Has Roy Keane's U-turn on Richardson compromised the Sunderland boss's principles?

Or it could be that he didn't actually slag off those players on play the pundit, and the press was just speculating on who it was. Keane has already come out and said he never had a go at Smith, even though people rumour that he did.

keane was angry cos of the defeat, and attacked a few players. However, not once did he say Richardson was a bad player, only that he shouldnt have talked about buying cars. Richardson is older now, and has probably grown up quite a bit since then, and Keane recognises that.

God forbid that Roy Keane would get sucked into that murky world. He will have his won way of dealing with it. He's top man and so far has my utmost respect as a manager.

I' m amased I'm reading this to be honest!Just because he showed some apparent anger towards the two players TWO years ago on only one occasion doesn't mean that he doesn't rate them!Wasn't Kieran Richard Nineteen or twenty at that point? Having gone on to score goals for Manchester Inited and England he is clearly a good buy for Sunderland. I think it's also clear that Roy likes to go for players that have something to prove, even if they have to prove it to him. so, to sum up, I would say that no, Roy Keane is in no way compromising his principles! It's a pretty weak argument if you look at what's been written and Gary Pallister has got to be one of the stupidest footballers to walk the planet. I already knew that, I've seen him on tv! Anyway,it took the arrival of Nani, Anderson and Hargreaves to united before they would even let Richardson go so are we also drawing Alex Ferguson's judgement into question? Would he have selected Kieran Richardson over fifty times if he wasn't a good player? To be hon

There was a time when backtracking was called admitting you were wrong about something. Keane signed Liam Miller despite all of the speculation from years ago, and Miller had a very good season for Sunderland. Perhaps Keane thinks "I was wrong about him maybe I was wrong about other things too." The measure of a leader is to recognise, admit to, and correct mistakes, not to carry on proudly in the wrong direction.

Perhaps Keane made those comments because (as he said many times) he was already thinking like a manager then... trying to extract more from players like Miller and especially Richardson. Obviously it didn't quite work out and Ferguson saw that it was causing more harm than good and helped Keane towards the door then, but there is nothing wrong in using carrot and/or stick to get the best out of your staff (as I'm sure he saw young midfielders in his latter days at Man Utd). Also - he signed Liam Miller before the end of last August's transfer deadline (not late in the season), and he had a good season for Sunderland, scoring arguably the most important goal of the season - the very late (headed!) winner against Derby. Try to at least get the facts and dates of your story right before pontificating.

As a matter of interest - who wrote this article and why was his name appended to it? Regards

What a terribly written article.

What a poorly written article, why let "facts" get in the way of a story. Lazy journalism to say the least.

what a pathetic attempt at a wind up toontoon.

This is one of the worst articles I have read on this site. Has the authour done any research whatsoever?Just because Gary Pallister says something doesnt mean he is right.Thats why he has never become a manager himself. To say Keane is not a man of his word is a complete joke. This is the man who left three players behind when they were 3 minutes late for a coach. This is the man who pulled out of the David Nugent deal because he was sick of waiting (even though Nugent would have chosen Sunderland over Portsmouth if Keane had waited). And finally...Keane has said it will be a failure if Sunderland finish fourth from bottom. He wants a top half finish, and that has been quoted in several newspapers.Please please please do some research. Sunderland will suprise everyone this year. They are on the crest of a wave and have a huge fan base that will always back them. They have sold 35,000 season tickets already this season. Unpresidented. They believe in Keane even if you dont.

Not evrything is black and white(see Newcastle) Keane has principles but believe it or not there is a vast difference between someone who can think flexibly and someone who is a rigid thinker. You never solve problems if your solution are not flerxible. We will just have to wait and see. Keane learnt from the Ireland fiasco.

If you remember the "sensational scoop" at the time was prompted by the result of the Middlesbrough game and in all probability, as an internal poste mortem after the game (surely a common occurrence at most Premiership clubs) was a private team talk and had it not been leaked, would have remained so. Because a match result should spark a few choice comments during a post match spat at the time (and probably not only by Roy Keane) is no reason to suppose it is still relevant 18 months later and just shows the childish idiocy that some reporters resort to in order to spark controversy and trouble between particiipants in the game in question at a much later moment in time.

sorry about my previous comment - meant to say "... why was his name Not appended to it?"

Nice piece. Identify yourself writer!

Keane compromising his principles?? What the are you talking about? "The objectives and ambitions of United and Sunderland are worlds apart. If the Red Devils finish in second place they are disappointed, whilst if Sunderland finish one spot above the drop-zone their season will have been a huge success. Perhaps the past comments of Keane need to be viewed through that prism." - Thats the only comment of slight sence you made. They're not going to be challaging for the title or anything. Although i dont think Keane will agree with you that finishing forth from bottom is a "huge sucess"! And what does it matter that the man made a few harsh comments about some fellow teammates. He expects results and commitment. I think he's intitled as a human being to get a little angry every now and again. He got Miller and Richardson because thats the best he could do and he knows first hand what they're capable of! I don't even know why I posted a comment, this is a bullshit article written cos you've nothing bett