Roy Keane; the most successful captain in the history of Manchester United.

He was our driving force, the heart and soul of United from the mid 90s-00s, the most influential presence in the dressing room during their time together according to Ferguson, leaving a work ethic both on and off the pitch that would endure long after his departure.

7 Premier League titles during his 12 seasons at the club, including two domestic league and cup doubles and the famous treble, none of which the club had achieved before or since (no, we have never won the league and FA Cup in a season outside of Keane's time).

All this and still over the years I have seen him criticised and misrepresented again and again by the media and even our own supporters on forums across the internet. In my opinion this does a club legend a disservice. As someone who did so much for the club I feel that United supporters should draw ranks around our own and set the record straight where need be.

For this reason I would like to address some of the myths most often heard around Roy Keane. I'll start with the first five and maybe add some more. Please feel free to discuss/add your own...

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False: Keane left United due to criticism of his teammates on MUTV

The common held belief is that after a 4-1 loss to Middlesbrough, Keane gave an interview to MUTV where he criticised a number of players, specifically van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Fletcher, Richardson and Alan Smith. The criticism was such that Ferguson had to pull the video from being aired and subsequently terminated Keane's contract with the club mid-season due to his destabilising influence on the dressing room.

Whilst it is true that Ferguson told Keane, “that interview was a disgrace, a joke. Criticising your teammates. And wanting that to go out”, the fact is, when done in private, Ferguson didn't mind Keane's criticism of teammates: -

“If Roy Keane thought you weren't pulling your weight he would be right on top of you, straight away. Many players faced his wrath for committing that crime and there would be no place to hide from him. I never felt that was a bad aspect of his character.”

And let's not forget that the video was never released and Keane remained very much a part of the first team following the incident.

Furthermore, the players named were not offended by the comments which Keane had discussed with them and have since given glowing references of Keane's influence. Alan Smith even credited Keane's MUTV criticism for the much improved 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the very next game with another of the players he singled out, Fletcher, scoring the winning goal.

So now we have established that Ferguson didn't eject Keane on the basis of the video, that the players were not offended, if anything their performances improved and that it was mostly a media driven furore over a few leaked excerpts of the interview, why did Ferguson terminate Keane's contract?

The truth is there had been a building tension and deteriorating relationship between Keane, Ferguson and his assistant, Carlos Queiroz, for some time...

From Keane's perspective, there had been a lowering of standards with the club finishing 3rd in the previous two seasons and to be fair, at that time, he was playing alongside the likes of Bellion, Miller and Gibson. Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and David Beckham had recently left, Vidic and Evra were yet to join and Ronaldo was far from the finished article, having scored only 15 goals in 90 games up to that point. Keane felt the Rock of Gibraltar legal battle was not in the interest of United and that Ferguson had not done enough to prevent the slide. He also felt mistreated and disrespected by Quieroz during training sessions. It is fair to say that Keane, winner that he is, was feeling a lot of frustration at that point.

From Ferguson and Quieroz's perspective, there was an issue that Keane had chosen his own accommodation during the pre-season tour of Portugal, he challenged the training methods in a player meeting and they were having trouble getting Keane to adhere to a more restrained deep-lying midfield role despite his increasing number of injuries.

The killer blow, the nail in the coffin, the coup de grace to Keane's United career came in a meeting of the management and players where the MUTV video was watched. Against the backdrop above, in front of the team, Ferguson called the interview a disgrace and invited the players to join his condemnation of Keane. Queiroz then questioned Keane's loyalty.

Honestly, what did they think would happen? My god, you do not question Roy Keane's integrity and loyalty and not expect fireworks. With all the heart, soul and winning mentallity that had driven United's success for over a decade, Keane erupted and tore into the pair of them in front of everyone.

That is what led Ferguson to state, “Roy absolutely overstepped the line”. That is why Keane later accepted his temperament had cost him. That confrontation specifically is why Ferguson pushed Keane out of the door.

Avoidable? Keane wouldn't be the force he was had he accepted United's decline. Ferguson wouldn't be the manager he was had he accepted Keane's defiance. In the end, an unavoidable clash of two hugely influential winning personalities who each wanted the best for United. Yet as we all know, no one contests Ferguson's control and it was destined to end only one way.

