A 'tough as nails' former Manchester United captain begins a new job at North East club with fantastic board backing in terms of finance and support.

Lots of money spent, lots of players coming and going. Talk of being Ferguson's successor and the next great British Manager.

Ring any bells?

well it should because it is a familiar story. think Bryan Robson and now we have the latest installment of 'Ferguson's 'Predecessor' Gone Bad.

having spent 300 billion pounds the irishman still finds himself struggling to even chalk up a home win. most managers could only dream of the financial backing Keane has had and yet still he struggles.

Ive been vocal in my dislike for Keane and more specifically his choice of tactics and playing style with his Sunderland team and it appears the resentment is spreading amongst the Mackem masses who see him without Man United tinted glasses and can see just what is happening at their club.

Is it time for clubs to stop giving unproven 'big name' players cushy jobs and promote up and coming managers from lower leagues? whatever happened to learning coaching, then becoming an assistant and finally entering management after up to a decade behind the scenes learning the scenes?

Should Sunderland keep faith with Roy or is he just absolutely fuKeane useless?

(please feel free to edit the title if its a little on the naughty side )

I wouldn't say he's a terrible manager but neither is he a great. He is pretty poor in the transfer market but he kept Sunderland up last year and their team was far too weak to stay up without investment.

I think he would suit the continental arrangment where he motivates and picks the squad and someone else buys the players. He'd never go for that though because of his personality but considering the money he's spent at least one or two of his buys should have come good by now.

Having said that Keiran Richardson was a good purchase.

Stick with him for now, he's not done anything like enough to deserve the sack just yet.

squandering £80m on a relegation threatened squad of Championship players?

To be fair on Keane he came into Sunderland after they'd had 5 straight defeats at the start of the 06/07 season and went on to turn them into Championship winners. That, for his first year in management, deserves some credit.

Of course he's not spent well with the £40m he's had in both summer's of being in the Premier League - i think the summer before last he outspent every side in the division even. I think Keane will rightly take time to prove if he can be a success as a football manager, but as a Sunderland fan i don't think i'd be too happy being his learning curve. If you imagine what an experienced manager could do with £80m it's unsurprising some sections of the Sunderland fanbase want him out. They could be in the top half of the table with the right guidance.

No doubt because the owner is Quinn then the Sunderland job will be safe for Keane for longer than normal. I don't know whether he's a bad manager or just an inexperienced manager that will improve, and think really you can only say once he's either flopped or succeeded.

What i would say is i don't agree with ex-players jumping into jobs without doing their badges. If they've done the training then sure it's the clubs prerogative to employ who they like (more fool them), but it's unfair on all the other manager's who've done their badges and been managing for years for players to just walk out of playing and into a big club as manager. I'm sure Southgate did that with Middlesbrough without having to do his training immediately. I don't know if Keane did get his badges before taking the helm at Sunderland though.

Well he does deserve some credit for turning them around and becoming Championship champions, but since then all he has done is by players who weren't good enough for the clubs they were at, bar a few. He has signed players who are either not good enough, overated or past their best. ie. Tainio, Malbranque, Chimbonda, Healy and Reid to name a few.

I think Ciise was a good deal, Ferdinand could be a good deal but I can't remember but I believe he paid way over the top for him, Richardson would of been a good deal ifhe could stay fit and play regularly. Diouf although I cannot stand him can do a job, but only really at a level that is good enough for premier league survival.

They should sack him and bring in Juande Ramos.

He got them up, that was an achievement which I think should earn him a good shot in the Premier League. I don't think they will go down and while he could have spent better, for Sunderland just being in the top tier is great.

Keane is a laughing stock.

Only in my worst nightmares would i consider paying the sums he pays for deadwood. But i'd wake up, and all would be well, as it was only a dream. When i hear about Keane in the transfer market, i'm half expecting to wake up and find out it isn't real. He's a blundering buffoon, completely clueless in the transfer market. Can you imagine where Harry Redknapp would've taken Sunderland had he had £80m to spend?

I don't believe Harry has even spent that much in his time at Portsmouth, and when he took over there they were no worse than Sunderland. And look where he took them. All the way to Europe and FA cup champions.

The Cisse loan impressed me. I was suprised. But Sunderland don't appear to improved, and Cisse probably won't want to stick around there too long.

