If you tolerate this then Keane may be next

THE LAST few weeks have taught everyone just what fan power can achieve at a football club in the North East of England.

Newcastle United’s supporters have made a chairman sell up, disrupted things so much behind the scenes that they’ve lost four consecutive matches since their Messiah left and have even put their idol, Alan Shearer, off returning to the club.

So it was with some worry that I read Roy Keane’s quotes after last week’s dismal display against Northampton Town, when he stated that he wouldn’t tolerate abuse from fans. It led many elements of the media, who have been desperate for a ‘Keano Loses It’ story from the moment he walked through the Stadium of Light entrance, to suggest he was on the verge of quitting. I’ll bet it also had Sunderland’s press office reaching for the valium.

It turns out that it was only two mindless morons abusing Keane’s nationality and family, but both Roy and the club’s reaction was bizarre. The manager’s perceived dig at his own fans was made after the Northampton game, yet it wasn’t until Friday’s pre-Villa press conference that he cleared things up and admitted it was only a couple of fans he had an issue with. Yet if it bugged the manager so much, you have to ask what the club have done about it.

So far they’ve made no moves to trace the two culprits. If the abuse was so intolerable surely a couple of stewards could have been made aware, turfed the pair out and revoked their season tickets. Having been the fanzine editor for 20 years, I’ve put up with much worse abuse than Roy did last week when the magazine has taken a stance on certain issues.

Although I didn’t enjoy the grief, I accepted that it is part of my job and I just got on with it. Being manager Roy Keane should know that he’s going to get a million times more attention than a humble fan mag boss. He’s a public figure who has become a millionaire through the game and needs to wise up and grow up. However, I think he’ll learn from it, move on and no doubt react a lot differently if it arises again.

The thing that Keane needs to bear in mind is that he appeared to take little responsibility for our poor cup performance. He picked the side, he’d bought the players and he dropped most of the team who were still buzzing after beating Boro. I’m not saying the fans were right to have a go, but Keane’s reaction was startling. Whether it’s the price to pay for an inexperienced manager or one who speaks his mind so openly, I’m not sure. Keano needs to watch his words though. The worm can turn very easily in the North East, with media saturation at bursting point and the entire population hanging on every word poured from the mouths of SAFC employees, from manager and players down to the tea lady.

After the madness of the Carling Cup fall-out last week, it was time for a trip to Aston Villa. En route the sun was shining and I believed our fancy footballers would prove a match for Martin O'Neill’s side. When Djibril Cisse put us ahead after 10 minutes I thought I could be in for a rare enjoyable trip to the Midlands. Unfortunately the rest of the game was as dull as Birmingham itself and we slumped to a tepid defeat. Despite our ability, playing 4-5-1 offers us little penetration. We flatter to deceive. We dominate possession in midfield but struggle to produce an end product.

I don’t think Keane will get a mountain of money in January despite new investment into the club this week American Ellis Short, our new majority shareholder.

So the gaffer needs to put his petulance behind him and graft with what he’s got, get it right on the training ground and translate that onto the field of play come match day. Over to you Royston...

* Martyn McFadden

www.a-love-supreme.com