Roy Keane Sitting In Mick McCarthy’s Chair?

I saw this rumour before heading off to bed last night and thought I would give it a few hours unti lthis morning to see whether it would really pan out. The rumour persists in a strong fashion so we might as well discuss it.

I’m truly flabberghasted I have to say. Niall Quinn’s inglorious spell as manager of the shellshocked and war weary Sunderland side has obviously came to an end as big Niall realises that there’s just a little more to this management lark than meets the eye and then promises the Black Cats fans a “world class manager” to lift thir spirits and fortunes.

I shuddered when i heard the words “world class” being used because I knew straight away that it was going to be either a decrepit old time manager (like George Graham) or a recently retired high profile player with no actual experience and it looks like I was right.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that the man in question was going to be Roy Keane though. There have been strong words in public and private between Keane and Niall Quinn and Keane’s friend and writer Eamonn Dunphy in the past, most notably around Keane’s World Cup walkout from Saipan in 2002 and there must be more going on behind the scenes at Sunderland than meets the eye for this to have even been mooted.

Is Niall Quinn actually the main investor behind the consortium or is there a shadowy Mr. Big pulling the strings and using Niall as the acceptable public face? I honestly can’t see this being Niall Quinn’s first choice as manager and the world class manager definition puzzles me. Keane may turn into a world class manager but the only experience he can have is on Championship Manager on the PC, I don’t think he even holds his coaching badges so where does the World Class tag come from?

Sunderland are deep in trouble, up to their necks and rising, and it will take a monumental effort to get them in shape and working together enough this season to save them. I doubt that Roy Keane has the temperament to do it if things are going badly against them as it’s not something he has encountered in his glorious years at Old Trafford and then as a title winner at Celtic.

On the other hand, if those players need a rocket from anyone then surely Roy is the man to deliver it and if they don’t fear him enough to start pulling their collective fingers out then maybe they shouldn’t be playing professional football.

I wonder if the chair in Mick McCarthy’s old office will still be warm when Roy Keane gets to set himself into it?