Interesting matches this week. AC Milan plays twice this weekend, first in the Super Cup today (which would be a great match) and Monday against my favorite team, Fiorentina. Hopefully Milan is a little tired by Monday. Regardless, all of the eyes of the football world will be in Manchester on Saturday, to see the combustible Roy Keane face off against his former team. May not be much of a game, but we shall se.
Friday
2:30pm AC Milan vs Sevilla FSC (UEFA Super Cup)
Saturday
10:00am Fulham vs. Tottenham FSC
10:00am Liverpool vs Derby County Setanta Sports
12:00pm Manchester United vs Sunderland FSC
2:30pm Empoli vs Inter Milan FSC
Sunday
8:30am Arsenal vs Portsmouth Setanta Sports
9:00am AS Roma vs Siena FSC
11:00am Aston Villa vs Chelsea FSC
11:00am Hamburg vs Bayern Munich GolTv
Monday
12:00pm AC Milan vs Fiorentina FSC
Showing posts with label Roy Keane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roy Keane. Show all posts
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Roy Keane at it Again
I used to think Roy Keane was an insufferable prick. The most negative bastard alive. I then read his autobiography, (which I have reviewed on this website) and found it to be incredibly refreshing and honest, one of the few genuinely great football books I have ever read. It was so honest, in fact, that I kind of started liking Roy Keane as a result. Mind you, I still know he is pretty much an angry jerk.
Roy Keane is now the Manager of Sunderland, and by any account he is doing a great job. He was promoted from the Championship in his first year and is now 1-0 in the Premiership. However, he has become more and more frustrated at his lack of ability to get good players to move up to the sticks and play for his not-so-famous club. Yesterday he inevitably lashed out, blaming the wives and girlfriends of the players who wouldn't sign for him, claiming these men are too cowed by the ladie's desire to be close to the shopping scene in London. Here are a few of the better outbursts:
Sunderland manager Roy Keane has launched a withering attack on 'weak and soft' players who are dictated to by their wives and girlfriends.
Keane, famous for his tirade against corporate Manchester United fans who he dubbed 'the prawn sandwich brigade' when he was captain at Old Trafford, said some players were not interested in playing for clubs outside the English capital.
...'I think it's weak. You see it with a couple of big players now. Clearly their wives and girlfriends are running their lives and that's a bad sign. I realise it is part of the package and more so when there are children and schools involved, but ultimately you're a footballer.
'Retire at 35 or 36, you can live wherever you bloody well like -- London, Monaco, wherever -- and any half-decent footballer will be a multi-millionaire anyway.
'Why is there such a big attraction with London? It would be different if it was Chelsea, Arsenal or maybe Tottenham, but when they go to a smaller club just because it's in London, then it's clearly because of the shops.'
...'Their priorities are not the same as mine. We will do the best for our players' families, but we've had a player this summer who didn't even ring us back because his wife wanted to move to London. And shopping was mentioned. It might astonish many people, but it's true,' he said.
Yes, Roy. It's just because of the shopping. I'm sure it has nothing to do at all with the club, the money, or even with you.
Meh. I still like him.
Roy Keane is now the Manager of Sunderland, and by any account he is doing a great job. He was promoted from the Championship in his first year and is now 1-0 in the Premiership. However, he has become more and more frustrated at his lack of ability to get good players to move up to the sticks and play for his not-so-famous club. Yesterday he inevitably lashed out, blaming the wives and girlfriends of the players who wouldn't sign for him, claiming these men are too cowed by the ladie's desire to be close to the shopping scene in London. Here are a few of the better outbursts:
Sunderland manager Roy Keane has launched a withering attack on 'weak and soft' players who are dictated to by their wives and girlfriends.
Keane, famous for his tirade against corporate Manchester United fans who he dubbed 'the prawn sandwich brigade' when he was captain at Old Trafford, said some players were not interested in playing for clubs outside the English capital.
...'I think it's weak. You see it with a couple of big players now. Clearly their wives and girlfriends are running their lives and that's a bad sign. I realise it is part of the package and more so when there are children and schools involved, but ultimately you're a footballer.
'Retire at 35 or 36, you can live wherever you bloody well like -- London, Monaco, wherever -- and any half-decent footballer will be a multi-millionaire anyway.
'Why is there such a big attraction with London? It would be different if it was Chelsea, Arsenal or maybe Tottenham, but when they go to a smaller club just because it's in London, then it's clearly because of the shops.'
...'Their priorities are not the same as mine. We will do the best for our players' families, but we've had a player this summer who didn't even ring us back because his wife wanted to move to London. And shopping was mentioned. It might astonish many people, but it's true,' he said.
Yes, Roy. It's just because of the shopping. I'm sure it has nothing to do at all with the club, the money, or even with you.
Meh. I still like him.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Book Review: Keane: The Autobiography, by Roy Keane with Eamon Dunphy
“Taking him [Eric Cantona] down a peg or two seemed to be objective number one for the opposition hard men. Perhaps part-time men would be a better description. For what really bugged us was the thought that these guys were out to make a name for themselves by sorting us out. Why the fuck didn’t they put that effort in every week, then maybe they wouldn’t be playing for fucking Norwich or Swindon.” (page 114.)
