‘It’s sad because he’s Irish and a great footballer’
The Templeacre Tavern in Gurranabraher on the northside of Cork city is not far from Rockmount FC where Roy Keane began his playing days as a boy before going on to become one of the greatest midfield general’s of his generation.
News of the former Manchester United captain’s departure came as no surprise to customers with many saying they had expected it.
Most of the afternoon customers in the Templeacre Tavern spoke with fondness for Keane, who used to enjoy a drink there in his younger days, but felt given recent results and poor dealings in the transfer market, the writing had been on the wall for the past few weeks.
“It was a good decision I think,” said Mick O’Mahony.
“He bought bad players for the money he spent. I mean €80 million he spent on players and they were all rubbish. I know he was hired by Quinn to buy them, but still he wasted a lot of that money.”
As for the future, Mr O’Mahony felt it was unlikely that Keane would manage again.
“I wouldn’t think he will come back to manage again. I think that’s the end of it for him now. He certainly won’t be the next Manchester United manager. That will be Martin O’Neill I think,” he said.
Standing under a television replaying highlights of some of the recent football internationals, Jerry O’Sullivan also felt the time was right for Keane to step down. “I predicted he wouldn’t last until the end of the season. I was listening to the radio last week when they got beaten by Bolton and I thought then that it was nearly time for him to go then,” he said.
Despite this, however, Mr O’Sullivan echoed the view of many in the bar and felt that although no great surprise, it was certainly a great pity.
“It’s sad though because he’s an Irishman and a Corkman and he was a great, great footballer,” he said.
In another corner of the pub, another heated debate began on Keane’s decision to call it a day after exactly 100 games in charge.
Denis Moynihan said he was surprised that Keane had gone but felt he still had a bright future as a manager.
“I’m surprised and I’m very sorry to see him go. He’s the best footballer Ireland has had since George Best. He brought Sunderland from nowhere into the Premiership. There haven’t been many that have come out of Ireland with his pedigree,” he said.
Mr Moynihan also felt it would not be long before Keane decided to take over the reins of another football club.
“I don’t think there is a club in England that wouldn’t employ him as manager. He speaks his mind and he’s a great motivator. He’s a very straightforward man that stands over his principles. I think he’s fantastic,” he said.
However, not all in the bar were overly concerned with the news. One man watched with amusement at all the fuss Keane had managed to generate.
“To be honest I’m not all that interested in soccer. I’m a GAA man myself,” he said.
As is so often the case when it comes to opinions on Roy Maurice Keane, it depends on who you ask.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
