Do we expect better from Richard Keys? Perhaps not.
Love him or loathe him, rate him as a coach or not, there is simply no denying that Roy Keane was one of the finest footballers to ever play for Ireland or Manchester United.
Anyone who’s been involved in football in any way over the last 30 years is well aware of that fact. It’s one of few footballing matters that’s beyond question.
Unless, of course, you’re Richard Keys.
Keys, of course, is best known for losing his job at Sky Sports after making sexist comments into a hot mic about lineswoman Sian Massey, as well as other women. So it’s not exactly as if his opinions are held in tremendously high regard.
Still, many were left in disbelief by his comments on Roy Keane’s playing career.
The beIN sports broadcaster was repeatedly smacked down by Andy Gray and former Ireland international Jason McAteer.
Keys began by asking “But when you say great players, was Roy Keane a great player?” immediately prompting Andy Gray to say “What?”
Keane’s former teammate McAteer explained by saying “In training, I used to think he was bang average, I just didn’t quite get it.” McAteer then described playing alongside Keane in centre-mid: “After 90 minutes I came off and thought ‘I know what that’s all about now. You give it away, he wins it back. He demands the best from all the players”.
But Keyes pressed on, comparing Keane to Glenn Hoddle, and saying he was a “top, top player. A conductor. An orchestrator”.
"I used to think he was bang average in training. I didn't quite get it."
How Roy Keane convinced @MCATEER4 that he was world-class. pic.twitter.com/2vILZEHbeS
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) September 29, 2018
Andy Gray went on to say Man United wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without Keane, but Keys wasn’t deterred, saying that Peter Reid was a better player, and that Graeme Souness “would have had a pocket in his shorts for him”.
Needless to say, the comments have not gone down well.
@Wardie1987 @irishteacher30 @chrislennon77 is Richard Keyes feeling okay? How does someone so clueless about football have a platform like this?
— Sean Brennan (@SeanBrennan3) September 29, 2018
thats like saying maldini wasn't a great player because he wasnt a creative player,, what a load of bollox, thats why we have different positions on a pitch not 11 number 10s
— brandon walsh (@brandonwalsh8) September 30, 2018
Jesus wept. Was Richard Keyes stung by a bee?
— Darren Skelton (@Deisesupes) September 29, 2018
😬 Roy Keane probably most underrated midfielder of all time
— shipar ahmed (@shiparttn) September 29, 2018
Richard Keyes actually has a job as a pundit/presenter and thinks Roy Keane was average this is another example of what is wrong in today's society
— Paul (@paul_condon85) September 30, 2018
