team hotel that Keane was on his way back. Several Irish players approached McCarthy on his return from a spying trip to watch Cameroon against England when they demanded to know if Keane was coming back, subject to an apology.

More...

Bateman

Yeah a few years back, McAteer casually slipped the phrase "mate" into something he was saying to Keane, and Keane told him he was nothing of the sort.

McAteer is a bit of a dimwit though, he slagged Hasslebaink in the tunnel a while back when Bolton played Chelsea by saying "At least we're going to Malaysia and your'e not!".

I'd never boo any player in an Ireland shirt, but ther are some players I would rather not have in the squad, and McAteer would be one of them.

BTW, Keane has not "apologised", he has said that McCarthy was right to send him home, but that he called him a ****èr, and he stands by everything he said.

hallelujahjorda

The inability of muppets like Matt Holland and Jason Mcateer to accept that Roy Keane is the reason they are in Japan in the first place is what p i s s e s me off the most. . .

And as for Matt Holland coming out with this sanctimonious crap about how he'd never heard such disgraceful language . . blah blah blah, I mean for gods sake, he's a footballer . . .they're hardly the most well-spoken breed.

Roy Keane raises the Irish team and helps them to achieve greatness that they would not without him.. . . .they dislike him because he pushes them hard . . bollocks them lots . . has achieved infinitely more and as he said himself he doesn't suffer fools . . . . and we all know how full of fools the Irish camp is.

. . .

Bateman

Its like what Tony Adams said, he said he thinks that from what he can see, some Irish players are going to the World Cup for a holiday. He is probably right, there are some fools in the squad, but we have no option but to cheer for them. It should not have taken something like this to show us that we are not dealing with 24 National fùcking heroes out there, some of them are mercenaries eg Clinton Morisson, people with little Irish connections etc etc. However, when someone lets the squad down, they let the whole squad down.
The players that are there are not perfect but thay are all we've got. Will the people slaughtering McCarthy stop going to Ireland games if he remains as manager? I doubt it. People whinge and whinge that Keane is right but they do nothing about it.

Andywil

I'm a big roy keane fan...but as much as i want to defend him he went too far. There is no way you want unrest in any team, sport or other, because once one person isn't fully trusted then it beaks the link and weakens the team, never mind if the strongest link is broken...

There is a Keaneless squad who's strongest characteristic now will be their mutual appreciation for each other to get on with things under a bad cloud...they'll come together.

If keane came back it would shake it all up again. We don't want him now.

Roy, i'm sorry, but i've waited 8 f'cking years for this u b@stard. I cried when macedonia scored late against us...i f'cking cried...now i couldn't give a sh't who you are...i want to enjoy the two odd weeks from saturday onwards, cos it might not happen again for another bloody 20!

A.

hallelujahjorda

Originally posted by Andywil
Roy, i'm sorry, but i've waited 8 f'cking years for this u b@stard. I cried when macedonia scored late against us...i f'cking cried...now i couldn't give a sh't who you are...i want to enjoy the two odd weeks from saturday onwards, cos it might not happen again for another bloody 20!

A.

Without Roy Keane you're unlikely to enjoy any more than a week and a half . .

I will admit that since the early days when keane was a sneaky player kicking players on the ground and falling out with every goddamn opposition player under the sun thet he has come on in leaps and bounds esp since the Haaland injury in 97. But there has been signs of his rattiness on more than one occasion since then(eg, shearer this season).. I dont believe in making any more excuses for the man or defending him as the sight of him makes my stomach turn and between english and irish television weve had it for breakfast, dinner and supper. a debate about a headcase man who gives a sh;t about one and one only and ridicules fellow pro's to make himself look the most passionate player on earth .. He may be a good player but he dont appreciate the effort the rest of his colleagues put in. Its a pity that the national team have to go out and do well just to prove themselves to that muppet that they can play as a unit without him. Apology accepted Roy but unfortunately our squad is picked so f*ck off and get a life you nutter. Learn to have some ****ing RESPECT!!!!!

PHB

One man doesn't make the team, while there is no doubt that Keane is a key player he doesn't totally control the teams preformance, they can still paly without him.
We have the same chance of getting out of group stages as we had before imo.
If he comes back now he definally can't be captain, will he be happy about that?

