Looks like Keane has jumped!

[Croí na hÉireann]

My Two Cent with Alflnge Haaland
'I wouldn't tell mine or anyone else's kids to look up to Roy Keane'

It's seven years on from that tackle in the Manchester derby and I am back in Norway, living a normal life. I'm involved with personal investments in property and that's where life has lead me. I don't know if I miss football as I have been only a little bit involved since I had to retire. I'm a coach for my kids and I enjoy that end of it. I'm in it for the fun of it and that's plenty. I'm enjoying what I'm doing now. I follow my local club and go to all the games and I still love the game but to not be directly involved is nice. There is more to life and maybe Roy Keane needs to learn that.

Sadly, along with all the good moments and memories, I've had to carry some bad ones with me from my football career and will for the rest of my life. I feel terrible pain in my knee every day and it was a shame that I had to retire so early. You just have to deal with it though, I had a decent career and I'm fairly happy with that. I can still walk and I get on with my life.

People still wonder was it down to that tackle in 2001 that I had to retire and all I can say is I haven't played a full game professionally since, so it was definitely part of it. Maybe it was other things too but that was part of it and that is not really good enough. Did I expect him to do it after what he tried before when I was at Leeds? I knew he had a reputation but I must say I never thought he would go that far or even think like that.

So would I forgive him? It's not a question really. What he did happens in football but he forgot what happens on a pitch should stay there and to profit from a book that basically told kids to have personal vendettas against other players, that just isn't good enough. I knew what he did was intentional the minute he came towards me and I knew he was out to get me but it's one thing to leave that between players, but to be a role model – well he should have tried to be one – I don't think he did the right thing. Not that he ever tried to apologise for what he did to me twice, mind you, but I never really expected that from him, given the type of things he did afterwards.

While I've got on with living my life after football he has kept popping up here and there. There was that incident at the World Cup in 2002 and it's strange for someone to do that to their country. That's just him, I think, isn't it? There aren't many like him and thank God for that. He has done well but there is another dark side to his life and I wouldn't tell my kids to look up to him or follow him. I wouldn't tell anyone's kids to look up to him or follow him.

That said, I was never surprised he got into management. He did have a winning mentality and all of that and with the Irish connection up in Sunderland, it didn't surprise me that he went there either. It does surprise me that he is done now and obviously we don't know the full reasoning behind it but Sunderland is a big club and I'm sure they have big ambitions. Maybe he just hasn't fulfilled them.

Alf-Inge Haaland played for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Manchester City and was capped by Norway 34 times

Interview by Ewan MacKenna

Article from the Tribune yesterday. If someone "ended" my career & I had proof of it I certainly wouldn't spoof on about an incident being partially responsible for not being able to play again. IMHO it was other factors that led to the premature end of his career and to my knowledge he hasn't stated what these other factors were, something to do with his left knee if I recall correctly.

Hasn't been mentioned here but Haaland was niggling away at Keane before he injured himself trying to retaliate and in the days leading up to the city game Haaland was having a right go at Keane in the media, saying if he (Keane) had such a problem with ticket prices at Old Trafford he should seek a wage reduction. I may be wrong with the finer details and two wrongs don't make a right but if you play with fire you're gonna get burned...

[WeAreBlueWeAreWhite]

I would be interested to hear from the other Roy Keane fans if this is a common thinking that the player deserved what he got?

I'll regret this.

If you genuinely want an answer I'll answer the question but I hope you read all the answer and don't just cherry pick to suit your own ends.

To define "what he got" is important especially with the amount of disinformation circulating about this incident. "What he got" was a very bad tackle that hurt him superficially (there is no evidence to the contrary that I'm aware of). Probably harsh to say he deserved it but he may have been as the saying goes, asking for it. Standing over a guy who has just done his cruciate telling him to stop faking injury wasn't that bright now was it? Even Keane has admitted it wasn't right but sometimes you do things that aren't right.

First off I don't see the need for your patronizing comments at the start,you have given me very little room to make my reply back to you as now you if you don't agree with me you will just say you knew you would regret posting your comments,though maybe that was your intention.

Apart from that is it fair to say Haaland would not have known how badly Keane was injured when he was standing over him,is this possible I would say it was very possible..
I never said the player got a career ending injury either ,so to say that the injury was superficial is irrelevant the intent from Roy was there,and looking at the tackle again I think it's fair to say Roy could not have known what the outcome was going to be,be it a superficial injury or a career ending injury.
You are obviously biased as well and it comes through in your post,though in fairness to you it is a more reasoned view that saying "Haaland got what he deserved" which was the quote by new devil I had the problem with.

