Keane should remember that Fergie made a pig’s ear of his first job too

How will we cope without the entertainment provided by the greatest living Irishman we’ve become so attached to?

But enough of Terry Wogan quitting the Eurovision Song Contest: What of Roy Keane?

All week before his eventual walkout the only question was ‘Stay or Go?’

I was firmly in the ‘stay’ camp but sadly he decided to shave it off. A pity, because he could probably do with the white beard work, what with the current high street Santa shortage.

But on a serious level, I’m sad for him, and for some bizarre reason many United fans do feel somehow ‘responsible’ for him and for all the other ex-Reds in management.

Hughes, Keane and Ince were the granite core of our favourite mid-nineties United side and, having devoted so much loving adoration towards them a decade ago, it makes you wince to see the various degrees of stick they’ve been getting this season.

But I daresay I might need to make a partial apology for touting Keano as a future MUFC boss here so often.

I say ‘partial’ because I cling to the hope he might yet make a comeback.

After all, Sir Alex himself made a right pig’s ear of his first job too, and got the sack.

(And whilst in contrite mood, I also admit I was wrong to suggest that not all three of the veteran Fergie-Scholes-Giggs trio could be expected to serve another season: that was one I was glad to be wrong about). One consolation of Keane’s decision was to spare us the sight of actually being the harbingers of doom for him last Saturday. Instead we endured 90 fairly grim minutes of fruitless medieval siege, relieved by the heroic Vidic, and yet another demonstration of how disaffected footballers can suddenly, magically, get their act together when their oppressor has been deposed.

You could forgive Keano walking his dogs into a coma after watching that.

Tonight will almost certainly be infinitely more tedious than Saturday, however, and I’ll be interested to see how many can be bothered to attend this final group game. (Don’t be fooled by the official gate figures: they do not represent the actual number in the ground). The best part of 30,000 empty seats greeted last week’s quarter-finalists, another sign of the credit crunch bite: we were thus intrigued to hear whispers this weekend that the Saudis are “looking at” relieving the Glazers of their burden next summer.

Good grief: Manchester’s tea-towel manufacturers will be the only factories running at full capacity during the 2009 recession if that comes to pass. Keep an eye on Saudi Telecoms in the Business Pages having just inked a sponsorship deal with United. They, at least, might be able to afford the option of keeping Tevez, whose omission from the team on Saturday, despite his four-goal cup blast, displeased many; not least him.

He remains hugely popular in the stands, with fervent cries of “Argentina!” greeting him as he warmed up on the hour. I would certainly say he is more loved than Ronaldo, whose ‘Ballon d’Or’ this weekend ended a tiresome media campaign. Personally, I don’t think he deserved it: Messi thoroughly outclassed him in both semi-finals, and Lampard outshone him in Moscow. 42 goals is a historic achievement, true — but against such mainly second-rate opposition as the Premier League provides, it hardly makes him a Best or Cruyff.

But I accept I’m in the same small minority on this that also thinks Rio is very much inferior to Vidic, or that Paul Ince shouldn’t be abused by the O.T. crowd as he was last week.

I console myself that most of the fans I respect are in the same little boat with me.

* By Richard Kurt, whose classic ‘Red Army Years’ is only available via

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