Roy Keane

Euro 2012: Why is Roy Keane so out of touch with his Ireland roots?

The former national captain is starting to sound as if he has lived in England long enough to qualify for the prawn sandwich brigade of supporters

Gregg Bakowski in Sopot guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 June 2012 14.09 BST

"I think the players and even the supporters, they all have to change their mentality – it's just nonsense from players speaking after the games about how great the supporters are."


You have to be a pretty cold-hearted man to find fault with the Republic of Ireland fans after their lung-busting effort to show that they could emerge victorious in the supporter stakes, if not on the pitch, where the team was pulled apart in a ruthless and, if we're being honest, not particularly unexpected thrashing by the world champions Spain in Gdansk on Thursday. Perhaps the kind of man who could deliberately get a Manchester City rival carried off following a disagreement some years earlier and admit as much in his own autobiography. Or Roy Keane, to be precise.

Keane's criticism of the attitude of supporters who have travelled at great expense while earning nothing but praise from their Polish hosts in Poznan, Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia is as miserable as it is nonsensical. In fact, it's more akin to the views of the prawn sandwich brigade whom he once lambasted at Old Trafford for their lack of support than it is to your average supporter.

The point is that his view is synonymous with the disconnect between supporters and players in the modern age. That there are still fans out there who are willing to belt out spine-tingling songs in support of a limited and below-average bunch of players, in an age when crowds are fuelled by a consumer expectancy made worse by the wealth gap between those on the pitch and those in the stands, should be lauded.

Those who agree with Keane probably go to very few matches, immerse themselves in cold, calculated tactical analyses and have probably never experienced the thrill of leaving a stadium after a defeat knowing full well that the fans of the team that won left the ground frustrated that their support wasn't a patch on yours.

The Ireland fans who returned to Sopot from Gdansk on Thursday night were still in high spirits despite the defeat. It may be a cliche to say they were loud and enjoyed a drink, but cliches and stereotypes exist because they are largely true. It's frustrating to hear them repeated over and over again but it doesn't mean they're not pertinent, even though many viewers would like a more original soundtrack.

Perhaps Keane has lived in England too long. Perhaps he's forgotten what fun is. Perhaps he should straighten out that scowl and head down to Montecasino in Sopot and loosen up a bit by belting out Fields of Athenry with the fans himself.

Actually, scratch that. He probably wouldn't be welcome