STILL TOP OF HIS GAME
Keane as compelling on the microphone as he was on the pitch
PUNDITRY done badly makes an awful noise. And it sounds nothing like Roy Keane’s incredulous rage at the poor defending of Manchester United against Spurs.
Keane’s passion was ablaze, and it made for a tremendous sight — and sounds.
Compare that to his old teammate Phil Neville on Match of the Day 2, 48 hours later.
It is worth seeking out the footage, and trying to sit through the 100-odd seconds of his championing of Steve Bruce following Newcastle’s surprise win over Sheffield United earlier that day.
Given that Keane’s criticism of David De Gea and Harry Maguire has prompted a fresh round of chin-stroking about the nature of punditry, Neville’s absurd contribution to the genre deserves at least as much scrutiny.
He was arguing that Bruce — with whom he played for United — should keep his job at the club, even if Newcastle is taken over by new owners who, it is rumoured, favour bringing back Rafael Benitez as manager.
‘He’s done equally, if not better than Rafa Benitez,’ said Neville. ‘Stick with Steve Bruce, he’s doing a brilliant job.’
Newcastle are 13th in the Premier League and in no danger of relegation which, for a business so beset by dysfunction, reflects well on Bruce’s work.
To suggest he is a better choice to lead the club in the longer-term than Benitez is, however, ridiculous, and Neville’s comments carried the distinctive stench of bias, a pundit standing up for his pal.
This used to be common in the strange world of the talking heads, and it cuts across all sports, both here and Britain.
What made Neville’s dismal contribution notable, though, was that it has become less common in TV studios. The improvements in
analysis in soccer, in particular, have been dramatic over the past decade. Keane has been a significant figure in this change.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are often cited for their excellent work on Sky Sports, while Richie Sadlier and Dietmar Hamann have helped turn RTÉ’s studio work away from caricature and towards a more informed style.
Keane is not one for immersing himself in technical detail on screen, but the points he makes on a game are informed by one of the outstanding careers in modern English soccer, and one of the great Irish sporting lives.
That brings status and makes his views worth hearing. Along with Denis Irwin, Keane is the supreme achiever in Irish soccer history.
What is extraordinary, though, is the extent to which he is seen by many critics in this country as a diminished figure.
His undoubted failures in management — and his part in Martin O’Neill’s international support staff — are seen as diluting his observations, with 12 years as the pre-eminent midfielder in some of the best teams in English soccer history, seemingly cast aside.
His playing achievements are only part of the reason for his excellence as a pundit, though; he communicates well and, crucially, he is not blinded by his record at Man Utd.
The willingness of so many in this country to see Keane as a caricature is fascinating, given that throughout his playing life his brilliance was acknowledged by most of his critics.
His portrayal in England was different, with far too many happy to buy the depiction of him as a wild Irishman. This week, though, two long, considered pieces in English newspapers dealt with his punditry and looked beyond the undoubted anger to the substance of what he said about the goal United conceded to Spurs.
The comments he made in a newspaper interview last Sunday about Keith Andrews gave the latest Keane discussion another seasoning of controversy — and could have ramifications for his future punditry work, should he be tasked with scrutinising the Irish team.
Calling the man who succeeds him as the assistant manager of the national team a ‘b ********** ’ was certain to stir discussion, a point Keane would have understood.
Andrews must have a talent for coaching that has impressed Stephen Kenny, but one senses Keane was alluding to his punditry work.
Andrews has nothing like Keane’s precision in picking apart a game, and reaches far too often for the definitive phrase as a co-commentator; he invariably fails to find it.
That doesn’t mean he will not function well as an assistant to Kenny, but he will start that job relying more on the skills he has developed off the field since retirement, than on the successful, high-level career that propelled Keane into management at Sunderland 14 years ago.
Judging the worth of an assistant manager is mostly informed by the success or otherwise of the manager, though.
Keane was frequently a talking point during his time with O’Neill, but until the final year, when the team’s form deserted them and the side became old and stale, he was part of a coaching staff that brought Ireland to a major tournament.
Rows with Jon Walters and Harry Arter deepened the sense of turmoil as the O’Neill era tumbled towards a close in 2018, and it is clear that Keane made mistakes.
The chance of him managing at a significant club in England again appear remote and extending his career as a pundit now looks the likeliest way his connection with elite soccer will be maintained.
The possibility of watching him in studio picking apart an Irish match is intriguing, but anything he says about Kenny’s Ireland carries the risk of contamination.
Despite what he says to the contrary, his words indicate a deeply-set bitterness at how aspects of his career as a player, and later in management, have turned out.
It is difficult to see, though, how he could feel greatly wronged by how his time with O’Neill’s Ireland ended.
He may still nurture ideas of returning to management, but Keane’s future should be in punditry. His take on United’s failings was astute, particularly on the vastly overrated Harry Maguire.
Modern analysis has smartened up to the point where bluffers are easily found out, and Keane has thrived because his opinions have the ring of authenticity.
There is an ongoing clamour to wish Stephen Kenny well. Keane, it can be assumed, will make up his own mind on the new man. One really hopes he gets the chance to share those views with the watching world.
‘His opinions have a ring of authenticity’