YOU can bet that all those Old Trafford super-stars uttered a collective sigh of relief when Roy Keane refused to be considered as a successor to Alex Ferguson as manager of Manchester United.
Well, consider it for yourself. The hair-dryer finally strides off into the sunset and in walks the flame-thrower as his replacement. Simply too much to bear for those sensitive, easily-offended souls down there at the Theatre of Screams.
But a bunch of players somewhere are going to cop an earful from Keano in the near future, that's for sure. Because the Irish terrier has set his sights on a new career in football management - and, typically, he intends to achieve that objective HIS way. And as he proved so many times in his magnificent playing career, HIS way is the right way.
Potential
Keane has no intentions of trading in on his reputation. Make no mistake about it, big clubs up and down this country will be eyeing him up as their potential manager just on the strength of his name alone.
How many big-name players have we seen land lucrative positions with clubs when they've hung up their boots without having acquired one ounce of managerial experience?
Keane is having none of that. He intends to start from the very bottom and work his way up the managerial ladder. The first step, he says, will be to collect all his necessary coaching badges. Then he will begin his managerial career in the lower reaches of the Football League.
Who knows? He could cut his managerial teeth at Stockport County or Bury. Learn his new trade in the School for Hard Knocks. And, without a shadow of doubt, he will be a better manager for it when he comes through that apprenticeship.
Joe Royle didn't end up managing Manchester City and Everton in the Premiership by accident. When his playing career ended he took over at Oldham Athletic when gates at Boundary Park were three men and a stray dog. Times were hard, money was virtually non-existent but it was at Oldham where Genial Joe learned what it took to be a good manager.
Sam Allardyce learned his trade in the lower divisions. He wheeled and dealed at Blackpool. He motivated and inspired ordinary players at Notts County. He even had a spell as manager of a part-time club in the Irish League. Not much glamour in any of those positions. But Big Sam came out the other side as the wise, top-class Premiership manager we see today.
Ambitions
The former Manchester City favourite Paul Simpson had ambitions to be in charge one day of a top-flight club as his playing career drew to a close.
He chose that same well-trodden path. I remember interviewing him when he was given his first chance by Rochdale. Not exactly Highbury, was it? But Paul was as happy as Larry. He had a foot on the managerial ladder and, in his eyes, the only way was up.
He continued his education at his hometown club Carlisle United and promotion to the Football League proved what a fast learner he is. Now he's moved several rungs up that managerial ladder by taking charge at Preston North End. Just one more upward step and he will have achieved his ambition of managing at Premiership level. And when he gets there - as he will - he'll be ready for it because he will have served that all-important apprenticeship.
Within the near future Keane will be embarking on the same journey taken by the likes of Royle, Allardyce and Simpson. And when he's experienced the frustrations and disappointments of running a lower division club on a shoestring budget, he will have all the qualifications he needs to become a leading Premiership manager or I'm the Man in the Moon.
The hard way is not necessarily the wrong way and, as a manager, Keane will get there the hard way because that's the sort of man he is.
He won't expect doors to open on the strength of his name and reputation. Anything he achieves as a manager he will have earned because that's how he was as a player.
Snigger
Even the longest journey starts with one small step and there will be those who will snigger when one of the great midfielder players of modern times begins his managerial career at some tiny club who haven't got two pennies to rub together.
Take my word for it. Keano will have the last laugh.
He's not too high and mighty not to know that in football management, you can't run until you've learned to walk.
But Keane will learn the ropes all right amongst the minnows of English football.
And when he does, every Premiership manager had better watch out.
No-one's job will be safe with Mad-Dog on the prowl and looking for work.
Will Keane make it in management? Have your say.
Comments
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i have no doubt whaysowhever that he will succeeed
If Keano wants to start at the bottom he could always start at FCUM.
Yes, it would be interesting to see an outspoken tyraanical manager, who holds grudges, who doesn't communicate with the press, who ignores the bulk of the fans and has a turbo hairdryer in the premiership! Many people are saying that Keano has all the attributes to succeed but view exactly the same attributes as weaknesses in Sir Alex Ferguson. Strange!