The above quotation from Roy Keane’s autobiography tells you everything you need to know about this fantastic book. First, it has deservedly earned the reputation of the being the best, most honest autobiography ever written by a player still in the game. (Keane has since retired and become a very successful manager with Sunderland.) Every line makes you feel like you are living Keane’s VERY intense life right beside him. Secondly, t
he book is incredibly funny, just as the quote above can’t help but make you laugh. Finally, and sadly, Keane intense life largely makes him unlovable; as you can tell from the quote above, he was often an incredible jerk.
Roy Keane played center midfield for Manchester United for more than a decade. During that time they had a remarkable run of success, winning multiple premierships trophies, FA Cups and a European Championship. There were flashier player at United during the decade (Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Ryan Giggs, just to name a few) but none worked harder or more intensely than Keane. By anchoring the midfield he allowed the scorers of United to go forward and win so many critical games by wide margins (4-1 seemed an average premiership victory at Old Trafford in the 1990s). Along the way Keane becomes disgusted by, well, nearly everyone for their lack of commitment to the cause. No one is as hungry as him; no one will take the game as seriously. The only two people to escape serious criticism in the book are United gaffer Alex Ferguson (perhaps the only man as intense and committed as Keane) and Keane’s saintly wife Theresa. God bless her.
Keane obviously loves United and most of the players who played there (with the exception being Peter Schmeichel), but he eventually decided they became too soft and complacent after winning the Treble in 1999. Keane saves his harshest criticisms, however, for the Irish national team, which he persuasively argues did not take itself or any of the tournaments it entered seriously, always taking a “just glad to be here” attitude. It was an attitude that disgusted Keane, and he eventually and famously left the Irish national team on the eve of the 2002 World Cup.
Keane personally comes off at times as a very unlikable man. He’s critical of almost everyone he meets, and openly states that no one (except Alex Ferguson) cares as much about football as he does. He constantly bitches about things that would make a regular person gag, such as carrying his own luggage through an airport or having to sit in coach on airline flights. (Poor baby.) It’s a bizarre thing to (constantly) complain about, seeing as he makes a point of describing how he grew up relatively poor in Ireland.
Still, this is a remarkable book. Reading it, one is given an idea of how football really is, how it is a business, and how sometimes its employees don’t care as much as they probably should. It gives you a glimpse into the life of a truly great player, and what things are like in the clubhouse, on the pitch, and on the street. Keane (and his co-author Dunphy, who has done a remarkable job) deserve all the credit in the world for writing this truly honest, engaging book. It has well earned its title as one of the best football autobiographies ever written.
The above quotation from Roy Keane’s autobiography tells you everything you need to know about this fantastic book. First, it has deservedly earned the reputation of the being the best, most honest autobiography ever written by a player still in the game. (Keane has since retired and become a very successful manager with Sunderland.) Every line makes you feel like you are living Keane’s VERY intense life right beside him. Secondly, t
he book is incredibly funny, just as the quote above can’t help but make you laugh. Finally, and sadly, Keane intense life largely makes him unlovable; as you can tell from the quote above, he was often an incredible jerk.Roy Keane played center midfield for Manchester United for more than a decade. During that time they had a remarkable run of success, winning multiple premierships trophies, FA Cups and a European Championship. There were flashier player at United during the decade (Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Ryan Giggs, just to name a few) but none worked harder or more intensely than Keane. By anchoring the midfield he allowed the scorers of United to go forward and win so many critical games by wide margins (4-1 seemed an average premiership victory at Old Trafford in the 1990s). Along the way Keane becomes disgusted by, well, nearly everyone for their lack of commitment to the cause. No one is as hungry as him; no one will take the game as seriously. The only two people to escape serious criticism in the book are United gaffer Alex Ferguson (perhaps the only man as intense and committed as Keane) and Keane’s saintly wife Theresa. God bless her.
Keane obviously loves United and most of the players who played there (with the exception being Peter Schmeichel), but he eventually decided they became too soft and complacent after winning the Treble in 1999. Keane saves his harshest criticisms, however, for the Irish national team, which he persuasively argues did not take itself or any of the tournaments it entered seriously, always taking a “just glad to be here” attitude. It was an attitude that disgusted Keane, and he eventually and famously left the Irish national team on the eve of the 2002 World Cup.
Keane personally comes off at times as a very unlikable man. He’s critical of almost everyone he meets, and openly states that no one (except Alex Ferguson) cares as much about football as he does. He constantly bitches about things that would make a regular person gag, such as carrying his own luggage through an airport or having to sit in coach on airline flights. (Poor baby.) It’s a bizarre thing to (constantly) complain about, seeing as he makes a point of describing how he grew up relatively poor in Ireland.
Still, this is a remarkable book. Reading it, one is given an idea of how football really is, how it is a business, and how sometimes its employees don’t care as much as they probably should. It gives you a glimpse into the life of a truly great player, and what things are like in the clubhouse, on the pitch, and on the street. Keane (and his co-author Dunphy, who has done a remarkable job) deserve all the credit in the world for writing this truly honest, engaging book. It has well earned its title as one of the best football autobiographies ever written.
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