Colin Sheridan: Roy Keane is still Ireland's most relevant footballer
STILL RELEVANT: No player, Irish or otherwise, has come within a galaxy of asserting the same influence Roy Keane did over a league for almost a decade. Pic: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire
The playwright Eugene O’Neil famously said that man is born broken, and lives by mending. One can only wonder how broken Roy Keane must’ve been at birth to mend so relentlessly in life. Born to the working class. Too small to get picked. Too proletariat to curry favour. Too tortured to handle authority. Too Cork. Too Irish. Too outspoken.
Too rowdy. Too unpolished. Too spiteful. Too demanding a captain. Too impossible a manager. Too obsessive a professional. Too this, too that, too the other. Too too. Yet, seventeen years after his last game for Manchester United, Roy Keane is now as he was then; Ireland's most relevant footballer…and it's not even close.
There are many reasons for this, the main one being no player, Irish or otherwise, has come within a galaxy of asserting the same influence Keane did over a league for almost a decade. Even if he did choose to go quietly thereafter, the residue of that influence would’ve ensured a certain longevity of legacy, even in England, where many applied an Irish tax to his greatness even as it was happening, most likely a result of Keane's unwillingness to bend the knee for anyone - media, fans, employers, teammates.
His method of showing respect usually involved the displaying of studs and the subsequent butting of heads. Had he left Manchester United and departed to a cabin in the woods to write poetry, the memories of his midfield mastery would’ve endured for those of us old enough to witness it first-hand, but would’ve meant much less to the generations who followed him.
Instead, his third act as a pundit has ensured what he did achieve is unignorable, which is a relief for those of us who care because his second - as a manager - threatened to tarnish a remarkable career. As we stress over whether Gavin Bazunu is good enough for bottom-of-the-table Southampton, Keane’s presence on Sky Sports reminds us that here is a guy born amongst us who once bettered Zinedine Zidane, battered Edgar Davids, stared down Patrick Viera.
He was the greatest midfielder in the world in a time of Gattuso and Pirlo and Deschamps and Petit. In all of football - a game, unlike GAA and rugby and rowing, that is literally played by every kid across the globe who has access to a cabbage or rolled up socks - Roy Keane from Mayfield was once the best.
That he still commands the esteem and appreciation he does is something that warms this sensitive heart at least. The mutual respect between himself and Crisitano Ronaldo, for example, somehow validates me, as a grown man who should be immune to such fickle gestures. His ability to dominate the twitter space with his musings on a Sunday afternoon (while not even on twitter), just as he once did the middle third, matters more than I ever thought it could. His presence makes me care.
There has been no Wagatha Christie trials with Keane. No kicked cats. No leaked emails lobbying for knighthoods. No Iker Casillas slipping into madness. No Qatar money taken. The closest we get to cancellation with him is his authentic annoyance at fans who want their piece. His punditry and analysis is often correctly criticised for its lack of nuance, for being too one dimensional and dismissive, but more than any analytical nous, it’s his presence and unapologetic sense of self that transcends the sycophantic bullshit and whataboutery that usually pours forth from our screens. Sport is entertainment, and he’s brilliant at it. Still.
Laying claim to him, as I continue to, may be a sad concession to getting older, to wanting to be inspired by what I see, but until Nathan Collins drags Wolverhampton Wanderers to a Champions League final, Keano in his Sunday suit is all I’ve got, and it’s enough.
The news that Tipperary GAA has appointed Murtagh Brennan as its new Chief Executive Officer gives further hope that counties and their executive boards are moving toward a more professional model of administration. This is surely a welcome development given decades of unrealistic reliance on well-intentioned volunteerism, combined with an ever-increasing workload.
The role of the county secretary has traditionally been responsible for duties now commensurate with a senior civil service position, a gradual evolution to the appointment of CEO’s (or equivalents) will better share the burden.
Brennan, a Loughmore-Castleiney native, is currently serving in South Lebanon as a senior officer with the Irish Defence Forces. Most reporting of his appointment has been understandably quick to point to his involvement in coaching with his native Loughmore-Castleiney (amongst many others) in the last two seasons as they made history as double-winning county champions.
Of far more relevance, however, will likely be his industry experience in leadership and management positions, often in conflict zones, as well as his academic background in physical education and sports management (Brennan has a bachelor's degree in Physical Education, as well as two master's degrees in Sports Management and Leadership and Strategic studies).
Attracting a candidate of Brennan's qualifications and experience will hopefully nudge other counties - with Croke Park's help - to do the same. A team is only as good as the structures propping it up. Managerial appointments and the status of star players will always be sexier, but if the foundations aren’t right, the house will eventually crumble.
Robert Rock, custodian of the purest swings and best heads of hair on tour, is finally hanging up the spikes after twenty years and 465 starts on the European Tour.
Rock will be remembered by many casual observers as the guy who finished second place behind amateur Shane Lowry at the 2009 Irish Open in Baltray, and picked up the winners' cheque in the process. But to the more committed fans, Rock was a joy of a player to watch, and a compelling character off the course.
For all of his admirable traits - generosity to fellow pros chief amongst them - it was his refusal to wear a hat, highly unusual for a pro golfer because of sponsorship deals - that made him stand out most.
Mind you, given the hair God gave him, I’d have gone hatless too.
Clickbait being what it is, we were told Antonio Conte hated Matt Doherty, and would likely never pick him again because, he told reporters, he “wanted to win”.
Fast forward a fortnight and the clickbait had completed a 180-degree pivot to show us Conte embracing Doherty as he was replaced after a brilliant performance against Everton for Spurs Saturday.
“I have seen again the Matt Doherty of last season” Conte told reporters, “I was really pleased and said to him 'finally now you are the player that I know!”
Good news for Doherty, and further evidence for the rest of us that clickbait is the enemy of truth.
