I agree with Keane, but as usual he causes a stir at the time and way he makes his point.

Smith has heart, but cannot tackle and passings not great thats why i thinks he shouldn't be viewed as keans replacement. Hes playing out of position at the mo as is Richardson, who had an absolutly terrific season last year at WBA and great international debut aswell.

O'Shea was one of the biggest prospects in years but had a bad second season and has never captured the fore of his first senior year.

Miller and Fletcher, although they can have the odd good game they are not consistant enough and lack the talent to play at the highest level.

There is no leader in the United side at the mo, Ruud will be captaining the side tomorrow, Keane is really the only player who can carry the team in that role.

van der sar shouldn't beat himself up over the first goal at the weekend, he is the reason why United haven't had more embarrising defetes like the last one this season.

he had a cracker dig at rio "120k a week dosent make you a superstar" great

THE MIRROR CLAIM THEY HAVE THE 'KEANEGATE' QUOTES

"Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar."

More:

"There is talk about putting this right in January and bringing players in. We should be doing the opposite - we should be getting rid of people in January."

"The younger players have been let down by some of the more experienced players. They are just not of characters in the team. It seems to be in this club that you have to play badly to be rewarded.

"Maybe that is what I should do when I come back. Play badly.

"The players have been asked questions and they are just not coming up with the answers.

"I am sick of having to say it and they are sick of listening to me.

"These guys thought getting new contracts was the best day of their careers.

"They think they have made it. They haven't.

"The fact they are out should be enough incentive for those coming in to play better and give more," he said. "It is not enough to play well for 20 minutes, it is a 90-minute game.

"You get well rewarded but you have to put the hard work to earn those rewards."


KEANE ON: EDWIN VAN DER SAR

Analysing the first goal United condeded against Middlesbrough, when Edwin Van der Sar let slip a 30-yard shot... He should have saved that. That was saveable

KEANE ON: JOHN O'SHEA

He's just strolling around when he should have been busting a gut to get back

KEANE ON: RIO FERDINAND

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink robbed Ferdinand for the second goal... I have seen that happen to Rio before. It is poor defending

KEANE ON: DARREN FLETCHER

I can't understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher

KEANE ON: KEIRAN RICHARDSON

On the penalty Richardson gave away.... He is a lazy defender who deserved to get punished.. he wasn't doing his job

KEANE ON: ALAN SMITH

What is he doing there? He is wandering around as if he is lost. He doesn't know what he is doing.

from redissue.co.uk

Don't like him personally but he's got guts so he deserves respect. And he's right anyway.

Ferguson turns to tale of the tapes in crisis talks

MANCHESTER United were no more eager to disclose the address that Sir Alex Ferguson made to his first-team squad yesterday than they had been to reveal Roy Keane’s criticism of his team-mates earlier in the week, but the manager’s speech, it is safe to say, dealt less with personal failings than with restoring confidence before Sunday’s Barclays Premiership match against Chelsea.
On the back of the humiliating 4-1 defeat away to Middlesbrough and a 1-0 reverse against Lille that has put qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League in jeopardy, Ferguson called his players together at United’s Carrington training complex for what can only be described as crisis talks. In the hope of clarifying matters and attempting to quell unrest within his squad, the United manager is also understood to have shown the players a tape of Keane’s notorious, unscreened interview on MUTV.

However, just when Ferguson was hoping to move on after a terrible few days, there were fresh reports that another tape is locked away at Old Trafford from several seasons ago in which the captain allegedly berated Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Keane is known to be seething at the handling of the affair and is believed to have walked out during yesterday’s private screening. He believes that although his comments were highly critical, it would have been better to have shown them as scheduled rather than creating an even bigger furore by withdrawing the broadcast.

While brutally candid about some of his team-mates’ failings, Keane is also angry that various comments have been attributed to him without foundation. He claims that he never mentioned Liam Miller, allegedly one of the targets of his ire, and that he did not make any reference to Rio Ferdinand’s £100,000-a-week salary.
His approach has found diplomatic support among some of his colleagues. “It’s good to have people there who say what they feel because they care about the club and it is important that we keep doing that,” Ruud van Nistelrooy, the acting captain in Paris on Wednesday, said.

However much the manager attempts to rebuild his team’s confidence through meetings and rousing orations, there is a growing belief among his club’s supporters and beyond that an era is coming to an end. Ferguson marks his 19th year at Old Trafford this weekend, but it will take more than victory against José Mourinho’s champions to make anyone think that the Scot will be there for a 20th anniversary.

Van Nistelrooy was less able to offer a positive spin when it came to assessing the strength of United’s squad compared with Chelsea’s. “Whether they (Chelsea) play team one or team two, they are both internationals who have been at World Cups and things like that,” he said. “Is this squad good enough? When you compare our squad with Chelsea, in terms of numbers, that says it all.”

United’s full-strength first XI should still be a match for most, including Chelsea, but Van Nistelrooy is among the big names bereft of confidence. The absence of experienced players — and strong characters — such as Keane and Gary Neville has also taken its toll, to the extent that United will approach Sunday’s game like lower-league scrappers facing top-class opponents in an FA Cup tie. He appears to be fighting a losing battle, but Ferguson has ordered his players to rally to the cause.

from timesonline.co.uk