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False: Keane and Ferguson fell out due to their acrimonious parting of ways at United.

The commonly held belief is that Keane and Ferguson have had a longstanding feud ever since the events described above.

The fact is, Keane and Ferguson have both said they quickly moved on. When Keane went straight into management the following season, Ferguson loaned him Evans and Miller, the two were on speaking terms and even shared a post-match drink together after Keane's Sunderland played United on Boxing Day, 2007.

Ferguson even complimented Keane at the time: -

“Roy has the wherewithall to be a top class manager. Some people can’t make decisions. Roy can. He is a good decision maker.”

It wasn't until 6 years after Keane's departure from United, late in 2011, that the feud ignited in the public sphere. Keane had turned down an invitation to Ferguson's 25th anniversary celebration and in his punditry role for ITV had criticised United after a Champions League loss to Basel (justifiably?) which saw us eliminated at the group stage. Ferguson responded by labelling Keane a “television critic” and questioned his management career. Next thing Keane revealed that United had threatened him with legal action back in 2008 for comments he had made regarding his departure from United.

The tit for tat rumbled on from there – their pride not allowing them to let it go – culminating with Ferguson's revealing autobiography which prompted Keane to state, “he doesn't know the meaning of the word [loyalty]”.

As a United supporter, I would like nothing more than to see these two club legends shake hands and bury the hatchett before it is too late. It is promising that each have complimented the other in recent years. Watch this space.

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False: Keane has a poor record in management, even Ferguson said he failed.

First let's see what Ferguson said of Keane in his autobiography: -

“As his career in coaching developed, it became apparent that he needed to spend money to achieve results. He was always looking to buy players. I didn't feel Roy had the patience to build a team.”

So we can see there is something intended as criticism but not to the extent of stating that Keane had/has failed.

But don't those comments seem slightly hypocritical coming from Ferguson, a manager who broke the British transfer record three times and spent hundreds of millions of pounds on players? Ferguson bought practically a whole team before he won his first league title at United. Not that it's a negative – there were many fantastic signings who contributed to our success.

It is true Ferguson blended this with youth, but then Keane was not adverse to promoting youth either. In two and a half seasons at Sunderland, Keane promoted 13 players from the youth system to the first team squad, the most notable being Jack Colback (18) and Jordan Henderson (18). He took on loan young players from United including Jonny Evans (18) and Danny Simpson (20). He signed Anthony Stokes (18) and Paul McShane (21) whilst providing opportunities to young players already at Sunderland like Grant Leadbitter (20).

The implication is that Ferguson's comments are a little disingenuous and actually a part of the tit for tat back and forth with Keane at the time.

Onto Keane's management record, it is better than some believe...

The season prior to Keane's appointment, Sunderland had won only 3(!) out of 38 games in the Premier League. They had needed extra-time to overcome Cheltenham Town in the League Cup and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Brentford. Sunderland were relegated with a record low points total.

The following season, Sunderland were knocked out of the League Cup early by Bury and launched their Championship campaign with four consecutive defeats to leave the club bottom of the table. This was a team of serial losers.

Then Keane arrived and the transformation was instant and dramatic...

Sunderland won their next three games against West Brom, Derby and Leeds. The team climbed the table throughout the season, going on a 17-game unbeaten run to eventually finish as champions with Keane named Championship 'Manager of the Year'.

The Premier League proved more difficult, as is the case for any promoted side, but Keane's transformation of the squad secured Sunderland's status in the league where they have remained to the present day. From Championship relegation contenders to a stable Premier League side – Keane is not given the credit he deserves for this.

Keane's next job at Ipswich did not go so well, but what has anyone achieved at Ipswich in recent times? Even then, Keane was beginning a transformation of the squad and his second season started well as Ipswich over-achieved by going on a great run in the League Cup to meet Arsenal in the semi-final.

It is difficult to judge Keane in his role as Villa assistant-manager as his time there was short and divided with Republic of Ireland duties. What we know is that the manager, Paul Lambert, spoke highly of Keane's contribution and players including Darren Bent and Jack Grealish credit Keane with developing their game. Also note that Villa have been in free-fall since Keane's departure.

In Keane's role as Ireland assistant-manager, Martin O'Niell and the players have praised his contribution on a number of occasions. Obviously Ireland do not have the most talented squad but Keane has stated his mandate: “My job is to motivate players, to push people and try and get them to another level.”

