Roy Keane has become the Donald Trump of football

Like Manchester United, The Overlap podcast would not have become the superforce it is now without the influence of Roy Keane.

Gary Neville is swiftly becoming public enemy No 1, whether it is down to his political stance that has attracted wider and sometimes unsavoury vitriol, or the unrelenting negativity, especially in match commentary, about his boyhood club that has even turned United’s own supporters against him.

Ian Wright, Jamie Carragher and Jill Scott were always going to fail to get their voices heard among the United-heavy focus and background of famous Overlap guests. Keane, however, whenever he stands on the soapbox, has an often three-million-plus audience taking note.

One of the greatest ever to do it is in a unique position of power, and his “it was never like this in my day” trope has therefore stood the test of time and become his calling card.

A generation of United supporters, who have an unerring penchant for nostalgia more than most, have been unanimous in agreement with Keane’s criticisms, listening in while their Instagram algorithm throws up reruns of that famous night in Turin.

Keane’s management team have seized upon this grumpy media persona and created a brand that is perfect for the short soundbites needed in the modern world of dwindling attention spans.

Yet, things have come to a head recently, with Brand Keane taking a darker turn. United are anything but back to their former grandeur, but such a positive end to the season gives The Overlap chatterati less to ponder. Gradual improvement isn’t exactly a stimulant for hot debate.

And this comes at a crucial time for Neville’s media empire, who are currently trying to attract the most abrasive audience there is – Mark Goldbridge’s angry posse.

Neville has sent his vexed lieutenant into battle and picked the easiest target to keep the temperature raised. Bruno Fernandes has achieved something to be proud of. Even if you just consider who the United skipper had to usurp at the top of the most assists in a Premier League season chart, to sit above Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne is the pinnacle of an orchestrator-in-chief’s game.

Yes, United have no other silverware to celebrate, that was decided long before Michael Carrick, not one of Neville or Keane’s close-knit, spiteful pals, took the Old Trafford helm. That does not mean a very popular figure, one who is an example of how footballers should behave off the pitch, should not get the recognition the accomplishment deserves from his clearly proud teammates.

To “lie” about something Fernandes has said for the hits, something the Portuguese midfielder rightly called out this week, is something right out of the Donald Trump playbook. And it works. This was no mistake, a slip of the tongue. This was an orchestrated attack.

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Pick an easy target: whether it is immigrants in Trump’s case or a footballer universally derided for his on-field moaning from Keane. Make something that sounds believable up as if it were verbatim and pile on.

At least when Trump turns to social media to continue his tirade against his targets, it is authentic, clearly written by himself, such is the level of literacy.

Keane’s post implying Fernandes is a donkey in some profound manner would almost certainly have been created by his team, desperate to keep the Raging Roy caricature going.

The question is: is this really what Roy Keane thinks, or Raging Roy? Either way, with Goldbridge ready to keep waging the war, a new audience will sadly only want to hear from one.

المصدر: iNews