Bateman i detest you and your f*cking comments about a sunshine holiday... the players have maintained a tremendous record and are proudly representing national identity in the world cup. Clinton Morrison has done wonderful so far and is a nuisance for any one who has to deal with him in and around the box..Grow up and come to terms that keano acted the maggot and should be man enough to surely own up to the fact.. it takes brains and honesty to have courage not ignorance and stubborness. Enjoy the world cup and stop moaning about a former player with too much of his own pride and not enough in the republic of ireland. He's playing with awful mercenaries and lacklustre players at man utd anyway so why dont he scatch a few attacks on them

Xterminator

I dont think we, the public will ever know excatly what happened in saipan.

I think it is clear that Roy was backed into a corner by Mick, on front of the whole squad, and he exploded.

Roy says Mick accused him of feigning injury, before some of the friendlies in the team meeteing.

Now if your boss sat you down on front of the whole dept, or company, and accused you of calling in sick, when you werent sick, do you think you might call him a wanker?

Knowing Roy's temper, there was only ever 1 outcome of that meeting. But he should never have been put in the situation in the first place. It should have been 'managed'.

If Roy apologises for blowing the top, then I think he should be taken back.

Mick should at least think of the team, and not his own wounded ego.

X

Xterminator

Originally posted by tipp_Gunner
Bateman i detest you and your f*cking comments about a sunshine holiday... .... He's playing with awful mercenaries and lacklustre players at man utd anyway so why dont he scatch a few attacks on them

Er .. Hello?

Thats exactly what he has done before, and continiues to do.

Sap.

X

Andywil

He can't go back. Tis over. Keane-No, Keane-No.

He should never wear an ireland jersey again.

I've been at Lansdowne where people were booing Keane for failing to turn out at games. I've seen him played at sweeper against Iceland where we failed to beat them in a competetive game and my father who sat beside me at almost every game since bringing me to see Ireland Vs West Germany in 1989 was so annoyed that he has refused to pay the FAI any money since, and goes for the sitting room stand instead.

Keane has never had a stressless time as an Irish international. I don't know the man outside of the Roy Keane that i am presented with through the eyes of th media, and although people like Ferguson do their utmost to ensure that this is untainted, it's never the real deal.

At the end of the day, however much i dislike McCarthy, HE is the manger in charge of a side which has qualified for the world cup. The side which conceded the fewest goals in their group. The side which along with Portugal are joint top point scorers in Europe. The right thing is for Keane to be taken out of the equation and for this man to be allowed to finish the job he has started. After the world cup he should step down. Roy Keane can become a fugure of infamy for what is left of his sure to be cut short career.

In years to come, people will look back fondly on him, but that is a while away.

A.

Bateman

why dont he scatch a few attacks on them


My point exactly, Keane knows what side his bread is buttered on, he won't criticise Irish people for pouring money into Man Utd at the expense of the same FAI who can't get anything right, because thats who is paying him. I don't think he launches scathing attacks on United in public, but there is less reason to. At club level, players are almost expected to be mercenary-like. At international level, I think we have a right to despise career-decision internationals like Clinton Morrison.
Tipp Gunner (sic), you are obviously misunderstanding me in a lot of what I am saying. I am at the moment, holding a roughly pro-McCarthy position. Like you, I think. But don't show youself up as a muppet by trying to argue that Clinton Morrison has proved himself to be a National Hero. It basically comes down to the opinion that, roughly speaking, the 13 or so British born players are not as committed as the Irish born players. This may be a controversial thing to say, and don't start acting the smartàrse and asking me who I would replace them with, I'm not saying we would be better off without them, I'm just saying that we haven't got 23 national heroes out there.
For example, how many of the qualifiers did Morisson play in? How many goals did he get to take us to the World Cup?

Bateman

a nuisance for any one who has to deal with him in and around the box..

I don't think the Nigerians would agree with you there, but either way, to say that this Nartionwide Div 1 striker hasd proved himself at the highest level, be it club or international, is fùcking laughable, and more the fool you for trying to say he has been "wonderful so far". Grow up for fùck's sake, how many goals has he scored? Enough to be called wonderful?:rolleyes:

The_Scary_Man

It seems that the facts of the meeting in Saipan will not come out for a while, but I am backing Roy Keane to the hilt.

If no man is bigger than the team then surely this should apply to McCarthy as well.

Keane may have gone too far in the comments that he made, and btw I seriously doubt that he called him an "English cvnt", he was goaded in to it by Mcarthy in what I am inclined to believe now was not as seems on the surface a completely inept and feckless piece of management, but a cynical manoeuvre to force Keane out of the squad without having to take the blame.

