Euro 2012: ‘Let’s Not Just Go Along For The Singsong’ – ‘Honest’ Roy Keane Lets Rip After Irish Defeat

Alan Duffy

14th, June 2012

21 Comments

By Alan Duffy

“You can stick this f**king pathetic excuse for a dog up your b****cks”

If you were a strong enough human being to endure the usual trite ‘man on the terrace’ bile from Adrian Chiles on ITV tonight for the post-Spain v Ireland analysis, you would have witnessed another of Roy Keane’s ‘telling it like it is’ moments.

The former Boy in Green lambasted the performance by the Irish team and questioned the attitude of a number of the players who played against Spain.  After watching a post-match interview with Keith Andrews, who praised the Irish support (who magnificently sung ‘Fields of Athenry’ during large chunks of the game), Keane said:

“Listen, the supporters want to see the team doing a lot better and not giving daft goals away like that. I’m not too happy with all that nonsense. To praise the supporters for sake of it?  Let’s change that attitude towards Irish supporters.”

“They want to see the team winning. Let’s not kid ourselves, we’re a small country, we’re up against it, but let’s not just go along for the sing-song every now and again.”

Now, in a sea of beige, bland punditry, Keane’s outspoken views should, in theory, be welcomed. However, the former Man Utd star’s apparent ‘no holds barred’ views all too often smack of bitterness rather than genuine honesty. Remember, this is the man who walked out on the Ireland team at the 2002 World Cup finals, as well as failing to match the kind of managerial success in his own post-playing career that he seems to expect from every other coach.

In questioning the attitude of the Irish team,  he is also questioning Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni, a legendary manager with an incredible CV who, by simply getting a very limited Irish side to the Euro finals, has been a successful appointment. Indeed, to  say that Ireland shouldn’t just go along to major finals just “for the Singsong” is pathetically patronising to the Irish squad.

It seems that, in his eagerness to appear as a hard-nosed, cliché-free pundit, Keane has lost the ability to analyse a game properly, instead lazily calling on his faux-‘telling it like it is’ demeanour.

Blandness is unacceptable, or should be, in TV football punditry. But bitter, mock-honesty is little better.

Posted in Euro 2012

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21 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    He NEVER questioned the gaffer. That is false. He criticized the boys in green yes, as well as the fans yes but never Trapattoni.

  2. Luke says:

    Agree. I really dislike when Peter Reid or someone puts out a rib tickler and everyone laughs bar Keane, who seems to try and stifle so much as a smile to keep up this ‘tough’ demeanor.

  3. Anonymous says:

    biggest cunt in world football, worse than joey barton

  4. plops says:

    I’m a bit pissed and can’t remember what I was going to say and can’t be arsed to read that again. He’s a bellend though isn’t he, Keane? Go and smack another 16-year-old eh, tough guy.

    Everything about ITV’s coverage is an absolute abortion. I’d love to see James Richardson on telly somewhere.

  5. Peter says:

    Simply no one would say this to his face except maybe Patrick Vieira

  6. Anonymous says:

    Excellent piece – sums him up PERFECTLY!

  7. kenneth says:

    rich from a man who left his side and country down in 2002 (and im a proud fan of keane)…when your team is 4 nil down to the european/world champions you might as well sing you may beat the irish score wise but you’ll never beat our spirit!!!

  8. muppets says:

    so true about the bitterness.

    roberto martinez can’t be described as bland tho, he’s by far the best pundit itv have

  9. es90 says:

    The punditry we have in Ireland would make even Roy Keane appear bland (search RTE football punditry on youtube. There’s brilliant clip of Souness stating that Vidic was raped by Torres)m my personal favourite is Eamon Dunphy’s criticism of Harry Kewell in 2006: “He’s fat and he’s a clown, he’s a fat clown.”

  10. Toz says:

    Roy Keane is a a fucking tosser and a sore loser.

  11. Dan says:

    i doubt he’st trying to keep up some sort of stereotype of himself, it’s not like he’s only started being like this since he started being a pundit, it’s just his personality. and he has a point, they got to the euros, then they crumbled and played differently to the style that got them there.

    also, Toz, i’d very much enjoy you saying that to the man himself

  12. Qq says:

    It’s just an angry + sad reaction to a dissapointing defeat, he’s upset, that’s all..

  13. Toz says:

    @Qq

    That may be so, but after the shenanigans he was involved in while in Korea-Japan, I reckon he’s lost any right to share his uneducated-ignorant opinion on matters especially to do with the National squad.

    The man is a toss pot, a loud-angry fickle prima donna who thinks he’s got a right to shove his opinion down everyone’s throat.

  14. Drags says:

    Speak of a bland pundit, during world cup in SA we had Edgar ‘talkthehindlegoffadonkey’ Davids in the studio. Guys expression is like 25 shades of grey and his commentary is as thrilling as a dead puppy. 1 word answers. Meh

  15. Tom Addison says:

    Have you read Keane’s book? If not, read it, if so, read it again and pay more attention. Roy Keane basically has no time for time-wasters, for people who make excuses, teary-eyed sentimentality that is displayed merely to take attention away from the more important and pressing issues.

    Ireland played sh*t, some of their players didn’t play according to how the manager would have wanted, and so rather than saying, “Oh didn’t they do well, just enjoy yourselves, such great fans”, he’s pi**ed off that the players didn’t do as well as they could.

    This was genuine anger, anger at the patronizing attitude displayed to the Irish team, and also anger at how so many Irish people lap it up. Roy Keane’s a winner, he’s determined, football is all about winning and determination, and he’s got no time for cowards who can’t be bothered and who hide behind pathetic excuses.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Tom Addison – What a post. 100% bang on. Roy Keane’s book is fab. What a guy. Has his bad points like all. However i agree with what he says about last night. Ireland have rolled over far too easily.

  17. Asim says:

    How can anyone in the right mind criticise ROY for his comments last night?!!
    The man was hurting one only as to look at his face!!Ireland means more to him then a few sing songs and rightly so!!
    Fans were great but Roy is not slamming them !!!!!He wanted to give them more then the tripe served up by Andrews and CO!

  18. Mikey C says:

    I also agree with Keane in this instance, most people would have expected Ireland to lose to Spain, it was always going to be hard for the team to progress out of that group, and of course it’s great that the Irish fans enjoy themselves… but the Irish team have delivered 2 terrible performances, with disasterous defending; they never looked like giving the other teams a decent game, and in some ways it’s a cop out to trot out the ‘opposition players were great, our fans are wonderful’ stuff.

  19. McRico says:

    I agree with Roy Keane – After 1988, 1990, 1994, 2002 and now this year it about time Ireland progressed to a serious contender.

    Unfortunetly the GAA has taken a huge market share of potential talented footballers. An amateur game that mind worpes kids into playing a sport that is born out of pure ignorance.

    Watching ‘Green is the Colour’ (RTE) Ireland had and still has the potential to be a power house of world football. Unfortunely politics has effected that potential.

  20. B says:

    The best thing about keane is that one day he will punch Chiles right in his fat head.

  21. fieldmau5 says:

    @McRico The GAA has nothing to do with it. Have your GAA rant somewhere else because it has about 0.01% of influence on Ireland’s ability to produce decent football players. I know, I’ve played both at a high level.

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