Just when we thought it was all over, he pulls us back in. Yes, it's Roy Keane vs. Alex Ferguson all over again and this time it's national. We'll leave the sequel movie references there but you get the idea. It might feel like we're watching the same film over and over again but Roy keeps saying something just different enough that we can't stop listening/watching/reading.
In a piece in Sunday's Observer, Keane is quoted as saying that Alex Ferguson pressurised him in an attempt to get him to forego his international commitments in favour of Man Utd.
I was constantly under pressure from Ferguson [not to play for Ireland]. He would say: ‘I don’t want you playing in those games’. He didn’t speak to me when I came back after one qualifier. There was all that nonsense going on.
Not only that, Keane claims that Ferguson was much less negative when it came to Scottish players and their international duties. In light of his supposed aversion to the Irish national team, Keane was also rather critical of his former boss's appearance at an event for the Dublin Chamber of Commerce during the week.
I guess it was a bit of a compliment because he wanted me available for United. Maybe if I was Scottish he might have been a bit more relaxed about it, because I know other lads would play for their country and he’d say: ‘Yeah, you go for it.’ He certainly didn’t wave me off saying: ‘All the best for Ireland’; far from it. Yet he’s in Dublin, probably preaching to everybody.
See also: Fergie managed to mention Keane in his Dublin speech
See also: Alex Ferguson tried to use Keane to screw over David Beckham
