Roy Keane never holds back with his opinions and this is why he’s such an entertaining pundit to watch.Pundits can sometimes tread carefully out of fear of upsetting a player or manager. That’s totally normal and understandable.Keane, however, doesn’t have a filter. He says exactly what he thinks and doesn’t care who he might upset in the process.We saw this recently when Keane was working for Sky Sports, covering the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Liverpool.Keane was criticised for calling City right-back Kyle Walker “an idiot” and “a car crash” after conceding a penalty.When asked how Mane earned the penalty, Keane responded: “Because he's up against an idiot,” before later adding “he's a car crash, keeps making these types of mistakes and is rightly punished for it.”
According to the Daily Mail, Man City have now complained to Sky Sports about Keane’s comments.
While the Premier League club have no issue with a pundit questioning a player’s actions or decisions on the pitch, they believe Keane overstepped the line by calling Walker an idiot.
Meanwhile, former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys - who has spent the past few years working for beIN Sports - has launched an attack on the former Manchester United captain via his official website.
Keys’ latest blog post, titled ‘Roy Keane. He became what he despised.’, is extremely critical of the Irishman.
“We were always very much aware that if we were going to criticise then it had to be done constructively,” Keys wrote, per the Daily Mail. “That we could offer both explanation and education.
“Andy Gray did that better than anyone else - and he's still doing it. Teams and their managers back then were so sensitive.
“I can only imagine what would've happened If we'd ever called Gary Neville a 'car crash' and an 'idiot'. And there were plenty of opportunities!
“You can see where this is going can't you? What a disgrace Roy. Cheap. Even by your standards. How would you have described your assault on Alf-Inge Haaland - an incident that would've seen you arrested anywhere other than on the pitch?”
Keys continued: “We all remember Keane in 2008 hammering me - saying ‘he'd rather go to the dentist’ than be an analyst - actually, I'll use the word I hate ‘pundit’ - because few actually ‘analyse’ anything these days.
“He added that I sold ‘something that was built purely on hype’.
“He also once said ‘there are ex-players and ex-referees being given air-time who I wouldn't listen to in a pub’. Quite Roy. And you're now one of them.”
Ouch!
“His barbed jibes might have more impact if his managerial career had been anything to get excited about. But it wasn’t,” Keys added. “At Ipswich it was a ‘car crash’. Sunderland wasn't much better and let's not get into what he left behind when he finished as Ireland's asst. manager.
“I know a few of his ex-team mates were furious that he was welcomed back into the fold after he'd walked out on them in Japan. I know. I know. Mick McCarthy sent him home - but Keane wanted to go.”
Just take a second to imagine Keane’s face when he reads this.
The rage would be off the scale.