Once again I ask if the player (haaland) was from your local club and he was the victim of a intentional tackle by a player who didn't care if he ended his career or not, would you be of the same opinion and pass it off by saying that sometimes people do things that aren't right I somehow doubt it...
Still can't believe any of the Roy Keane fans have not condoned the tackle,to be honest your blind faith in this man would be admiral if it wasn't so hypocritical..
Anyway I have given my two cents worth,I'll leave it to you soccer aficionados to sort it out among yourselves..

[ExiledGael]

www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2008/1208/1228571631012.html

Humphries' take on it, worth a read.
Think it's certainly not the last we've heard of Roy Keane.

[thewobbler]

It's also amazing how Manchester United fans are the only ones who can fully and properly interpret a situation involving Roy Keane. The rest of us always manage to leave bits out and twist things to suit our agenda.

With all the misrepresentation of this man in the media over the years, i'm truly glad we can call on their inner knowledge of all things Keane.

[Puckoon]

www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2008/1208/1228571631012.html

Humphries' take on it, worth a read.
Think it's certainly not the last we've heard of Roy Keane.

Am I the only one that thinks thats a crap piece?

[Billys Boots]

Right, sure I'll have a pop.  I'm not a Man Utd fan, but I guess I've always had time for Keane (thought I wouldn't count myself as a 'fan').  Roy has always been car-crash television, in my book.  I've always felt that the next disaster was just around the corner - some of it was his fault, some of it wasn't.  None of us know him, none of us has any understanding of what it is/was like to work with or play on his sides.  Our 'understanding' of him is based on what people (who make up stories to sell advertising) say.  There's no doubt he's a complex character, but it's safe to say we don't know the half of it. 

I'd always understood that the Keane quote about Haaland was Dunphy's poetic licence (in the autobiography), and that Roy never said anything of the sort, in relation to the incident.  What there is little doubt about is that there had been much bad feeling between the two, and the (reported) actions of both (if they were as reported) were reprehensible.  It's bad form (in my opinion) of Haaland, at this point, to get embroiled again, but that's hardly out of character (I say that as a Leeds fan).

So, in answer to Boojangles question: yes, the reported actions of Keane, were dreadful.  Yet, to conform to your stereotype, I don't think the reported actions reflect what happened, in reality, if you get my drift.  Sorry.

[mountainboii]

www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2008/1208/1228571631012.html

Humphries' take on it, worth a read.
Think it's certainly not the last we've heard of Roy Keane.

Am I the only one that thinks thats a crap piece?

Nope. Nothing new about Keane and throughout it seemed Humphries was more interested in talking about himself, in the bath, on the phone to five live. Who gives a shit?!

[J70]

I'd always understood that the Keane quote about Haaland was Dunphy's poetic licence (in the autobiography), and that Roy never said anything of the sort, in relation to the incident.  What there is little doubt about is that there had been much bad feeling between the two, and the (reported) actions of both (if they were as reported) were reprehensible.  It's bad form (in my opinion) of Haaland, at this point, to get embroiled again, but that's hardly out of character (I say that as a Leeds fan).

Haaland should shut up, but like Keane himself he has never been shy about giving his opinion, so let them at it I suppose.

Assuming Keane ever said "anything of the sort" in relation to the tackle on Haaland, he allowed Dunphy to put those words in his mouth and he published them as his own, so its doesn't really matter what he actually said - he owns those words now. I don't think he has ever disowned them, has he?

[magpie seanie]

Keane did say that the author used "poetic licence" in that section (I can source a quote if you like) about Haaland and to be honest you can possibly see Dunphy saying that handier than Keane. Your point about them becoming his words as they are in his biography has some merit though.

First off I don't see the need for your patronizing comments at the start,you have given me very little room to make my reply back to you as now you if you don't agree with me you will just say you knew you would regret posting your comments,though maybe that was your intention.

WABWAW - don't take it personally and I didn't mean to be patronising. To explain - I've been round the houses on this one several times as have many more on this board and all it does is cause trouble. Hence my trepidation at going down this road again. My intention was to answer the question honestly but to do so we had to put some of the myths to bed. I'm sorry if it wasn't good enough for you but that's what I was trying to do.

I suppose the key issue at the centre of this is about the intent and who you give the benefit of the doubt to. You give the benefit of the doubt to Haaland over not knowing how injured Keane was. Perhaps that's fair enough though of all things Keane was he definitely wasn't one to fake an injury. Keane has stated he never intended to injure Haaland and that the ball was there. I'm inclined to believe that, give him the benefit of the doubt - probably my bias there. Of course he meant to give him a whack but I don't think he intended to seriously injure him.

That's my take, bias and all.

[Main Street]

I read in the Beano episode that Keane had really said.

