ROY KEANE - THE PLAYING YEARS (Keane The Autobiography - Roy Keane)

Member Name: stuleg

Product:	Keane The Autobiography - Roy Keane
Date:	24/08/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice insight into the controversial aspects to Roy's playing career

Disadvantages: Doesn't cover his time at Celtic, or any of his managerial work

I have to admit that when my beloved Ipswich Town FC appointed Roy Keane as manger a couple of months ago I was a little sceptical. Most of what I knew about Roy came from the press and news coverage, most of it negative, which seemed to follow him around. Determined to give the latest bastion of the Ipswich hot seat a fair crack of the whip I set about finding out a little more about the man behind the hype and headlines. My Brother recommended his autobiography which he'd penned in 2002 with the help of journalist Eamon Dunphy, so I gave it a read.

Roy Maurice Keane was born in Cork, Ireland in the summer of 1971, the fourth of five children. He was a mediocre performer at school, preferring to be out kicking a ball around than in a class studying. A smattering of junior Irish clubs came calling, most notably Rockmount. He actually came late into the professional game, having seemingly missed his chance he was noticed by a Nottingham Forrest Scout while playing for Cobh Ramblers in the Irish league. A couple of seasons with Nottingham Forrest ended with them relegated and Roy moving to Manchester United for the then record fee of £3.75 million. Manchester is where Roy made his name as an uncompromising player, giving no quarter and helping the team pick up virtually every trophy available. The drinking culture, prevalent in many teams in the eighties and nineties is also touched upon with honesty, Roy freely admitting that he did more than his share of socialising in his early Manchester days.

That Alf-Inge Håland incident

A couple of incidents stand out above all others in the playing career of Roy Keane, the 2002 World Cup walkout and the Alf-Inge Håland tackle, both are talked about frankly in this book. During the 1997-98 season Keane attempted to tackle Alf-Inge Håland when the latter played for Leeds United. The tackle was mistimed resulting in Keane rupturing the cruciate ligaments in his knee. As he writhed in agony in the Leeds penalty area Alf-Inge Håland accused him of play acting and faking the injury. And so the cast was set for a dramatic act of retaliation when Keane came face to face with Håland in the 2001 Manchester derby which would have recriminations far beyond the incident, not least when his take on the incident was written for this book.

2002 World Cup

Keane was becoming increasingly annoyed at the attitude of the management and officials around the Irish team. The general consensus seemed to be that Ireland had done well just by qualifying for the finals so they should just go along for the ride and the experience. This irked Keane, who believed that the whole setup was amateur and slipshod. This all culminated in a public row with Ireland boss Mick McCarthy over the state of the training pitch and run up preparations. Keane famously informed McCarthy that "..... I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person." Exit Roy Keane with what seems like the world press on his trail.

Anyone who knows Roy Keane will be familiar with his disciplinary problems in the game, he has been sent off thirteen times, a record in the English game. This record of indiscretion does, at first glance, look like the mainstay of Roy's game was to be a thug and cause damage to other players. Closer examination reveals that these indiscretions were borne not for a thuggish disregard for other players or the rules, but more the culmination of Roy's frustration at his or the team's poor performance.

The book is neatly displayed in chapters of thirty or so pages each, with a smattering of colour photographs to further break up the 290 pages of narrative. There is also an interesting interview Roy gave to Tom Humphries just two days before the infamous World Cup walkout. All in all this is a cracking read and really opened my eyes to Roy Keane the player, and Roy Keane the man. Far from coming across as a thug who couldn't control his temper he is shown to be a man that cares deeply about the game and the teams he played for. And lest we forget, he is a devout family man who loves his wife, kids and dogs, and when all is said and done what's not to admire in that. Despite the book being seven years old now and not covering his playing time at Celtic or any of his managerial jobs this is still a cracking read, which gets five stars out of five from me.

Summary: A cracking read, which gets five stars out of five from me.