Roy Keane famously only gave eight of his Man United teammates his phone number. You can bet that Denis Irwin was one of them. Irwin was a colossus for United and Ireland for the best part of a decade - and one player that Alex Ferguson always loved for his amazing consistency.
You know that's the type of quality that Keane loves - so for him to mention someone else in the same sentence as Denis Irwin must be one of the biggest compliments that Roy Keane could possible give.
Would I compare him to Denis Irwin? I don’t mean in the football sense, but the way Denis played. Denis led by being a brilliant player and Seamus Coleman is the same type of player.
He leads by the way he plays, and that’s by being a brilliant player and a good lad. He doesn’t look like he gets too high one way and too low the other. He’s just a real Steady Eddie – and I mean that in the nicest possible way – just like Denis was.
And just the fact that I’m talking about him in the same breath as Denis Irwin tells you what I think of Seamus. I don’t do that with many players, not in terms of comparing them to Denis.
I almost feel like I need to lie down. Has Keane ever praised anyone in such glowing terms?
To be fair, I'm not suggesting that Coleman doesn't deserve the plaudits, just pleasantly surprised that its Keane that is saying it.
[Irish Examiner]
See Also: The Perennial 8/10 Player - A Tribute To Denis Irwin
Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILE
