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Topics: Roy Keane, Alan Shearer, Premier League, Manchester United, Newcastle United
Ben McAleer
Topics: Roy Keane, Alan Shearer, Premier League, Manchester United, Newcastle United
Roy Keane has reignited his feud with former striker Alan Shearer after deeming the Geordie legend ‘sneaky’ on The Overlap.
Keane and Shearer didn’t have the best relationship during their respective playing days, when Keane played for Manchester United and Shearer led the line for Newcastle.
The Irishman was known for having a short fuse and was sent off 13 times during his career, the joint-most in the history of the English game.
And one of his most infamous dismissals came in 2001 when Newcastle beat United 4-3 at St. James’ Park.
Shearer gave Keane a slight push as the latter was trying to take a throw-in, causing him to launch the ball at the former.
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Having then flailed his arms at Shearer, the referee opted to upgrade his initial decision of a yellow to a red, which irked Keane as he tried to get to the former England international.
On the incident, Shearer said last year: “We were beating them at St James’ Park and he wanted to take a quick throw-in. He’d been at me all game as he normally was.
“I can’t remember exactly what I said, but I called him some sort of name. He got the red card, and I remember having a little smile, thought ‘I’ve done you a kipper there, I can’t believe you’ve fallen into that little trap’.
“I could see him, the steam was coming out of his ears! I’m thinking, do I run straight off to try and get up the (tunnel)? Because I knew for a fact that Roy would be waiting at the top of the tunnel.
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“I say thanks and shake hands and what have you, and then there’s this big commotion going on. I look up there and there’s Roy waiting for me at the top of the tunnel. It was one of them ‘Alright, hold me back!’. We couldn’t get together (to fight).”
Keane added fuel to the fire earlier this year when reflecting on the incident, stating: “People used to annoy me. One in particular. And he still annoys me.” While he didn’t explicitly mention Shearer, Keane’s grin implied he never moved on from that red card in 2001.
The former United midfielder, though, was far more forthcoming on Shearer on The Overlap, saying: “Shearer was sneaky. Sneaky elbows.”
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When asked by Gary Neville whether they were ‘sneaky elbows’, Keane replied: “Yeah, sneaky elbows.”
Neville tried to play off the ‘sneaky’ comment by adding: “I thought Alan was just, to be fair, nasty. He was nasty, Alan. He was horrible.”
Jill Scott then asked whether that makes you a good player, Keane came back with: “No. (Eric) Cantona. (Andy) Cole. All these strikers I played with weren’t sneaky. Good honest pros. Turned up every week. And they weren’t sneaky.”
Ian Wright then added: “No I’m not having him as sneaky.”
And despite the rivalry between the pair during their playing days, Shearer has since admitted that he had the utmost respect for Keane, saying: “I did have run-ins but only because of the amount of respect I had for him, because of how much he wanted to win and what a captain he was.
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“He epitomises everything about the game, he doesn't like losing - and rightly so - but that's what makes him such a great player. Sometimes he loses his temper but, if you took that away, he wouldn't be the player he is and I admire him for that.”