keane leaves sunderland

(yeah, taken the picture straight from bbc - far too good to be limited to only one site.)

so keano has left. last year, the general consensus on roy keane the manager seemed to be overwhelmingly positive. he had propelled a sunderland side in relative disarray back to the premier league, managing to secure top-flight football with only the mildest of relegation battles, something that is greeted almost unanimously today as major success for newly promoted teams (and probably rightly so). his predilection for championship footballers and manchester united reserves was acknowledged with a certain suspicion, but that suspicion was one casually brushed aside by relative success. however, as soon as the defeats started to pile up this season he was placed under increased scrutiny, and tactical foibles such as starting 18 year old martyn waghorn against chelsea, at stamford bridge, suddenly weren't so easy to excuse.

losing 1-4 to bolton, at the stadium of light, was obviously the final straw. keane appears to be a man so single-minded & driven by the pursuit of success that failure on this scale - such an appalling winless run - was always going to cause massive problems for him. but more than that, the lack of success began to puncture that aura he has maintained since emerging into the national spotlight in 1993 - always right, always the best, never questioned, keane commanded more respect than any of his peers. it was this aura that meant people assumed success and were then perhaps too quick to fete his achievements, and gave him the legitimacy & clout to run the club how he liked, despite his lack of experience.

ultimately, however, this manifested itself in profound hubris - keane's iron will meant that various scoundrels and trouble-makers were recruited, their rehabilitation guaranteed by the presence of such a footballing sage. except it didn't work, and big money became wasted money as the trouble-makers (including that notorious spitter, el-hadji diouf, and the man that produced a transfer request from his sock 10 minutes after the end of the premiership season, pascal chimbonda) were relegated to the bench, the experiment well and truly aborted.

and the transfer policy. oh, the transfer policy. the mistakes are legion and the path recounting them well-trodden, but it bears repeating. keane had full control of the transfer policy, and funds were never short. but what was achieved? the squad was bloated beyond all sense, with outrageously unwise purchases such as michael chopra (£5m after 22 goals in a championship season), greg halford (£3.5m for 8 mind-bogglingly bad appearances), rade prica (£2m for a single goal in six appearances), paul mcshane (positively one of the worst defenders to grace the premier league since william prunier pulled on that united shirt), anton ferdinand (£9m. £9m. £9m.), david healy (£1.2m for a single appearance) and russell anderson (£1m for a single appearance in which he promptly gave away a penalty). all considered, sunderland currently own 10 senior strikers. you've got successes - djibril cisse and a matchfit kenwyne jones have the potential to be an effective good mid-table premier league strike partnership, combining pace & lots of power (although they both could do with a bit of work on their finishing). craig gordon looked overpriced at £9m, but has been a moderate success and at his age may yet prove a canny long-term signing, whilst keiran richardson - who has forever appeared to be consigned to a slight career, stuck between positions without the pace to play on the wing or the distribution and strength to man the middle - has actually looked good when not injured. beyond that, the squad is a bit of a wasteland, and at a cost of £70m that is a rather damning indictment of the keane era.

ultimately, given that level of spend, you imagine that the performance of the side over the last two years would generally get the manager fired. but keane hasn't been fired, and that he even has the luxury to resign is due to the fact he is roy keane, the best central midfielder the premiership has ever seen. this means he will undoubdtedly get another good job - just look at bryan robson, who was allowed to fail at both middlesbrough and bradford before finally outstaying his welcome at sheffield united; the nostalgia and misplaced confidence that propels inexperienced playing legends into jobs above their heads too early in their managerial careers often will last for longer than a single position. history will judge his reign a failure, despite the occasional hints of greater ability and no matter how much we want to believe in the power of roy keane. this can be unarguable - more has to be expected of any manager given such freedom and backing - but like so many before him, he was promoted to a role far beyond his capabilities.

but where next for keane? he may be best served by re-acquianting himself with alex ferguson. fergie long ago learnt the importance of delegation, a skill that the solitary, control-obsessed keane appears to lack. there has been no one but keane calling the shots at sunderland, no one assisting him on transfer policy, no one in the media to help, no one providing the tactical nous. for a character like keane, plunged into managing a premier league club quite patently before he was ready, this seems to have been unsustainable - the mistakes piled up, compounding the pressure, and eventually the job became altogether too much. but as ferguson has aged, he has remained the unquestioned leader of the club whilst accomodating complimentary assistants below to relieve the pressure on him in various areas. never the greatest tactician, ferguson turned over much of that side to carlos quieroz who ultimately revitalised the club and helped pioneer a revolutionary attacking system. if keane is to sustain a career, or at least get back on track, he clearly needs better people around him from which to learn.