Keane: The Autobiography

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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). I'd waited long enough. I f****** hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries. This was my favourite quote because this cheating player deserved it and the irish man got him. 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.

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 * Keane's book - ghosted by Roddy Doyle - is brutal, amusing and self-deprecating, often at the same time -- Des Kelly * EVENING STANDARD * A genuine pleasure; it is a masterpiece of the genre and one that paints, in an entirely unintentional way, an extremely flattering portrait of the man ... Keane is not afraid to laugh at himself by telling stories against himself ... His thoughts on his players are humane, interesting, candid and never less than believable ... Keane's story is of a man, too, one who has had to look at football and life anew as a manager, and it is this added perspective that gives richness and humanity to the tale -- Mike Atherton * THE TIMES * Soon attention focused heavily on a passage about Keane seeking revenge on Alfie Inge Haaland which ultimately got Keane a suspension – reading the offending passage now it would be fairly easy to overlook it, had Haaland’s career not been cut short due to the injury he suffered. By the time the second edition was published in 2003, Keane had agreed to rewrite the passage in later editions as part of his punishment from the FA.It is the dearth of integrity that makes Pietersen such a peevish, trifling character, and the surfeit that makes Keane so entrancingly epic ... the personification of honest to a fault ... he is as close as sport can offer to an Old Testament prophet. Heroically unconcerned with being loved, almost insanely devoted to telling what he regards as the plain truth, he may not always be engaging. But ... he stands out as utterly and irreducibly true to himself -- Matthew Norman * THE INDEPENDENT *

For a complete player, without a doubt Keano. Apart from the bad side he had, he was the complete midfield player for me. In a thoughtful piece as long ago as 2005, the year of the great Manchester United bust-up, British sportswriter Simon Barnes wrote about how Keane had "mellowed". Like global warming, Keane's mellowing has always been difficult to detect with the naked eye, and is absolutely denied by some. The process appears to have been going on for as long as anyone can remember, to the point where it has become – all credit to the lad – one of football's great cliches. The thing I love about this man is there is nothing he writes down that he would not say to someone's face -- Stan Collymore * THE PEOPLE * A very good read - we're given alot of information about the young life of Roy Keane that established him as the footballing superstar he became. Roy is a no-nonsense type of guy on and off the pitch. He stands up for what he believes and has the ability to tell it like it is, so for me this book was refreshing. We get some great insights behind the scenes at Man United and International duty, including Roy's side of the 2002 Saipan fiasco. We knew that he was a special player, we knew that he loved to have a bit of a moan, but we knew that he could produce the goods week in, week out, and we knew he was a winner.” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

He's scarily extreme, dangerously provocative, oxy-acetylene forthright ... and hugely entertaining' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY I thoroughly enjoyed this enthralling, frank and hilarious book. Readers not familiar with British colloquialisms and English football culture may find this story difficult to follow. But readers interested in what constitutes the heart of a champion will find Keane The Autobiography both rewarding and indispensable. 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. 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. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing as if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player.”

Roy Keane head-butted Peter Schmeichel on a 1998 pre-season tour in Asia. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images 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 * A genuine pleasure . . . His thoughts on his players are humane, interesting, candid and never less than believable' The Times 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 Overall, the Keane we encounter in book 2 is more reflective and self-critical. It’s the book of someone who has struggled in their second career to match the highs of their first. It’s much less about titles and victories and more about aging, starting again and trying to build a new career.Roy Keane won seven Premier League titles, four FA Cups and a Champions League trophy with Manchester United – not to mention the respect of virtually everyone he faced. This autobiography tells the story of how Roy Keane relentlessly drove himself towards a simple goal (to be a professional soccer player) and how his uncompromising single mindedness propelled him to the pinnacle of his objective -- captaincy of Manchester United, the 1999 treble season capturing the FA Cup, Premiership and Champions League and countless other team and individual trophies. The former Manchester United and Ireland hard man comes across as funny, scathing, regretful and, as with so many forcefully clear-minded people, touchingly contradictory -- Giles Smith * THE TIMES * 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.

Whenever I read a sportsman’s second autobiography (usually published a bit after they have retired), I always like to reread their first one (usually published at peak of their carer). It can be fascinating to see how the same events or relationships are told differently with the benefit of more experience or changed dynamics. I hope to reread and write about some of my favourite double autobiographies. First up, the Manchester United and Ireland legend, Roy Keane! 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.

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. 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.” 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 * 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. The irrational, blistering intolerance is delicious. Keane famously detested yes-men; he created himself as the ultimate no-man. And he's still here -- Dan Jones * EVENING STANDARD * On Keane’s display in the Champions League semi-final against Juventus in 1999: “It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field.