Highlights
- Roy Keane is considered one of the greatest captains in Premier League history and a Manchester United legend.
- Keane set high standards for his teammates, demanding maximum effort in every match and training session.
- Keane's fierce demeanor and pressure on referees often made him a formidable opponent and sometimes led to controversy on the pitch.
What Manchester United fans would give to have a prime Roy Keane in their current squad.
The Irishman is unquestionably one of the greatest captains of the Premier League - if not *the* greatest - as well as a bonafide United legend.
He may have fallen out with Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of his hugely successful 12-year spell at Old Trafford - a rift that, sadly, remains in place today - but United supporters will forever be immensely grateful to both men for what they achieved together.
Ferguson had the best possible leader in Keane; a warrior who never accepted anything less than maximum effort from each and every one of his teammates.
Whether it was during a huge Champions League knockout match, a crunch Premier League fixture against a fierce rival, a pre-season friendly or even a run-of-the-mill training session, Keane helped to set the impeccable standards that made United such a formidable winning machine during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Every midfielder knew they were in for a relentlessly difficult 90 minutes when they saw Keane in the opposition line-up.
Similarly, many referees must have hated taking charge of games that the fiery Republic of Ireland international was involved in.
“Remember the incident with Andy D’Urso when he screamed in his face? That attempt to bully the referee is what he was like,” former Premier League ref Mark Clattenburg said in 2020.
“I do think that came from Sir Alex Ferguson as well though. It was never about influencing the decision that had gone with Manchester United, it was always about applying more pressure ahead of the next one.
“You just couldn’t trust Roy either. You never knew if he was going to blow up or do something nasty, like the tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland. That was a disgrace, it was pre-meditated.”
Alfie Haaland opened up about Roy Keane horror tackle during Man Utd v Man City
Roy Keane leads Man Utd out without referee's permission
One particular moment that summed Keane up to perfection occurred back in January 2004 - just under two years before the former United captain's unceremonious departure from Old Trafford.
While this isn’t the most famous pre-match incident inside a tunnel that Keane was involved during his career (Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira and the rest of us remember the other extremely well…), it’s still absolute gold.
After waiting inside the tunnel at Molineux for opposition captain Paul Ince to take his place at the front of Wolves’ line-up, Keane decided enough was enough: it was time for him and his teammates to walk out onto the pitch - even though the referee hadn’t given permission.
The assistant ref looked shocked as Tim Howard, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes and the rest of United’s starters followed Keane. They'd been instructed to go by their no-nonsense captain and weren't about to hang back.
Ince, a former United teammate of Keane’s, then strolled through behind Phil Neville with his shirt still off. However, the former England international was prevented from leading his team out by the ref, much to his bemusement.
Video: Roy Keane leads Man Utd out without ref's permission
Watch the brilliant clip here:
Nobody could stop Roy Keane from going full Roy Keane - even Premier League match officials.
Did Man Utd beat Wolves that day?
Unfortunately for Keane, he was unable to prevent United slumping to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat that afternoon.
Kenny Miller scored the only goal of the game for Wolves, who finished bottom of the Premier League table that season.
Unexpected defeats against so-called smaller clubs rarely happened back in those days under Ferguson, so this result was a huge surprise at the time.
In their match report, BBC Sport described it as "the shock result of the Premiership season", describing the outcome as "desperate" for the Red Devils.
Did Man Utd win the league that season?
United ended up finishing third in the Premier League that season, six points behind second-placed Arsenal, and a massive 18 behind champions Chelsea.
This simply didn't happen to Fergie's Man Utd back then. Third place was considered an unmitigated disaster by everyone associated with the club.
It shows how far standards have slipped at the Theatre of Dreams since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, although the English giants finally appear to be back on the right tracks again under Erik ten Hag.
Nobody envisaged that Keane would ever work for United again after his acrimonious departure but the now-popular pundit helped to promote the club's third kit ahead of the 2023-24 season.
What’s the story about Roy Keane and prawn sandwiches at Man Utd?
What are some of the best quotes about Roy Keane?
In terms of both his footballing ability, and his leadership qualities, you won't find many people - if any - with a bad word to say about Keane.
Here are some of the best quotes about Man Utd's legendary former No. 16, starting with the aforementioned Ince.
Paul Ince
“For a complete player, without a doubt Keano. Apart from the bad side he had, he was the complete midfield player for me.
“He was an inspiration, a leader, could score you vital goals, he could tackle when he had to, he would be naughty when he had to but playing alongside him for three or four seasons helped him improve my game a lot.”
Paul Scholes
“Roy was unbelievable to play alongside and someone you could always trust. I soon learned that if you weren’t on your game he would be on top of you to make sure you were playing your part for the team.
“I had a few b*****kings from him, but that made you work harder to avoid them. He was a great leader and captain: he drove us on and he was our manager on the pitch.”
Eric Cantona
“He was the best in midfield; he could play everywhere. He could play the holding role and be defensive, but then he could suddenly burst forward and score goals.
“He was so intelligent in how he played the game and let me tell you, it felt good to have him behind me for four seasons. He’d win the ball and then give it to me. And what a character!”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
“If I could pick one player in my team, I would always pick Roy Keane, in front of any other players I’ve played with.
“Keano had everything; he was a leader, a great player, and probably the best I ever played with.”
Rio Ferdinand
“I remember my first training session: I got the ball from the keeper, I passed it to Gary Neville at right-back and Keane just exploded, saying: ‘You passed it sideways, that’s the easy pass! You’re not at Leeds or West Ham now!’
“At the time I thought: ‘What’s he talking about?’ Then when I got home, I sat and thought about it and thought: ‘Yeah, you’ve got to try and affect the game.'”
Patrick Vieira
“What I like about him is the fact that he wouldn’t talk; he’d take the kick, he wouldn’t say anything, then, on the next one, he’d give it to you and he would expect, of course, that you say nothing.
“He’s not the kind of player who talks a lot. So he’ll take the kick, he will give back, but I like him – he’s quite fair.”
Is Roy Keane the greatest captain in Premier League history?
While there have been a handful of unbelievable captains throughout the Premier League era, Keane thoroughly deserves to be part of every conversation when it comes to the number one spot.
He's certainly Man Utd's greatest ever captain since 1992. Steve Bruce, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney all had their own qualities as leaders, but none were as talismanic as 'Keano'.
Perhaps the only captains who come close to Keane are Liverpool hero Steven Gerrard, Arsenal legend Tony Adams, and 'Mr Chelsea' John Terry.
When BBC Sport asked fans to name the greatest captains of the Premier League era, Keane came out on top followed by Terry, Gerrard, Adams, Vieira, Vincent Kompany, Vidic, Alan Shearer, Jordan Henderson, and Wes Morgan.
They certainly don't make them like Keane these days, although that doesn't mean to say that there aren't modern-day footballers without leadership qualities.
One of those is Bruno Fernandes, Man Utd's current skipper who took the armband from Harry Maguire this summer.
The Portuguese midfielder, who joined the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon in 2020, is similar to Keane in the sense that he puts high expectations on himself and his teammates.
And if anyone isn't giving their all, Fernandes - just like Keane used to - will soon let them know about it.