Keane headed for somewhere only he knows

SO, FAREWELL then, Roy Keane. Again. The man who twice retired from international football has now parted company with Manchester United, and this time we can say with certainty that there will be no second coming. At least not at Old Trafford.

In truth, the only shock about yesterday’s announcement was its timing - that and perhaps the fact that Tommie Gorman wasn’t the one to deliver the breaking news.

Otherwise, it’s a new version of an old story. Roy leaves, and though it’s all a long way from Saipan and that other Irish civil war, this time the divisive question is: are you a Roy man or are you a Fergie man?

Keane’s contract at Old Trafford notwithstanding, all the recent signs had indicated the player’s days at the club were numbered. The only real surprise is that his departure has come sooner rather than later, and seemingly out of the blue for the palpitating hacks at United’s Carrington training ground, who had sat through an uneventful morning press conference yesterday before word suddenly began circulating that Keano had left the building. For good.

Whether it came out of the blue for Keane himself is another matter. Did he jump or was he pushed? The most informed speculation suggests it was a combination, a realisation on Keane’s part that he was no longer a part of Alex Ferguson’s plans. No contract extension was going to be offered, and Keane is not a man to hang about where he feels he is not wanted. Nor is he the kind who will go gentle into that good night.

Hence, for all the efforts of both sides to stage-manage and massage the news, we had another 24 hours of sensational headlines as Roy Keane once more dominated the front and the back pages.

Not that we should entirely dismiss the official line. All the expressions of respect in yesterday’s Old Trafford statement are rooted in the reality of 12 years of a mutually beneficial and hugely successful professional relationship.

In Manchester United, Keane found a club commensurate with his raging ambition; in Keane, Ferguson found a player and captain who reflected - and gave effect on the pitch to - the manager’s driven quest for victory.

But all those glowing words - “fantastic servant”, “true great”, “great club and manager” - had an almost historic ring about them even as they were being minted. Events have overtaken club and player, and no amount of dignified language can disguise that the relationship between Fergie and Keano has nose-dived in recent months, culminating in the club’s decision to slap a barring order on an interview Keane had given to the in-house TV channel, in which he slated the team’s recent performances and the attitude of some of the players.

A lot of the more personal comments initially attributed to Keane were subsequently shown to be inaccurate, but the still damning nature of his intervention - and, by extension, implied criticism of the manager - appeared to bring Ferguson and Keane to the point of no return.

Still, Ferguson is no fool and you have to suspect that if he felt that Keane was still indispensable, he would have been prepared to move heaven and earth - and even Malcolm Glazer - to keep the Corkman at the club.

Yesterday, it was being suggested that pressure on Ferguson had come down from above, that the Glazers had made it clear that if Ferguson wanted to bring in a Michael Ballack it didn’t make sense to retain a player on huge wages who was injured, regarded as an increasingly disruptive influence and on the way out anyway.

But Ferguson would still have the last word. As Chelsea’s star has risen and United’s has waned, the manager has come in for increasing criticism over tactics and signings, but letting Keane go could prove his biggest blunder of all.

It’s a given that, at 34, Roy Keane is not the player he once was, but even a full throttle Alan Smith is no substitute for a veteran who has replaced the box-to-box drive of yore with a controlled power which enables him to read and influence a game like few other midfielders in the Premiership.

Having bounced back with victory over Chelsea, United face the much more difficult task of sustaining that recovery and, unless the club unveils a readymade star to replace Keane, they will struggle badly to cope without his experience, composure and leadership. Even keeping Keane until the end of a potentially pivotal season could have made a significant difference to United’s hopes of restoring their former grandeur.

But that is not to be. Keane yesterday described the parting of the ways as “a sad day” and, certainly, one can only have sympathy for a player who has already seen a season of great promise disfigured by injury, failure to qualify for the World Cup, international retirement and, now this, the severance of one of the great player-club relationships of modern times.

But it’s not yet full-time for Roy Keane, the player. Portsmouth have already said that they would like to have Keane, which is nice of them. And there won’t be any shortage of other offers for a player of his rare ability and experience. His close relationship with Bryan Robson, for example, also means a move to West Brom cannot be ruled out.

But for now, the smart money is on Glasgow Celtic, a club for whom Keane has affection, a club which would take him out of the Premiership but keep him in the big time, and a club whose deep Irish links would further enhance the profile of an Irishman who harbours ambitions to some day manage his country.

Whatever happens, after 12 defining years for the club and the player, the stark reality is that we won’t be seeing one of the all-time greats in the red of Manchester United again.

So, farewell then, Roy Keane.

At least until the next time.