"Take that, you Norwegian cxxt."
followed by
whack, biff  %&#!

[J70]

Keane did say that the author used "poetic licence" in that section (I can source a quote if you like) about Haaland and to be honest you can possibly see Dunphy saying that handier than Keane. Your point about them becoming his words as they are in his biography has some merit though.

I don't doubt you that Dunphy may have tarted things up a bit, but as I said, it doesn't really matter. Whether it was merely putting into words what Keane recalled about that incident or an effort to spice things up for sales purposes, Keane consented to the passage.

[Hound]

Whether Keane's attack on Haaland was pre-meditated or not, only Keane will know. In his book, it said it was. But then when it was published there was all the controversy in the papers and the talk of an FA investigation, so Dunphy came out and basically said he made that bit up.

Anyone who thinks Keane made a genuine attempt to get the ball and didnt deliberately do Haaland is in cuckoo land.

It was certainly a lot more than a superficial injury that Haaland got, but it wasnt the injury that ended his career.

You have to have a certain mindset to believe what Keane did to Haaland was fine. IMO it was stupid and cowardly.

[AZOffaly]

It was a dreadful tackle, no doubt about it, and it was typical of the red mist that used to descend on Keane from time to time, especially if he was bearing a grudge, but it was not the injury that put Haaland out of soccer. If I recall correctly it was recurring injury to his other knee that caused Haaland's retirement.

I'm no major fan of Keane the persona, especially around soccer, but I have no idea about Keane the person away from the driving forces which brought out the best and worst of him. I'd love to share a couple of pints with him and have a chat about stuff to see if I could make up my own mind about that, but I suspect he'd be a sound man, according to all reports from those who've met him. Maybe he didn't like the bullshite that attends all aspects of soccer these days, and just wanted to be the best he could, and that drive made him do stupid things on ocassion, and made him feel slights and insults that maybe didn't actually exist.

However, that is not the worst flaw in a man, and plenty of others have harboured illogical grudges and/or had the red mist descend upon them at regular intervals, such as Cantona, Di Canio, and Gerrard when he was younger. Only Keane seems to inspire this media caricature of some sort of psychotic animal, always verging on mayhem. Some of the stuff Cantona did makes Keane look angelic, and some of Gerrard's tackles were far more career threatening than Keane's stupid lunge at Haaland.

[SidelineKick]

It was a dreadful tackle, no doubt about it, and it was typical of the red mist that used to descend on Keane from time to time, especially if he was bearing a grudge, but it was not the injury that put Haaland out of soccer. If I recall correctly it was recurring injury to his other knee that caused Haaland's retirement.

I'm no major fan of Keane the persona, especially around soccer, but I have no idea about Keane the person away from the driving forces which brought out the best and worst of him. I'd love to share a couple of pints with him and have a chat about stuff to see if I could make up my own mind about that, but I suspect he'd be a sound man, according to all reports from those who've met him. Maybe he didn't like the bullshite that attends all aspects of soccer these days, and just wanted to be the best he could, and that drive made him do stupid things on ocassion, and made him feel slights and insults that maybe didn't actually exist.

However, that is not the worst flaw in a man, and plenty of others have harboured illogical grudges and/or had the red mist descend upon them at regular intervals, such as Cantona, Di Canio, and Gerrard when he was younger. Only Keane seems to inspire this media caricature of some sort of psychotic animal, always verging on mayhem. Some of the stuff Cantona did makes Keane look angelic, and some of Gerrard's tackles were far more career threatening than Keane's stupid lunge at Haaland.

I wouldn't blame him.  I don't see how anyone can genuinely be passionate about soccer in the present day.  It is full of fairies and actors.  I remember the day when it was an embarrassment for a player to lie down and Keane was one of those players who would have got to his feet, injured or not, to avoid showing weakness.  Now it is all about rolling around the ground the majority of time holding their SHINS?! Do they not f**king wear shin guards? I liked football when you had players like Keane, Ruddock, Dicks etc now you have Ronaldo, Drogba, Robben.  The game is going nowhere, I don't know why they aren't clamping down on this.

Irrelevant rant but needed to get that out.

[Billys Boots]

From Walsh's article:

They wanted Keane to take the job but he wasn't sure he was ready for management and turned them down. Into the breach came Quinn and Keane went off to the FA's coaching centre at Lilleshall. He had deliberately chosen not to sign up for the course preferred by ex-professional footballers and instead found himself in the company of men who ran underage teams, Sunday league teams and, in one case, a pub team. People who had scrimped and saved to be on the course, many of whom wanted nothing from the game except the joys of involvement. Keane was in his element, their love melted his cynicism. He was ready again for the challenge of professional football.