Keane: The Autobiography

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Undoubtedly one of the best midfielders of his generation, Keane is just as well known for his antics off the pitch as he is his brilliant performances on it.

A genuine pleasure . . . His thoughts on his players are humane, interesting, candid and never less than believable' The Times Roy Keane had an exceptional playing career which combined huge achievement with equal amounts of controversy. It’s impossible to have followed English football in the 90’s and naughties and not have a strong opinion either way. For an Irish fan, it’s even harder to not to love or loathe him. Brutally honest, self-deprecating and critical of everyone. Whether you're a fan of Roy or not, you will see a whole new side of him and his views * THE SUN * The other main contradiction that an Arsenal fan such as myself may be tempted to call a double-standard is Keane’s supposed unflinching attitude toward the truth. He exemplified a very important aspect of Man United’s greatness, which was a hatred of complacency, a refusal to be satisfied that more often than not spoiled any sense of accomplishment. This ultimately led to his downfall, tragic hero that he is (although the Autobiography was written prior to the event) when he unduly criticized his teammates’ performance on Man U’s own TV program. The contradiction lies not in his ability to be mercilessly critical of himself and his own team, but in the absolute denial of the existence of quality elsewhere. He has some words for Real Madrid and Juventus, and he admits begrudgingly throughout when another team played better than his; but for the most part the successes of anyone else mean nothing to him. As a fan of a major rival of his, it’s easy to see why I would notice such a contradiction; but Keane is not concerned with being a well-rounded individual. He is not concerned with following the Socratic method of argument. The inability to give the slightest shit about competitors doing well, to nonsensically (in logical terms) attribute zero value to the success of rivals, is a major advantage for a competitive athlete. At the office it makes you a cunt, but in the vicious world of professional football it is a valuable—if unconscious—attribute.In a stunning collaboration with Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle, Roy Keane gives a brutally honest account of his last days as a player, the highs and lows of his managerial career, and his life as an outspoken ITV pundit. Reading the two books together definitely gives a truer and more complete picture of Keane than taking either book in isolation. The energy or drive remains obvious but 2014’s Roy Keane is understandable a bit wiser and probably a bit more cynical. Overall the story is of a fascinating life of a determined figure whose achievements have been matched by controversies caused largely by the same determination and qualities that led to his success in the first place. Roy Keane head-butted Peter Schmeichel on a 1998 pre-season tour in Asia. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

It now seems somewhat hypocritical for Keane to fall out with Irish players for not training when injured after making these comments in the second book. One thing is for certain is that as long as Keane is in the public eye controversy will follow him). The belligerence, dry humour and short fuse still exist but it has now been accompanied by introspection, harsh self-criticism and no little humility -- James Olley * EVENING STANDARD * The suspension is eased, from United's standpoint, by the fact that Keane is recovering from a knee injury and one of the five matches covered by the ban is a Worthington Cup tie with Leicester City on November 5. The insights into how he left United are interesting – it was such big news at the time. Similarly, as someone who attended a few Sunderland games during its “Irish” era, I enjoyed the behind the scenes look at his incredibly succesful first year in management.

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He doesn’t know this, but everybody (in the Manchester United squad when Keane joined) was buzzing to have him there. The best things are the small things: regretting joining Ipswich when he discovered the training kit was blue; refusing to sign Robbie Savage because his answerphone message was rubbish; being appalled that his side had listened to an Abba song before playing football' Evening Standard The choice of Doyle marks an acceleration in the ghostwriting arms race (next week: Sam Allardyce and George R R Martin) and ensures Keane's humanity – rather than the belligerence captured by Eamon Dunphy in Keane's 2002 book – is to the fore. JK Rowling has described Doyle's The Woman Who Walked into Doors as her favourite book for his skill in inhabiting the life of abused wife Paula Spencer, a more than adequate preparation for the relatively straightforward contradictions of Ireland's most complex – and we use the term loosely – sports star. If you write a book, you have got to be true to yourself. It's no good just making something up. You have got to show what is in your heart, and what is in your head, and that is what Roy has done -- Terry Venables * THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *

Keane’s great appeal lies in his capacity for violence, even if it’s his tongue that often does the damage, as Ferguson noted snidely in his book last year. The threat of an explosion is always present, yet those incidents that do occur here – shouting matches and grappling with players, arguments with opposing managers and their staff, even the climax to his United career in Ferguson’s office – are often sanitised by humour and so are difficult to reconcile fully with the fearsome character we know. After leaving Manchester United in 2005, Roy began playing for Celtic, before announcing his retirement from professional football six months later. Since retirement, Roy has continued his heavy involvement in the sport, managing Sunderland for three years and Ipswich Town for two. Roy also had the role of assistant manager for Aston Villa, Republic of Ireland and most recently, Nottingham Forest. Aside from his involvement in team management, Roy has had a successful media career. After covering the action of a few games for Sky, he was selected as a pundit for the ITV coverage of the Champions League final in 2012, alongside Harry Redknapp and Gareth Southgate. Proving popular with the fans, ITV kept Roy on as the chief football analyst and he commentated on nearly every match that was streamed live. He is one of the best players I have ever seen. Not only that, but he could motivate players too. He was the boss too. He is also a good man.” Darren Fletcher The hearing started at 12.15pm. The prosecution case, featuring video evidence and extracts from the book, was conducted by Jim Sturman QC and lasted an hour and a quarter before Keane gave evidence and was cross-examined for two and a half hours. Dunphy followed, claiming, it is understood, that Keane's comments in the book were unfaithfully reported, before closing statements and deliberation.

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Roddy Doyle's works, mostly set in a fictional Dublin suburb, often star quietly frustrated everymen, and it's this book's achievement to make you see its mighty subject in that light -- Anthony Cummins * DAILY TELEGRAPH * I decided to read this book because on the bingo board I needed to read a dairy, autobiography or biography because of this I wanted to read this book because Roy played soccer and I really enjoy this sport. Aswell as he played for Manchester United which is the team I support in the English Premier Leauge. The category that this book completes is dairy, autobiography or biography. I found this book interesting because Roy Keane adds a great sence of humour to the book and mainly the fact that i thought most autobiographys were boring and this wasn't. A book that offers great insight into the modern manager's job ... The book does not attempt to deflect the mistakes Keane made but it adds a dimension to the man. Especially in his reflections on small details of behaviour, and there are scores of them ... Keane must hope that the decision-makers in football take the trouble to read the book itself -- Sam Wallace * i NEWSPAPER * The trouble with the first autobiography, perhaps, is that it’s a little *too* Dunphy. The sections on Keane’s upbringing in Cork and his time at Forest, especially with Clough, still read beautifully, as do his reflections on the Class Of ’92, Eric Cantona, Gary Pallister and the Man U v Liverpool Cup Final in 1996.

Roy Keane is honest about the nature of most soccer players. He’s frank about the nature of the news media, team managers and fans. He’s explicit about what it takes to win. And, most stirringly, Roy Keane is honest about the price one pays for not compromising on the things one believes in. Box to box, probably the best midfield player in terms of being an engine for the team that I’ve played with. He never really had bad games, (and) was a good leader in midfield.”

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The personality required to be an elite athlete is not always the same that is needed to qualify as a “good person.” Ruthlessness, stubbornness, ignoring pain, ignoring limits, intentionally breaking rules of decency——these traits are sometimes needed for tremendously successful athletes to become Legends. Thank Goodness we have the metaphorical realms of Sport and Art so that the most talented among us can work out these contradictions in a safe space, rather than have no other outlet and have to take out their aggression—and transgressions—elsewhere.