Thanks for the cash Keano but why this United player ? …
A report in today’s Mail newspaper suggests Roy Keane is ready to offer Kieran Richardson £45,000 a week to spearhead Sunderland’s return to the Premiership.
A £5.5 million deal for the player has been agreed and it is believed that Richardson will complete his move to the north east instead of travelling with United on the club’s Asia tour.
The transfer will be as well received by fans as the money will be by the Glazer family, yet the mind boggles as to why Roy Keane, a United manager in waiting, would have anything to do with a player as fitful as Richardson.
It is not that long ago that Keane’s infamous rant against falling standards was pulled from the ‘Roy Keane Plays the Pundit’ slot on United’s own television station, due to his coruscating attack on United stars.
Leaks of ‘Keane’s spleen’ allege that Richardson was not named personally but may have been one of the players the then United captain had in mind when making his comments after a 4-1 reverse against Middlesbrough in November 2005.
Keane is alleged to have claimed: “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. When they sign their contracts, they think they have made it. They owe it to the manager, the staff and the fans.
“The fact they are out should be enough incentive for those coming in to play better and give more. There is talk about putting this right in January and bringing new players in. We should be doing the opposite - we should be getting rid of people in January[2006].”
Keane’s comments about the lack of character and players becoming ‘big time Charlies’ upon signing their contracts would appear to fit Richardson better than OJ and his bloodied glove.
Few doubt the player’s talent. However, many question his motivation and his desire. United offered the England wideman a great opportunity to nail down a first team place in the past two years. That he is apparently on his way to a team likely to struggle next term, is an indication of how little progress Richardson has made.
The winger could follow noted Magpie Michael Chopra as another recruit to raise eyebrows among Sunderland fans.
Perhaps, Keane will triumph where Ferguson failed and coax Richardson to more consistency. Nevertheless, despite the apparent difficulties in persuading players to join Sunderland, few would have imagined Keane returning to United to make Richardson his first major signing.
