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The
modern day midfield can be a bit of a battlefield at times, a congested
area where there's little space to move and less time to think.
It's the key to every game because as any coach will tell you, if
you control the midfield, you control the match.
Which is why, until the Chelsea era came into being, football in
this country was the preserve of two superpowers, Arsenal and Manchester
United. Arsenal had Patrick Vieira, a wonderful athlete.
But even Vieira had to bow to the colossus that was Roy Keane, the
kind of man who would have made a pretty decent gladiator if he'd
been born a couple of thousand years earlier.
A street fighter par excellence, Keane has been the victim of caricature
over the years, dismissed as little more than a hoodlum who succeeded
by virtue of a reign of terror. Garbage, as Scotland's own midfield
enforcer Nigel Quashie is quick to point out.
"Keane was a fantastic all round player, the absolute example
of what a midfield player needs to be able to do these days. He
could get from box to box, he won tackles, kept possession, scored
goals, led by example. He had every attribute you could want.
"Playing against him was always a huge test. It was a great
experience even if you couldn't get near him, because it was an
education. If you ever came up against him, you know you'd been
in a game and you knew you'd battled against one of the best players
of his generation. One of his great strengths was looking to play
everything simply. His passing ratio was second to none, he always
wanted the ball, he was on the ball more than any other player,
setting things off from back to front. Never looking to hit 60 yard
passes or anything complicated, just knocking it 15 yards, showing
for the return, looking for space. You have to admire that simplicity,
that intelligence about the way he worked.
"He was the type of player that makes the game look simple
but he had the personality and the ability where he could just grab
hold of it and take complete control of it, dictate its shape, its
tempo. I always felt he was at his very best when the team was struggling,
when it needed somebody to step up and change things.
He had the drive and the determination to do that himself but also
to carry the other players with him, even if they weren't having
a great day themselves.
"His will to win was absolutely frightening, he was the kind
of player that would not be beaten, so sharing a dressing room with
him must have been interesting to say the least at times.
He was so driven, he had such mental strength that only the highest
standards were ever acceptable to him. Just looking across and seeing
that he was on your side must have been a huge boost to the rest
of the players at United, at Forest or with Ireland, but he didn't
only have a big impact on his team, it extended to the opposition.
When he was really flying, teams would look at him and just think,
"How are we going to beat him?"
"He had his share of controversy over his time, but he achieved
some incredible things as well, and you shouldn't detract from that.
He's had all the ups, the downs, all the turmoil you can go through
in football, he's lived through it all. When you think he came back
from some very serious injuries, from a major cruciate operation,
that shows the determination of a man who will not admit defeat.
Those injuries can threaten your career, especially if you're the
kind of player that he was. More important, it shows the kind of
man he is and if you read his book, I think you can see exactly
where the man is coming from.
"Technically, he was a quality player but what was just as
important was his ability as a leader, as a captain. When United
were bringing the kids through, the likes of Scholes, the Nevilles,
Butt, Beckham, it was Keane and Cantona that were the experienced
players that carried them through on the pitch, to see them to the
point where they were mature, rounded players in their own right.
He had huge respect from those players, he set the tone, he set
the example at Manchester United and he's played a massive part
in the success they've had there over the last dozen years. If you're
a legend at Old Trafford, then it shows that you're something special
as a player."
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