Keane is a very wise man. As the saying goes "the further up the tree the monkey goes the more it shows its bum" and it is particularly true when people go into the higher echelons of management without learning their trade. By the time Keane gets to the top he will have made sure that his nether regions are well covered and will be a far better manager in consequence.
His combination of personality and experience will both take him to the top and enable him to stay there.
If he wants a challenge at a local club with no money to spend. What about MCFC even the mighty Keano couldnt turn that pile round.
He should start at the lowest possible place at Man City, move up a notch to Liverpool, then do a year at FC Utd, then on to Old Trafford.
It's good to see that Roy is prepared to start at the bottom, it seems to many ex-pro's go into top class management without the nessecary skills. Keane will make a fantastic manager in the future and I hope one day a great Utd manager but he needs to learn how to do the job.
Good luck to him and I hope to see you in the dug-out at OT in the next few years.
i see him at ot... He has got the same vision of football as mourinho, hitzfeld or lippi.. He would be the only replacement for ferguson.. coz he knows the club , the ppl and the problems and the so-called superstars...
Managment styles have had to change dramatically with the introduction of the millionaire football player.
I'm a bit puzzled why people believe Keane will make a great manager as yet he has no history and the likes of Wilkins Reid Robson Souness have hardly set the world of managment on fire
I cannot wait to see Roy on the sidelones growling at some young player who wished he never took up football. But that young footballer will probably be very grateful he crossed paths with Roy.
Paul, Lancs. The idea is to move up, not down.
Yes..FC United is just the right place for Roy Keane to kick start his managerial career. Hope that in 5 years time he will be back to Old Trafford with 20 more years of Manchester United Football Club dominance!
Stu, Bolton. I think Keane will make an excellent manager because he has a passion for the game. I don't think he'll be one of these soft managers who sit in the stands watching and talking to the bench by phone. He'll want to be there in the dugout (do they still use this term. Good luck to him.
Roy Keane is perfect for management. As a player he kept a distance from all his team mates. He was the captain of the club and he played like the captain and demanded the respect from the players that the captain should have. He will demand the same as a manager. Keane really does remind me of SAF in the 80s when he was Aberdeen manager and caretaker manager of Scotland in the 86 world cup after Jock Stein died. I remember SAF saying they were there to win the WC, not make up the numbers. I had to chuckle back then, but now I know he really believed what he said because he is a winner. Roy Keane is exactly the same.
I agree Stu, Bolton - I can't see him handling his frustration very well when things aren't working to plan and I feel he would pass the pressure onto his players. Very much like a Souness - similarly gifted and driven midfield players but Souness has shown that he cannot handle the more troublesome personalities that is required at the top level.
Roy Keane proved how good a motivator he was when those overpaid United players finally beat Chelsea in the Premiership. If he takes those kind of attributes into management he can reach any height.
Keane will be a successful manager. He should follow th example for Sir Alex Ferguson who started at the lowe echelons of Scottish football but it gave him an excellent foundation for his management career. If Keane needs any guidance, refer to SAF's autobiography. He sets out an excellent model for others to follow. I just can't understand why so few have followed the master. Keane is smart and will do so and be successful.Lets just hope his best years as manager are at Old Trafford.
I'm with my namesake from Bolton and Duncan on this. Keane will remain my United hero probably for ever. That night in Turin was so unbelievable I will never forget it. But I can't see him having the necessary patience to be a manager. Top players very, very rarely make top managers (anyone name many?) for the simple reason that they find it very difficult to relate to players who don't have either the same passion, commitment or skill that they had themselves. When Keane is faced with managing a lower-league club, his frustration at the players' inability to even approach his own standards will be very difficult to contain. Maybe he'll surprise me and accept that and focus on just getting them to be 100% committed to the cause. I don't know. For me, the only United player in the recent past or present that I could see making a top manager is Solksjaer - patient, empathetic and studious but nonetheless demanding of your respect for what he's achieved.
Who knows if Keane will make a great manager. Certainly, he will need to learn that playing the angry card doesn't always work and that you can't always motivate players will battle cries.