That rings a bell better. I think the gap between him quitting drinking and Japan might be smaller. The point I was trying to make badly was that he was seriously scorpy going out there.
United lost the title that year and Keane seemed to take it very, very badly.
He carried it over to Saipan.
He’d have been better off carrying a few balls instead
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what is denis irwin at these days ?
Shilling around OT
I think it was losing the semi of cl to an ordinary enough outfit like Leverkusen that flipped him that year. Was supposedly fuming for weeks at Utd after.
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I was bulling myself after it.
The 2-2 draw at Old Trafford was unforgivable.
He played well in Germany too akair. Final was in Ferguson’s back yard and Leverkusen were better side against Madrid on night. Definitely one that got away for Utd
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I genuinely think that Roy Keane was injured going to the World Cup in 2002, he knew he wasn’t able to perform at the top level like he could and essentially looked to get out as quick as he could. Keane had been a colossus for over 3 years and he started to slow down and in typical Keane fashion was raging at the dying light.
Keane had been getting injections for a hip injury for over a year before the World Cup.
He missed 4 weeks in April 2002 with a hamstring injury and also missed the now infamous Niall Quinn testimonial as Keane was in France getting treatment on said injuries, hamstring and hip. Keane would miss 4 months of the following season, 02/03, following Hip surgery. He was a completely different player post surgery. Older, slower and not the force he was.
Keane essentially was a ticking time bomb: injured, media criticism, and dealing with the FAI, Keane probably felt that he could no longer hold his own against a German midfield, consisting of Ballack - who dominated in the Bay Arena Leverkusen.
Maybe I’m misinterpreting this, but in the interview with Kimmage he said
“We have an important week and a half . . . and no matter what happens, and no matter what I think is not going right, I’ll make sure I’m right. Cameroon next Saturday at three o’clock will be bloody hard physically, because the conditions will play a factor. We need a positive result but I’ll try and enjoy it and make my mark.”
Was Keane expecting facilities in Saipan to treat him, he probably felt that he was missing a crucial week of treatment.
This all culminated in the now famous row over the goalkeepers not training, thus walking out fon the team due to “personal issues”, (ie. Keane knew he couldn’t play at 100pc) The subsequent turnabout following a chat with Fergie and then the interviews with Humphries and Kimmage, which led to the that team meeting with Mccarthy. Keane saw his chance there and then, he grabbed it and went home.
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Keane is genuinely an oddball. I don’t think there’s much else you can say about him. He’s wired up angry in public at least.
(His wife says he’s a pussycat)
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He turned his back on his country. Simple as that.
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Daniel McDonell said last week that Keane said things to people when he was manager of Ipswich that you can’t overlook when discussing him & that any rational person would be disgusted with him
I’m sure you could overlook it if it suited your narrative.
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Lads I’ve got this
- Sweep sweep
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Keane sacrificed himself for the good of his country.
He didn’t walk out, he was sent home.
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He disagrees
Oh give over. He left a squad of football players.