Football story by Vinnie Mitchell, Fri, 04 Nov 2005 09:32:00 GMT


Its crisis time at Manchester United with fans calling for heads of many players, blaming them for their recent poor form both in the Premier league as well as in Europe. This coupled with the recent outburst of skipper Roy Keane clearly rattled the players as they succumbed to a 1-0 loss to Lille on Match day 4 in Europe's premier competition.

The real drama though was on the day before the match with United's outspoken skipper criticizing the team as whole and Rio Ferdinand in particular after the humiliating loss to Middlesbrough in the English Premier League on Saturday.

The loss saw United slip up in the title race with the runaway league leaders, Chelsea opening up a massive 13-point lead over United. In an interview with Manchester United's T.V channel, MUTV Keane came down heavily on the younger players claiming that they are not focusing on the team and are just happy to earn more money and live out a rich lifestyle.

"These guys thought getting new contracts was the best day of their careers. They think they have made it. They haven't. They owe it to the manager, the staff and the fans," an incensed Keane allegedly said.

But he reserved his most venomous words for Ferdinand saying, "Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar". Ferdinand, who became the most expensive defender in Europe after his £29 million move to United from Leeds, has been in awful form, which has seen him lose his England place to Sol Campbell.

On the day before the match against Lille, Sir Alex Ferguson defended his younger players but refrained from backing Ferdinand who has also lost the backup captain's armband after holding out to a more lucrative contract during the summer.

The older and more experienced players were also not spared by Keane who says that there is no spark of leadership to guide the youngsters by the experienced players and that to merit your place in the team you have to play badly. "The younger players have been let down by some more experienced ones - they are not leading. There is a shortage of characters. It seems to be in this club you have to play badly to be rewarded. Maybe that is what I should do when I come back - play badly.”

“I wasn't surprised by the [Middlesbrough] result. I had been expecting one like this. The players have been asked questions and they are just not coming up with the answers. I am sick of having to say it and they are sick of listening to me. They have let down the club, the manager, and the fans", he added. Keane says that in order to improve the team's fortunes in the coming months it is important that the manager offloads all those who have not been playing well, "There is talk about putting things right in January and bringing players in. But we should be doing the opposite we should be getting rid of people in January", he said.

His comments are being backed by United fans who say that their Keano has exactly reflected the wishes of the fans. In an online poll conducted by a website on whether Keane was right in criticizing the players, about 94 percent of the fans said yes. Meanwhile Keane has said that though he has decided to quit United at the end of the season, he is willing to accept a new contract if offered as he wants to finish his career at United. "Roy wishes to finish his career at Manchester United but whether he does so is in the hands of those who make decisions at the club," Keane's representative said.

Keane has had a history of criticizing players publicly whenever there has been a slump in the performance of the team and usually the team has responded with a run of impressive performances. But it seems the magic of Keano has not worked this time as United lost to Lille 1-0 with Rio Ferdinand once again playing poorly. United are now in 3rd position in the table and will have to win against both Villarreal and Benfica if they are to qualify to the knockout stages.

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