bought the book the day it came out and have read it cover to cover. Here's what i got from it;
in the book roy gives us an account of how he became a footballer; the ups and downs of being rejected as a kid as being to small, then finally getting his chance with forest. this is mildly good reading but i think a lot of footballers have similiar stories to tell.
He goes on to tell of his progression with forest and mentions some of the games he took part in, even at this early stage of his career, he was starting to sniff out players without commitment. Stuart Pearce had a huge influence on him, roy obviously still has huge respect for pearce whom he calls the ultimate proffesional.
Eventually roy reaches the part where he signed for manchester united, something i didnt know (or had forgotten) was that he had agreed to sign for blackburn but dogleash had forgotten the paperwork! fergie called him the next day and signed him up! dogleash went off his head! good reading!.
Also roy gives accounts of his time in the irish team from the days when 'big jack' was in charge; it was obvious that the irish setup was a joke for years and roy calls the whole irish setup a bit like the 'carry on' films. later in the book he gives a full account of the world cup shambles in which again the irish f.a had managed to turn into a joke, although in truth roy was partly to blame to which he openly admits in the book.
There are revelations of his drinking and some of the trouble he got himself into - non of it really all that shocking. There are also references to the united team losing their commitment after the treble was won - which still seems to be going on if you ask me.
All in all the book is well worth reading. Once you've read it you will understand that keane is a winner, he is driven to go flat out all the time and does not accept anything less from those around him. He believes in proper preperation for games, he believes in never giving up and he will never lose his principles. He holds his hands up when hes wrong, and refuses to get complacent when goals are scored and trophys are won. He has played through the pain barrier out of the desire to win.
At the end of the day all he wants is a 100% commited united team and for the Irish football league to get its act together properly. its not a lot to ask and roy should definitely not be critisized for wanting those things.
I was unsure what to make of roy before i read the book but now im behind him 100%.
in the book roy gives us an account of how he became a footballer; the ups and downs of being rejected as a kid as being to small, then finally getting his chance with forest. this is mildly good reading but i think a lot of footballers have similiar stories to tell.
He goes on to tell of his progression with forest and mentions some of the games he took part in, even at this early stage of his career, he was starting to sniff out players without commitment. Stuart Pearce had a huge influence on him, roy obviously still has huge respect for pearce whom he calls the ultimate proffesional.
Eventually roy reaches the part where he signed for manchester united, something i didnt know (or had forgotten) was that he had agreed to sign for blackburn but dogleash had forgotten the paperwork! fergie called him the next day and signed him up! dogleash went off his head! good reading!.
Also roy gives accounts of his time in the irish team from the days when 'big jack' was in charge; it was obvious that the irish setup was a joke for years and roy calls the whole irish setup a bit like the 'carry on' films. later in the book he gives a full account of the world cup shambles in which again the irish f.a had managed to turn into a joke, although in truth roy was partly to blame to which he openly admits in the book.
There are revelations of his drinking and some of the trouble he got himself into - non of it really all that shocking. There are also references to the united team losing their commitment after the treble was won - which still seems to be going on if you ask me.
All in all the book is well worth reading. Once you've read it you will understand that keane is a winner, he is driven to go flat out all the time and does not accept anything less from those around him. He believes in proper preperation for games, he believes in never giving up and he will never lose his principles. He holds his hands up when hes wrong, and refuses to get complacent when goals are scored and trophys are won. He has played through the pain barrier out of the desire to win.
At the end of the day all he wants is a 100% commited united team and for the Irish football league to get its act together properly. its not a lot to ask and roy should definitely not be critisized for wanting those things.
I was unsure what to make of roy before i read the book but now im behind him 100%.