We have all read the comments made by Keane but not a lot of people seem to have read McCarthy's comments to Keane beforehand where he accused him of being disloyal to his country, of being a liar and of feigning injury to get out of playing in the second leg of the play-off against Iran.

These comments were a complete disgrace and no-one seems to be saying anything about them. I know that if I was called in by my boss in front of everyone in my department and this level of abuse was levelled at me I too would snap and lay into him.

McCarthy seems to have thought that his best management strategy in the aftermath of Keane's statement on the ineffectual preparations for the WC that he himself was involved in wasn't to work the issue out with the team captain and either address his concerns or explain to him why they couldn't be sorted but was rather to belittle Keane in a meeting of the whole squad in a bid to show everyone who "The Boss" was.

What a twat!!

In my opinion not only should Keane go back to Japan to play for Ireland in this WC but McCarthy should stand down as the Irish manager after this tournament.

Sand

Yeah I agree with what Scary Man said. In the Irish Times today Keane denied he ever called McCarthy an "english ****" or even called his Irishness into question - which makes sense seeing as his kids are as english or irish as McCarthy is and his wife is english born. He admitted he effed and blinded at McCarthy but as Scary said after McCarthy had accused him of not wanting to play for his country.

This only further indicates the blame for this lies with McCarthy, he took a short tempered player with a lot of complaints and displayed completely inept man management by provoking him in front of his team mates and then acts shocked when Keanos temper gets the better of him? McCarthy is a first division manager with first division ability and standards - hes lucky to have a player of Roys calibre, a type of player hed never have got his hands on at Millwall, his true level of management.

As regards the comments made by Holland and McAteer theyre twats - When theyve achieved as much and played as consistently well against the best players in the world in the top competitions as Keano has then perhaps theyll be in a position to make smart alecky remarks.

From some of the comments youd think Roy and the rest of the team were going 10 rounds morning noon and night - I guess that footage they had of Roy joking and laughing with the other players must have been faked? He was annoyed with the standards, it was McCarthy that pushed him.

The_Scary_Man

I have just seen the full interview with Roy Keane on RTE and I am now more behind him than ever.

Keane denies that he ever called McCarthy's "Irishness" into question and I believe him.
This now leads to yet another aspect of this story that calls McCarthy's professionalism into question.
After the comments were reported i.e. "English Cvnt" and "You're not even Irish" McCarthy then said something like "I don't want to talk about it [what was said in the meeting] any more, you've all seen what has been printed the papers, make your own minds up."
This would seem to me that McCarthy was confirming that these things were actually said, if this is the case and it turns out that Keane did not actually say these things then McCarthy's integrity is severely tainted and as a result his suitability for the Irish Manager's job should be called into question.

Bard

http://www.rte.ie/aertel/p608.htm
http://www.rte.ie/aertel/p609.htm

Those who vote in silly Aertel polls want him back... in the two polls it currently stands at 95% and 96% in favour of Roy returning.

I now want him back and have changed my mind completely about McCarthy since watching the interview.

knobbles

i've had a change of heart over the last few days,
and after the interview i really want him back

i still respect mick though but keane deserves to
play EVEN if it isn't in the best interests of the team
as a unit.

he should be there cause he got us there

OLDYELLAR

yes take him back , i saw the interview and roy said"i want to play for ireland"the man was genuinely hurt , hes a class player whos given great time and effort to the sport , the other players turned their back on him , its not right , roy deserves it more than anybody else , of course there should be no question as to taking him back or not , roy is irish soccer!

Kalina

Roy Keane deserves to play for Ireland in the world cup. It seems that he was the ony member of the squad with the guts to complain about the facilities the team were expected to train in.
A handful of his team-mates were in agreement (as said by Keane in the RTE interview tonight) but when it came to it none of those players backed him up when he needed their support the most. Obviously they have their own careers and reputations to think about and none of them, especially the younger players, would want to miss out on a chance to participate in the World Cup but I feel that if some of those players had voiced their misgivings along with Keane then the matter may have been settled quietly and amicably. McCarthy might have taken their opinion into consideration and done something to improve conditions and Roy Keane wouldn't have taken all the heat.
Because of their cowardice and Mick McCarthys lack of people and management skills one of Irelands best ever players has to miss the World Cup and Ireland have less chance of success.