Keane: The Autobiography

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In a stunning collaboration with Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle, Roy Keane gives a brutally honest account of his last days as a player, the highs and lows of his managerial career, and his life as an outspoken ITV pundit. At one point Keane remarks how "at some stage, I would like a life with a bit of anonymity", a desire that seems laughable in the context of this week's frenzy, but one which chimes with the qualities of the autobiography. He exemplified a very important aspect of Man United’s greatness, which was a hatred of complacency, a refusal to be satisfied that more often than not spoiled any sense of accomplishment.

Roy Kane is a treasure of the game; love him or hate him, football would the all the poorer without his loveably, uniquely scathing presence * FOOTBALLFANCAST. The edition I read (Penguin 2003 paperback) was revised from the original hardback (as a result of FA sanctions) and does not include Keane’s final seasons with Manchester United, his swan song with Celtic FC or his tenure as manager of Sunderland AFC (where he willed the Black Cats from middling Champions Leaguers to promotion to the Premier League). It now seems somewhat hypocritical for Keane to fall out with Irish players for not training when injured after making these comments in the second book. Keane helped United achieve a sustained period of success in more than 12 years at the club, during which he established himself as one of the greatest players in the club's history. The honesty is enjoyable – no more so than the farcical scene when he tells his children there'll soon be less money in the house – but actually the account of the days and months at Sunderland and Ipswich is too conventional to be truly compelling.If Keane’s book offers any hope of a reconciliation – and please God, let them reconcile – it may lie in the vulnerability of this little detail. Like Clough, he had his own way of doing things, but, even if only to a point, it worked for Ireland. The midfielder left United unceremoniously and received a battering from the Scot in his own autobiography. In his early career, Roy was a big name in international football as part of the squad for the 1988 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship and the Republic of Ireland national under-19 team – for which he won man of the match in the final, winning game.

A character I found interesting was Ryan Giggs because I know of him playing soccer it was interesting to find out how much of a dagg he was like Roy with his good sence of homour. He could play the holding role and be defensive, but then he could suddenly burst forward and score goals.

Is it the one about the frightening obsessive who maintains his hold on an audience, and his own enigmatic reputation, through a decade of revealing interviews, TV appearances, books and beard growth? If I could pick one player in my team, I would always pick Roy Keane, in front of any other players I’ve played with.

Both men have the tragic hero’s solipsistic view of the world, the sense that compromise – seeing the other guy’s point of view – would be a sign of weakness. Photograph: John Giles/PA Photograph: John Giles/PA Archive/Press Association Ima Roy Keane has revealed the details behind his departure from Manchester United in his latest book. Despite the involvement of such an esteemed novelist and author of The Commitments, there is no doubt that the voice is Keane's . For all the lighter touches, Keane is highly self-critical and self-aware – another careful repositioning.Not at all sycophantic as many of these sports bios can be, instead this is just like Keano was on the field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing as if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. Roy Keane had an exceptional playing career which combined huge achievement with equal amounts of controversy. But the fact that the FA penalty does not cover European games means the 31-year-old Irish midfielder could play against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on November 13. A very good read - we're given alot of information about the young life of Roy Keane that established him as the footballing superstar he became.

However, Keane also goes on to say in his new book, The Second Half, that he has never regretted slamming his studs into the knee of the Manchester City player. Probably the most criticised figure is former Ireland manager Jack Charlton (and his assistant Maurice Setters) who Keane resents for both his style of play and his self-promotion. But then, that's the influence of a man whose entire career was defined by a fiery passion that often over spilled. Wry wit Keane's wry wit enjoys the turbo-boost of Doyle's comic timing, absurd observations and his mastery of the dark arts of expletives.It is worth noting, in the time of social media feuds and the drip-feeding of favoured journalists, that both men stoutly believed that the only medium worthy of the mighty reversals they suffered was a (pre-Christmas) book. This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. I've just got my copy of The Second Half and although I'm only a couple of chapters into it, it has not disappointed. Keane’s second book The Second Half (2014) was published after Keane had begun his role as Ireland’s assistant manager.