Keane: The Autobiography

Product Information

Each man trails numbers, stats that speak for themselves. The Man United captain played 600 times and won seven Premier League titles and a European Champions League; Pietersen, double Ashes winner, is England’s most prolific run-scorer of all time in all forms of the game. In both cases, however, it is not the decade of triumph that they dwell on, but the manner of its ending. For all the sweat and glory that preceded it, their lasting focus is, sadly, on the monosyllabic exchanges in an office, each lasting “less than five minutes”, that marked the final act. As Oedipus or Othello might have explained in a post-match interview, at the end of the day, Brian, life just isn’t fair. 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. 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

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. The book paints a picture of Keane as a hard-working, hard-drinking player who couldn’t always control his temper but always gave his all on the pitch. His tolerance for anything that didn’t meet his standards was incredibly low – yet slightly hypocritical when his own drinking had to be having a damaging impact on his own game. Ultimately Keane’s year out with a cruciate ligament injury combined with growing older helped to temper his drinking and the Roy we meet in the second book has become a health freak. Following the infamous Saipan incident: “As he waded in with one expletive after another I asked myself, ‘Was this my captain? Was this the man who could serve Ireland as a role model for our children?’ The answer was no.” Paul Scholes 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.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 * I only played with him for two seasons at the end of my career, and he had some injuries, but I saw more than enough to appreciate his brilliance. Roy Keane head-butted Peter Schmeichel on a 1998 pre-season tour in Asia. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

Engrossing... a book that is both an exercise in truth-telling and a piece of literary football writing -- Leo Robson * NEW STATESMAN * People miss the fact that Keane is funny. Caustic, yes, clenched, he'd admit. Angry (though no longer prone to rage, his book claims) more than most. But funny. The light touch in The Second Half is not exclusively Doyle's. Yet the heavy stuff compels ... The account of Keane's Sunderland reign is riveting. The everyday trials of a first-time manager are uncovered as in no other book ... The Second Half is brutally honest -- Jonathan Northcroft * THE SUNDAY TIMES * Roddy Doyle is a great writer and, like Dunphy he also captures Keane’s voice well. It takes a few chapters to adjust to the subtly different style compared to the first book, but both feel like authentic Keane. A few anecdotes are repeated but mostly its fresh material. So I forgive the forthright Irishman for his contradictions in character. The professional athlete that we see on our televisions are as fictitious as any literary character, and thus I can judge Roy Keane as a character; and I’ve always liked characters in books or movies that have contradictions. Some examples of Keane’s Kontradictions include:Keane, who is close to resuming training, will also be absent for league matches against Manchester City, West Ham, Newcastle and Liverpool before a possible return against Arsenal on December 7. But the fact that the FA penalty does not cover European games means the 31-year-old Irish midfielder could play against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on November 13. No. 1 bestselling memoir of Roy Keane, former captain of Manchester United and Ireland - co-written with Man Booker Prize-winner Roddy Doyle.