Then we see Ireland qualify for Euro 2016 with a 1-1 draw in Germany before defeating the World Champions 1-0 at home (it wasn't a second-string side the Germans put out either)! Ireland defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina over two legs to reach the Euro finals where a 1-0 victory over Italy secured passage from a tough group before giving host nation France a scare in the last 16. There is no doubt Ireland have punched above their weight, so how is Keane doing in his mandate?

Overall, Keane's management record is far from poor. It has been very reasonable considering the teams where Keane has had a management role and is a match to the likes of Conte, Pochettino or Simeone before they were presented the opportunity at bigger clubs.

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False: Keane is bitter toward United and critices the club at every opportunity.

It is true that in his punditry role for ITV Keane has often criticised United's performances, amongst others, the 2011 Champions League exit against Basel and last season's Europa League exit to Liverpool. Then, who doesn't criticise our poor performances? With Keane known for his honesty and no-nonesense approach, why should anyone assume he criticises these defeats out of bitterness?

Yes Keane has also criticised Ferguson but as we have seen, that is a two-way street and a personal issue between them, separate to his feelings toward United.

In any case, due to the media coverage, anyone would think this type of criticism of United is all Keane has presented. We don't hear so much about the positive comments, the compliments and praise: -

“Man United mean a lot to me, despite my disagreement with the manager.

“I loved everything about United — the badge, the history, the pressures, the supporters, Old Trafford.

“Everything about it I loved.

“Going back doesn’t keep me awake at night. But you never know what’s around the corner.”

~Roy Keane, October 2014

“Twelve and a half years, to work under one manager. I don’t want people to think I’m bitter and twisted towards Alex Ferguson, but I’m obviously going to say I’m disappointed with his comments, what he said about me,”

“I’m not for one minute playing down what he achieved. Absolutely amazing.

“I played under good managers, bad managers. The top managers get a feel for the group, they know what you need. Whatever Alex Ferguson’s strengths and weaknesses, that was by far his biggest strength.

“Me and Alex Ferguson, we had the same type of traits, of what Manchester United was about. I think that probably created the problems towards to the end. We almost knew we were coming to the end.”

“I thought I knew what the group might need, that we didn’t need a big team talk, it was Tottenham at home. I thought please don’t go on about Tottenham, we all know what Tottenham is about, they are nice and tidy but we’ll fecking do them. He came in and said: ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham’, and that was it. Brilliant.”

“It could have been a European semi-final, it could have been Leeds away, it could have been a home League Cup tie – Alex Ferguson always had a feel of the group.”

~Roy Keane, October 2014

“I fell out with Ferguson towards the end but I had 12 and a half great years working with him and I wouldn’t swap it for anything.

“It was brilliant.”

~Roy Keane, May 2015

So the next time we hear a criticism from Keane, remember his feelings toward United and consider that maybe he is only being honest. Perhaps even, Keane's 'to the point' assessments are the fastest way to finding improvement (he did say United need more 'character' and that Zlatan would be a great addition after all - quite right)!

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False: Keane is a negative influence on the dressing room.

Here is where the sensationalist media have really attempted to do a number on Roy to sell a story. That Keane has tolerated some of what has been written about him and remained in the management game shows his resilience.

Sure there have been negative comments during his time at Sunderland and Ipswich, though predictably they are from players Keane didn't rate and/or were shipped out of the clubs. And these are in the minority compared to the positive comments which are not so widely reported.

Sunderland...

“I have always said in the past, Roy has been a huge part of me getting my chance as a footballer." said the former England Under-21s captain.

“He gave me my debut at Sunderland and had a huge impact over my career. So I have got a lot of thanks to him for that.

“I can never really repay him for that, he started my career as a professional footballer, I learnt a lot from him while I was at Sunderland."

“To work under him was amazing. I think he could see how much I wanted to be a footballer, how hard I worked and obviously I hoped he would see a little bit of quality in there too.”

~Jordan Henderson

"I have a lot of respect for our old boss Roy.

"He was a nice man. He had a positive impact on every player at the club, he had an aura about him - he's Roy Keane!

"Someone like that is always going to be missed. My game improved under him and it continues to – hopefully."

