The Keane edge

I have to admit that the language in the McGrath household was rather choice last week when Roy Keane went down in a heap during Manchester United’s game against Deportivo. It looked really bad at first, so the news that he’d pulled his hamstring came as a real relief. As injuries go, it isn’t too serious.

As I’ve said numerous times before in hotpress, Keano missing the World Cup would be a disaster for Ireland. He’s the one player in the squad who’s genuinely irreplaceable, and without him I’d question our ability to progress beyond the group stage.

Somebody asked me, “Do you take a 75% fit Roy Keane?” and I said, “You take a 2% fit Roy Keane!” Even by sitting there in the dugout, Roy will give the lads a gee-up and take some of the pressure off Mick, who knows he can rely on his leadership qualities. Even when he was a young lad at Forest, Keano was the one barking out orders and organising everybody. That’s his way.

When I was playing, it wasn’t uncommon to be out for six weeks with a hamstring, but things in the treatment room have progressed to the point where he could be back playing by the start of May. Which isn’t to say that he’s going to spend between now and then lying on the sofa! Even if his leg has to be kept immobile, there are all sorts of upper-body exercises he can do to keep his fitness levels up. If he then gets a couple of clear weeks on the training pitch, I’d say he’ll be in pretty good nick to meet the Cameroon.

Of course, it’s been a bit of a double-whammy this week, with Stephen Carr announcing that he definitely won’t be fit in time for the World Cup. Given his two back-to-back seasons of brilliance for Spurs, and some very impressive international appearances, it’s a huge blow. As good a deputy as Stephen Finnan has proven to be, he doesn’t have the same ability to tear up the flank, beat players and occasionally thump one in from 25 yards! Missing out like that, when you know you’d have been one of the first names on the team-list, must be crushing for the lad.

On the upside, I thought our performance in the friendly against Denmark was amazing. You hope with a major tournament approaching that your team will click, but even Mick must be surprised at how well everything’s gelling at the moment.

My Man of the Match – and everybody else’s I think! – was Damien Duff. His ability to wriggle past two or three players, and then put in a quality final ball, means that he’s a “must” now for Mick on the left. Other plus points for me were Dean Kiely’s acrobatics in goal, Steve Staunton’s passing, which was superb all night, and Clinton Morrison who’s finally playing as good a game as he talks!

Anyway, neck on the chopping block time! There’s a few hard calls to be made, but if everybody’s available, this is how I’d like us to line-up against the Cameroon:

Shay Given; Gary Kelly, Kenny Cunningham, Steve Staunton, Ian Harte; Jason McAteer, Roy Keane, Mark Kinsella, Damien Duff; Niall Quinn, Robbie Keane.

Automatic choices for the substitutes’ bench would be Dean Kiely, Matt Holland, Clinton Morrison and Colin Healy.

I tell you what – that side has a far better balance to it than England’s likely starting eleven. For all of his running and hard work, Emile Heskey doesn’t do it for me as Michael Owen’s partner and their defence is leaky. In fact, if we were to meet England later on in the tournament, I think we’d win comfortably. We’ve got more than them at the moment.

The big talking point off the pitch has been the naming of Gary Flitcroft as the player who’s had two extramarital affairs. He’s a twit for doing it, yeah, but I feel sorry for his wife – and for his kids who are going to have put up with all sorts of abuse at school as a result of newspapers invading their privacy. People will say, “It’ll only happen to them for a week or two”, but it shouldn’t happen to them, full stop.

I’m probably biased because they did it to me, but I wish journalists would stop for a moment and think of the hurt they’re causing. It wasn’t public interest that lead to Gary Flitcroft being splashed over the front pages, it was public titillation.

I was also amazed to hear the judge describing him as “a predator who took advantage of young women.” Footballers are like any other guys who go into a pub on a Friday evening. In other words, they want to get laid.

Okay, you’re married and have responsibilities and shouldn’t be doing it, but I don’t think it makes you any more of a rat than a plumber or a lawyer or a journalist who’s misbehaving the same way. This thing about players needing to have higher moral standards than other people is a load of bollocks.

I do think Gary should have known better. But especially when you’re a young player, the attention you get is very flattering. I remember being smiled at by these gorgeous women and thinking, “There must be somebody standing behind me.” It’s only with maturity that you learn how to deal with it, and stop succumbing to a bit of this, that and the other.

Mind you, footballers in England may not be in a position to indulge themselves in the high life to quite the same extent from now on. Certainly Nationwide League clubs are going to face a lot of hardship as a result of losing the ITV Digital money. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of the situation, people need to face up to the fact that players’ wages have got out of hand. It’s crazy that some players in the Second Division are being paid £4,000 a week when there’s a danger of their clubs going out of business. And at the moment that’s a real risk, for a lot of the smaller teams.

What I’ve found disappointing is the lack of Premiership support for the lower divisions. The imperative to keep outfits like Mansfield and Cambridge in operation isn’t just moral, but footballing. Who was Mark Kinsella playing for before his move to Charlton? Colchester United. Where did Martin O’Neill start his managerial career? The then non-league Wycombe Wanderers. I’m afraid it’s another example of how greedy the game’s become.

There’s going to be a bit of a shakedown. Let’s hope that it doesn’t result in too many footballers losing their jobs – or clubs going bust.