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Rio - Roy will be back

rohan — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:40:01 +0000

Rio Ferdinand believes former team-mate Roy Keane will come back into the game - but only when he is ready.

Keane left Sunderland on Thursday, despite chairman Niall Quinn’s best efforts to try and persuade the Irishman to stay.

While some think Keane has now turned his back on football for good, Ferdinand believes his old Manchester United colleague will return when he is ready, and the Premier League is a poorer place until then.

The defender said: “The more characters there are in the Premier League the better and Roy falls into that category.

“He speaks his mind. He did it as a player and he was doing it as a manager.

“There has obviously been a lot of talk about him, with people saying he was going to leave. Even so, I was a little bit surprised.

“At the end of the day Roy is his own man and he will make his own mind up.

“I am sure Sunderland will move on because he has been there and I am sure he will move on himself.”

He added: “When he sees it right and it suits him to come back into the game I am sure we will see him again.”

Sunderland boss Roy Keane parts company with club

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:37:41 +0000

Keane had been locked in talks over a new deal, which he had refused to sign until he was fully happy with the terms.

Now the Irish legend is understood to have walked away from the job, following weeks of speculation about his position.

It is understood the players and staff were told about Keane’s departure on Thursday morning.

Keane took charge in August 2006 and he made an immediate impact as he guided Sunderland to the Championship title the following May.

Last season the club consolidated their place in the top flight and Keane’s task this term was to make an assault on the top half of the table.

With that in mind, Sunderland backed Keane by spending nearly £30million on new players with the likes of Djibril Cisse, Pascal Chimbonda, Anton Ferdinand, El-Hadji Diouf and George McCartney all coming in.

Coupled with the £30million-plus spent the previous summer, expectation levels were high on Wearside.

However, despite a morale-boosting Wear-Tyne victory over rivals Newcastle - their first since 1980 - Sunderland’s form and place in the league has plummeted.

Just two wins in ten league games has put them in the bottom three, and speculation has been rife in the North East over the last month that Keane was ready to walk away from the club.

And now the former Manchester United captain has left his first managerial post, leaving Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn with the task of finding somebody to guide the club to Premier League safety.

Source: SkySports

Cisse: Keane wants Sunderland in Europe

rohan — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:56:20 +0000

Sunderland striker Djibril Cisse has revealed Roy Keane wants to qualify for Europe this season.

“The club’s objective is to become an outside contender for Europe in the near future,” he told France Football.

“Everything is already in place, money and facilities, to develop a big project.

“Those in charge of the club are very ambitious and I believe they will be successful.”

Sunderland’s Keane: Arsenal will not win the title

rohan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:03:01 +0000

Sunderland boss Roy Keane has wrote off Arsenal’s title chances after Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

“Every team has its different characters and different dynamics,” said Keane.

“They are still a good team but different to the one I played against. It was different characters. There is no Keown, Adams, Vieira.

“I have a different outlook to my team now than when I first walked through the door and that’s only been two years. They are a different type of team. Look at Fabregas. He probably wouldn’t be a great tackler but by God he can deal with the ball.

“They can challenge. If Arsenal can’t challenge what hope have we got? The four teams we know about will finish in the top four.

“But will Arsenal finish first? I don’t think so because I think Chelsea and United are stronger.”

Sunderland boss Keane fancies Inter Milan’s Vieira

rohan — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:16:50 +0000

Sunderland boss Roy Keane has admitted interest in his old Arsenal rival Patrick Vieira.

Keane is considering bringing the Inter Milan midfielder back to England, despite their battles when the Irishman was with Manchester United.

Keane smiled from ear to ear when asked to confirm his interest and said: “Not when I found out his wages!

“If I believe this player can give us something, I’m sure the board would back us. We’re always making enquiries about lots of players.

“How great is he? I don’t know. I don’t go down that road. I just know he was a bloody good player.

“He had good leadership skills, too. But not as good as mine!”

Sunderland to offer £11M for Villarreal ace Rossi

rohan — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:39:59 +0000

Sunderland boss Roy Keane is lining up a bid for Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi.

The People says Keane is ready to splash out a club record £11million on former Manchester United youngster Giuseppe Rossi.

The Italian-American, 21, is with Spanish Champions League side Villarreal and just failed to make the grade at Old Trafford before a £6.6million switch to La Liga.

Keane thinks his skills would compliment Kenwyne Jones in a dream partnership.