Once a c***

[aka Dus]

From the Irish Sunday Independent

 

'If you get a call from a private number, it'll be him. Up to you whether you answer it, but he's after you."

 

Having accurately quoted word-for-word the honest views of a player a couple of months ago, it seemed I had upset his manager. It wasn't the first time a player had ever spoken negatively about their manager, so my initial response was to wonder what all the fuss was about.

 

The difference in this case was that the manager in question was Roy Keane. Up to that point, no player had gone on record saying a word against him since he went into management. Actually, come to think of it, nobody has done so since.

 

Players are asked all the time to give insights into what life is really like at their club. Fans never tire of hearing stories about what goes on when the cameras aren't there. When you're a player, it's hard at times to appreciate their fascination, but you know it's there. Usually players speak of teammates, other times about the manager. Rarely are they honest though, which makes it all that more interesting when they are.

 

Last week, for example, Chelsea's Israeli international Tal Ben Haim spoke out against his manager Avram Grant. With disciplinary action sure to follow, he may come to regret his words. At times though, it's hard to stay quiet.

 

The Irish public seem to have an insatiable appetite for all things Keane. In an interview where the main focus was the near-fatal cardiac arrest of a 28-year-old footballer, the revelation that Keane loses his rag now and again is what made the headlines elsewhere. Possibly naive on my part not to realise it in advance, but if you include quotes about Keane, everything else gets lost.

 

The very notion of Roy Keane having a problem with a player speaking frankly in public is laughable, hypocritical and nonsensical. There are countless examples throughout his career when he spoke up and said what many may have been thinking, but few were prepared to say. From the interview which led to the Saipan fiasco, to the MUTV programme which ended his Manchester United career, Keane has shown little or no care for the reputations of others. Why he felt different rules should apply to others is beyond me, but his public response to Clive Clarke's interview differed greatly from his private reaction.

 

Aware that journalists show up at every press conference in the hope that they'll witness him lose it, he has appeared very calm and relaxed since becoming a manager. There have been no touchline tantrums, and no foul-mouthed rants at officials or opposing managers. Whether in their promotion run-in last season or relegation scrap throughout this season, he has seemed very much in control. Basically, not at all what anyone was expecting.

 

However he may come across, his brief career in management has to be considered a resounding success to date. The on-field progress the club has made since he walked through the doors nearly 20 months ago has been remarkable. At the time of Clarke's interview though, the pressure was on. Knocked out of the FA Cup and struggling to pick up points in the league, disgruntled Sunderland fans were being quoted regularly in the media voicing concern at their manager's inexperience.

 

While Keane's style of management may not have changed greatly since then, results have. And that's all that matters. Victory over local rivals Newcastle today would ensure survival. If there are any doubters left among their support, ensuring another year of Premiership football by winning at St James' Park would surely silence them all.

 

Anyway, back to the business of the phone call.

 

Though I had been expecting it for over 24 hours, I was somehow still caught off guard. It was from a private number, and despite the warning, I answered.

 

"Roy Keane, Sunderland Football Club here."

 

And so it began. To call it a conversation would be wrong, for that implies the participation of more than one person. That wasn't really the case in this instance as I struggled to get a word in. Why he was so enraged with me for simply quoting someone else's words, I couldn't understand. Repeatedly referring to me as a "spiteful c**t", he rambled on with the "no mates in football" bullsh1t he often comes out with.

 

Just as I realised it was going to remain a one-way communication, he did me a favour and hung up. I went back to just writing columns for a while after that. Less hassle, usually.

 

richiesadlier@hotmail.com

[aka Dus]

By the way, with friends by the name of K n u t, and living close to a St K n u t's square, I think it's highly awful and terribly bold to censor such a fine upstanding Scandinavian name.

[johngibo YPC]

I had a missed call from an unknown number before.......

[John am Rhein]

He's a c*nt

[jimmylibel]

I had a missed call from an unknown number before.......

 

That was him. He'd read your piece slagging off Voronin and was ringing to tell you you've loads of friends in football.

[Bigal]

I had a missed call from an unknown number before.......

 

it was lee from steps....