Roy Keane
Sunderland manager, Roy Maurice Keane was born in Cork, Ireland on 10 August 1971.
In June 1990 Roy Keane was transferred from Cobh Ramblers to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest for £10,000. Three years later he moved to Manchester United for £3,750,000.
In May 2002 Keane came home early from the World Cup. It was a difficult time for Keane and a brilliant account of Roy Keane's disagreement with the then Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy can be found in the book "Laptop Dancing and the Nanny Goat Mambo" by Tom Humphries.
Roy Keane's autobiography is an excellent read and is highly recommended for giving a flavour of the player.
The Sunday Times article on Roy Keane's Top 10 Battles puts the Mick McCarthy debacle as second - ahead of the infamous revenge against Alf-Inge Haaland and, rather surprisingly, just behing what it dubs 'The Highbury tunnel affair'.
Roy Keane and United manager, Alex Ferguson have always held each other in great esteem. A measure of what Ferguson thinks of Keane is revealed in the Manchester United manager's autobiography 'Managing My Life':
"I didn't think I could have a higher opinion of any footballer than I already had of the Irishman [Keane] but he rose even further in my estimation at the Studio Delle Alpi ... It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field"
Sir Bobby Charlton described Roy Keane, "as a player and as a competitor, the nearest thing I have seen in my lifetime to Duncan Edwards."
In September 2005, Keane stated on MUTV that 2005/06 was likely to be his last season at Manchester United. It turned out, in a shock announcement, that Keane left the club just two months later on 18 November 2005.
Previously Keane had scotched rumours of a forthcoming coaching position at the club, saying:
"Sometimes it's better to make a clean break. People have mentioned coaching at United but it doesn't appeal to me."
Instead on 15 December 2005 Roy Keane joined Celtic on an 18 month contract. Roy Keane said: "I feel this is where I belong."
However in June 2006, Keane retired from professional football because of a long-standing hip injury. By the end of his career Keane had won 66 Republic of Ireland caps scoring nine international goals.
After much speculation on 28 August 2006 it was confirmed that Roy Keane would be joining Championship side, Sunderland as manager.
In Roy Keane's first year in charge, Sunderland won the Championship title thereby securing automatic promotion to the Premiership.
Roy Keane followed up by managing Sunderland to safety and 15th in the Premiership at the end of the 2007 / 2008 season.
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