Store’s own goal hits Roy Keane's book of revelations

It’s supposed to be one of the literary events of the year, but Thursday’s launch of Roy Keane’s book The Second Half has already been scuppered by the type of basic error the Irish assistant manager might rail against.

Tesco has launched an investigation in the UK after one of its Manchester stores put copies of the book up for sale three days early.

That ensured all manner of details and revelations are already in the public domain, despite the attempts of publishers Weidenfeld and Nicolson to embargo the entire contents until Thursday’s launch at the RDS in Dublin.

“A copy of Roy Keane’s book was sold in error at our Burnage store,” a Tesco statement read. “Colleagues are currently investigating how this happened.”

It is understood the copies were only up for hours yesterday before being pulled, but that was enough time for them to make their way to media desks in Manchester and London. Much of the juiciest contents was published online.

As expected, Keane doesn’t hold back, and finally responds to some of Alex Ferguson’s criticisms a year on from his former Manchester United manager’s own autobiography this time last year.

Keane most conspicuously lambasts Ferguson for his notorious pursuit of a legal case against Irish racehorse owners John Magnier and JP McManus in the Rock of Gibraltar dispute, claiming it caused the manager to lower his standards, as he reveals his side of his acrimonious departure from Old Trafford in November 2005.

There are also barbs for United’s feted ‘Class of 92’ and Ferguson’s former assistant Carlos Quieroz, as Keane further reveals that he had a physical fight with then-goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel in 1998.

There is also criticism for Eamon Dunphy, who ghost-wrote the Irish assistant manager’s first autobiography, Keane, back in 2002.

Early on in the book, Keane indicates the fall-out began over the infamous description of the former United captain’s foul on Manchester City’s Alfe-Inge Haaland in 2001. That initial book led to a Football Association hearing over whether Keane had intended to injure the player. Speaking as a witness, Dunphy responded “without a doubt”.