Keano: England’s Princesses Torpedoed Qualification

Either on the pitch or off it, Sunderland manager Roy Keane has never been one to hide his feelings. Though he may never top his prawn sandwiches rant, he can always be counted on the give it the old college try, something he did yesterday when he was asked about England’s failure to qualify for the Euros. Said Keane, “Technically England are as good as Germany and France … They are nearly a good team but there are too many egos (in the England squad), way too many. … Big heads who are side-tracked by stuff away from football. We all know which players we’re talking about, we all know their lifestyles.” Damn.

While observers of the French and German teams could undoubtedly make good arguments that theirs are equally ego-laden, the fact that England went out automatically makes their egos easier to criticize. Plus, Keano is more likely to tell the truth than 85 perfect of other people involved with English football, so anything he says automatically is taken with fewer-than-the-usual grains of salt.

And, in Keane’s mind, the biggest issue whoever takes over the England coaching gig will have to deal with isn’t tactics or qualification for the World Cup, but rather the very egos of which he spoke. Interestingly, Keane seems to favor the candidate with perhaps the biggest head of them all: Jose Mourinho. According to the Sunderland man, “Mourinho is a bloody good manager who could handle the media and the egos. He would stroke the egos, he had to do that at Chelsea — and he would take attention away from the players. He’s a clever man, a cute man, you could see that even from the way he dressed.” (Yeah, you’re not the only one troubled by that “cute” thing. I’m just trying to ignore it.)

It’s seriously doubtful that Mourinho would take the job, good for his ego though it would be, but it’s interesting to hear what Keane — not exactly unfamiliar with out of control players at international level — thinks is needed to bring England around. (Needless to say, he’s not in favor of the Shearer idea.)

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Category: England, World Football