~Grant Leadbitter

“He took over the club when they were bottom of the Championship and then finished comfortably in the Premier League. That's not easy!

“I think sometimes his time at Sunderland is not given the credit for how well he actually did.

“People look at him and think he is an angry manager, but he gets the best out of players. He got the best out of me.

“I think he would be a great manager now given the opportunity, I really do think that.”

~Danny Higginbotham​

Ipswich...

“Playing under Roy Keane is easy.

“If you work hard, he praises you. If you don't, you get criticised. He's a fairer man than people give him credit for.”

~Daryl Murphy

“Roy did come down pretty hard on a few of the others at Ipswich, but he was great to me. He told me to believe in my ability and, having played in the same position, he taught me a few things about the game which are really helping now. He was very good at building my confidence up.

“I've been on the receiving end of a few of his dressing-room tantrums, but he only did that when it was deserved, when the team hadn't performed. And, much as he could really dish it out, he was always very quick to praise you when you did well.

“I hope Roy comes back into management. He adds a lot to the game and I think he could be a big success in the future.”

~Jack Colback

“People have got entirely the wrong idea about the gaffer. They remember him as a player, when he was all about winning, and they automatically think he must be a bit of a madman in the dressing room.

“I wish I could take some of our fans in there because they would be amazed at how he really is. Yes, we get the hairdryer from time to time but only when we really deserve it. He tells it like it is but certainly doesn’t rant and rave just for the sake of it.

“He is actually quite calm most of the time and he is brilliant at taking the pressure off the players.”

~David Norris​

Aston Villa...

“To be honest, at the beginning, I didn't even think Roy would like me because of the type of player I am. On the first day of training, I didn't start the session that well and he tapped me on the shoulder after a half an hour.

"He said: 'Are you alright?' and I replied 'yeah'. And then he asked me: 'When do you start training then?'

“That put me under pressure straight away then. He was only bantering but I wondered was he being a little bit serious here. However, Roy's been brilliant for me and we now got on great.

“Every time I'm around the squad, he's flooded me with confidence and he's one of the main reasons for my success. So I thank Roy for all his help.”

~Jack Grealish

“I think he got on with the players. I think what people most respected about him is that he told it as it was, to be fair.

“And if you weren’t playing well he would tell you. He wouldn’t hide from the fact and yeah as I said personally he was fantastic for me. I had a lot of contact with him on different aspects of the game and I’m sorry to see him go.

“Obviously we wish him all the best and hopefully he does well in whatever venture he does next.

“Personally speaking he was fantastic for me. He always made me feel good and he always put in some good finishing sessions. I can’t speak highly enough of him and for me he was fantastic.

“If you want to improve as a player and get better you need people to tell you the truth. And he was definitely one for that.”

~Darren Bent

“I was surprised Roy left. It was a shock. I had a good working relationship with him. You could always go and talk with him whenever you wanted.

“He demanded a lot from the players to give their all in training and hopefully that legacy will remain. He definitely came in and put it across that he wanted our standards to be high all the time.

“I got that. If you're training like that, then you're going to take that intensity into games and I understand why. It's only been a week or so since Roy left, but the lads are giving their all.”

~Alan Hutton​

Republic of Ireland...

“I think you see a different side to Roy than we do. I think when he first came in everyone was a little bit on edge as you would be with Roy Keane.

“But as time has gone on he's fine to talk to. He's there for advice and he's a good coach. I think he's really enjoying it as well which is important.”

~Seamus Coleman

"I think Roy’s reputation in the media proceeds [sic] him slightly. He definitely comes across as being a little bit scarier on TV than he is in real life.

"Of course he doesn't come in singing and dancing in the morning! But he is a friendly man to speak to and very helpful if you have any questions."

~Eunan O'Kane

“I’ve had to make many big decisions. The biggest was bringing in Roy Keane and he has been absolutely phenomenal. I couldn’t be more delighted with him. He’s an iconic figure. He sometimes polarises opinion but not in the dressing room.”

~Martin O'Neill​

That is only a selection of the positive feedback Keane has received. And let's not forget he also spent 7 years leading the dressing room during the most successful period of United's history.

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Here is a link to those who want to see the discussion that went on the caf where it was originally posted. - link as well the profile of the creator for the content. All credit goes toward him who I messaged to get permission to use this