I have actually just written a feature asking whether Keane is walking on thin ice. He has come out and said that he may not renew his contract come the end of the season, however with results like this, he may struggle to last the season.

Keane is starting to feel the pressure there is no doubt about that.

i disagree.

any club that has a 50,000 capacity stadium and spent £80m in just two seasons have every right to expect better than 'just being in the top tier'.

personally i dont feel that getting Sunderland promoted was as big an achievement as people make out but there you go.

He seems very disinterested. Isn't his contract up this summer?

If they want to make sure they'll get relegated.

what the hell was Keane waffling on about!?

the mistakes at the back occur because he encourages them to play and they always try to play!!!??

does he even watch his team?

get yourself a pair of glasses, pull your head out of your arse and have a shave you scruffy moron.

Bolton could have banged 7 past you. your record signing keeper is a joke as well.

Have a shave

I don't think Keane should be sacked just yet. Give him the rest of the season at least, unless relegation is a clear and serious threat. With the league being so tight, a couple of wins can push you up the table towards a european spot - look at Bolton.

Talking of the table, dare I say it, it looks strange at the moment. If you reversed the order of teams from 6th to 19th it would look much more realistic. But that's the beauty of football. It's so unpredictable.

They are only eight points behind Villa in fourth. No crisis just yet.

I see no reason why Roy Keane won't last until the end of the season
and his aim again will be to make sure Sunderland don't get relegated....

If they carry on performing like they did at home to Bolton though on Saturday
losing 1-4 it will only be a matter of time before he gets the sack or will just walk out.

I wait for Roy Keane to blame the English for his current problems

A club shouldn't particularly wait for a crisis before looking at alternatives in terms of management. i wouldnt be suprised if they are already looking around at other managers.

Keane will undoubtedly walk before he is pushed in an attempt to save face. i expect him gone by the end of the season one way or another.

the arselicking the man gets from the media is staggering as well. any other manager at any other club would be hung out to dry. Curbishley had a far tougher time, so did Kinnear and many others who are performing far better than Keane.

These comments are all from one particular Guardian hack...

(Roy is) immaculately turned out but never flashy

(Roy is) generous to a fault towards those within his inner circle

Keane is simply refreshingly honest.

(Roy’s) Touchline style (is) glowering, prowling, brooding, jaw-clenching - but always immaculately turned out

Sunderland’s manager (Roy Keane) - fast proving almost as snappy a dresser as the Portuguese (refers to Jose Mourinho)

One of Roy Keane’s most attractive qualities is his honesty

Sunderland’s eloquent manager (Roy Keane)

his (Roy Keane’s) invariably cliche- and platitude-free musings are always worth hearing and delivered in flowing, eloquent sentences that never seem to descend into grammatical black holes.

Not the type to rely on notes or props, Sunderland’s manager (Roy Keane)invariably ad libs his team talks. By all accounts they are frequently transfixing and sometimes quirky but the Irishman’s speech during Saturday’s interval was his most powerful yet. “The gaffer was as passionate as I’ve ever seen him,” said Kieran Richardson, a one-time Manchester United team-mate of Keane’s. “He gave us a history lesson at half-time. He’s a great manager.”

Roy Keane remains full of surprises but it is hardly startling to learn that Sunderland’s manager regards himself as “a dylanologist”. A bit like Bob Dylan himself, Keane can be seen as enigmatic and self-mythologising but one thing the former Manchester United captain most certainly is not is conceited.



Needless to say that said hack is a female...

Those comments are laughable. If Keane is always immaculately turned out... that must make Fat Sam a fine figure of a healthy human being.



''I see no reason why Roy Keane won't last until the end of the season
and his aim again will be to make sure Sunderland don't get relegated.... ''

That's simply not good enough. When you spend £80m, your aim should not be to avoid relegation. You should be pushing for a place in Europe.

Roy Keane will be the next Celtic Manager none of the Celtic Fans like Gordon Strachen as hes not a Celtic man at Heart and his tactics are a joke So let Roy Come Paradise Straight swap

Oh, I would just hate a manager coming to Leeds, winning all them trophies, and not being a Leeds man at heart!
Think of the scandal!

1st season promoted. Well done and thank you kindly.
2nd season not relegated. Well done.
3rd season could be better. 1st big test. Crisis?


Sunderland will never win the league. At least they are somewhat safe.....for now.

Keep him for premiership survival!