Roy Keane - Views on Saipan Seven Years
On
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In an interview with Paul Rowan,
published in the Sunday Times on December 13, 2009, Roy
Keane's views on the Saipan affair appear to have shifted somewhat
yet he says he still wouldn't change what he did. The focus of his
ire seems to have moved from Irish
football manager, Mick McCarthy and to the current CEO of the
FAI,
John Delaney (Delaney was not the CEO during the 2002 World Cup).
Keane was critical of Ireland's failure
to qualify
for the 2010 World Cup finals in south Africa but said "It
would have been a good way to gauge in terms of preparation if Ireland
had qualified for South Africa...But
the FAI have to take
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a lot of responsibility for that in terms
of preparation, particularly if you do qualify for a major tournament. Would
it have been any different under the new manager this year? I am not sure."
This is a reference to his view that the FAI have not moved of, in terms
of professionalism, since Saipan. This is despite the fact that he was a
fan of the Irish manager during the 2010 World 2010 qualification campaign,
Giovanni Trapattoni, describing him as "absolutely brilliant".
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Keane Understands McCarthy's
Position in Saipan Better Now
By making this latter point Keane
makes it clear that no matter how good the manager of the Republic
of Ireland team is he will succeed despite the efforts of the FAI
rather than because of the support that the organisation provides.
In this shift of view he demonstrates an empathy with Mick McCarthy's
position back in 2002 in Saipan. "I do look back every now
and again and I had a fall-out with Mick over one or two issues
... A manager has a lot on his plate. I realise that now I am a
manager. When we look back to Saipan with Mick and the squad there,
the manager has a lot on his plate in terms of the squad and his
staff. I think what he hopes will be organised, particularly by
the association, are the facilities. I do know the manager needs
to be on top
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of that, but he needs a little help ..."
Not exactly an exoneration of Mick McCarthy by Roy Keane but the closest
he has come, so far, to acknowledging that maybe he, Keane, had gone too
far in heaping opprobrium on his former international playing colleague
and manager. But in customary Keane-fashion he has to be at war with someone
and this time it's John Delaney.
Keane at War with the Delaney Dynasty
Keane's problems with Delaney began with
his father, Joe Delaney. "We had our disagreements even when I
was 15, 16, 17, going away. All my troubles would have started when I
was 15 years of age, believe it or not, when I was told I was too small.
Maybe I just had a thing, ‘I’ll show ye all’. I think his
dad was running the show then, so it has just been passed on."
Keane would like to see an end to the Delaney hegemony “I had
my dealings with John Delaney and if he is the senior figure in the FAI
then, I’ve said before, I don’t think that is good. Not the
way he comes across.”
He was particularly unimpressed with the
FAI request of FIFA to expand the number of clubs competing in the 2010
World Cup finals from 32 to 33. "I was laughing, it was so stupid.
And that was coming from the FAI. Where was the common sense there? How
would that have worked? An extra team in one of the groups? Extra games?
Do you not think they have the dates organised for years in advance? But
someone once said common sense is not so common."
And so it would appear that McCarthy has
been substituted as Roy Keane's bête noir by John Delaney.
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