Future censuses of the Irish population should include the question, 'Have you fallen out with Roy Keane?' There appear to be untold numbers of people on this island with whom the Corkman has bad blood. It would be interesting to see the stats. Though, one expects it to be somewhere near 50/50.
On Second Captains this week, Richie Sadlier told the story of he fell out with Keane. It came after some time which Sadlier spent with Sunderland hoping to make a comeback following his retirement from football two years earlier. The Dubliner was recuperating after hip surgery and was invited to the club by Mick McCarthy.
McCarthy was sacked in March 2006 towards the end of an abysmal season for the club in the Premier League. Nearly six months following McCarthy's departure, when Roy Keane was appointed as manager, Sadlier was still at the club.
Sadlier's comeback attempt was in vain, his hopes of playing professional football once again dashed. Towards the end of his time at Sunderland, Sadlier says Keane could not have been more helpful. His exit was more than amicable.
When I went to leave, he was really sound. He was brilliant, I was really disappointed that my comeback attempt didn't work. I had to accept for a second time all over again that I had to retire. He couldn't have been more helpful. He was great. He brought me into the office a couple of times and was sound.
It was in January 2008 when the two fell out. The cause: a notable interview which Sadlier conducted with Clive Clarke - a Sunderland player who, while on loan at Leicester City in August 2007, had suffered a heart attack during half-time of a League Cup game against Nottingham Forest.
It was quite a while later that I interviewed Clive Clarke. I wanted to sit down with Clive - I was writing for the Sunday Independent at the time - just to see what was it like to have a heart attack at half-time and survive it.
In the course of the interview, he was critical of Roy Keane. I had this debate 'Should I include those quotes or not?' I didn't want to take from this being a piece about a heart attack.
I emailed the piece to Clive a couple of days before and said: 'Are you alright with everything?' He texted me back and said: 'Yeah, fine.' The following day I said: 'Are you sure?'. I had quoted quite harsh words that he'd said about Keane. I think his reply to me was actually advice on which horse to back in that day's race a Leopardstown - something like that.
I thought: 'Well, he's fine with it.' Then it went to print on the Sunday.
Clarke's words were the first real critical ones of Keane's management style - certainly from one of his own players. He had performed miracles the previous season to get the club promoted to the Premier League.
Clarke said Keane's management style at the time was aloof and not one which instilled confidence in players.
I spoke to him a couple of times at the club and he rang me when it [the heart attack] happened which was nice of him, but we're not very pally so there's no real reason to speak to one another.
I probably speak to him more than the players who train there every day even now. He's going around booting chairs and throwing things. He's never going to give you confidence, he doesn't talk to lads.
If the lads at Man Utd couldn't reach the standards he wanted, and they're some of the best players in the world, then it's going to be a lot harder for the lads at Sunderland to reach them.
What Clarke had said about Keane in the interview was not unture. Numerous stories about his behaviour while manager of Sunderland have since been publicised. Dwight Yorke told of him once kung-fu kicking a tactics board.
Despite Sadlier seeking Clarke's approval for the article multiple times before it went to print, there had been a misunderstanding. This was due to Clarke not having read Sadlier's emails. Clarke had expected Sadlier's usual 800 word column, not a two-page spread including criticism of a man who was still his manager.
At 11 o'clock I get a text from Clive: 'Jesus, I can't believe you included that stuff on Keane.' I'm sitting there going: 'Well I emailed you twice about it and twice you came back saying it was OK.' He just goes: 'To be honest with you, I didn't read the email. I just assumed it would be your normal column.' I think I remember that it was a big two-page spread.
The next day, a warning message arrived from Clarke. Keane was on the warpath.
I remember the following day, on the Monday, Sky ran them on repeat, put his words on the screen.
Then I get a text from Clive: 'Heads up - he's gunning for you. Expect a call any day.'
The warpath tread, Keane was ready for confrontation. It came via a phone call two days after the Sunday Independent article had been published.
The following morning, Tuesday, I think I was having a lie in and I get a call and it was Keane. He was just in full rant mode. It wasn't a two-way exchange. It was one-way. Voices were raised. Expletives were used.
Prior to the phone call, one where Sadlier says Keane was not seeing the 'bigger picture' or taking a 'considered view', the then Sunderland manager had already formulated a reason in his mind for why Sadlier had written the article. Keane thought Sadlier was being vindictive due to Sunderland reneging on an agreement which would have seen them play Millwall for Sadlier's testimonial.
When I left [Sunderland] Keane was very helpful. He said: 'If I can help you out, give me a shout.'
I had a testimonial to arrange for myself with Millwall. Millwall's a really unattrative away game for everyone, no one wants to go there if they can avoid it. So, it's really hard to get an opponnent. So I got onto Keane and said 'Any chance you'd bring Sunderland down for a pre-season friendly?' We'd agreed on a date but then Juventus came into play. He was always going to pick Juventus over Millwall so I totally understood that.
It was a number of months later when all this happened and Keane linked the two. He said: 'You spiteful so and so. I knew you'd do this just because we didn't show up for your testimonial.' He was in full flow about that.
The Clarke interview was the first which Sadlier had conducted. It is also the one which he says he most regrets.
You can listen to Sadlier tell the story on Second Captains below.
