Criostoir wrote:i dont think the seanfella is sticking up for mc carthy cos he was a joke....
.... but keano is a pro footballer representing his country at the biggest tournament ever and he left them without a captain and they got knocked out in the second round on penalties by a lucky spain team. If the facilities were so bad then he knew the team needed everyone to double their efforts on the pitch.They could have done with him. I dont care if he liked mc carthy or if mc carthy liked him... he should have got on with it regardless. He didnt, he walked away.
He went down in my estimation that day
Nothing excuses that....... ever.
have you read his autobiography and the script from his interview after the crucial meeting? Keano was going to leave after the first bust up, then after speaking to his friends and family he decided to stay for the sake of his family.
McCarthy then called a meeting in which he accused Keane of betraying the nation etc... etc.... it was then that McCarthy forced Keane out of the squad. no captain can stay in a team where the manager has completely undermined him and basically told him to leave.
Even before Saipan, McCarthy had broken promises made to Keane about the preparation and facilities. Now's not the time to go into detail about this though.