This week Roy Keane left Sunderland, after just over 2 years in charge of the Black Cats. What's behind this? Is it a good decision for Keane? What lies in store for the former Manchester United man?

Of course I can't answer all of these questions, but as a sport psychologist, football fan and talent manager I can't help but have my views. There's also no shortage of opinion in the media to draw upon.

Roy Keane - Player to Manager

The first thing to note is that Keane's entry into football management was at least as unexpected as his departure from Sunderland. As a player, he had little patience for other players, and indeed coaches or officials, that didn't have his passion and drive for performance. But he was also a very contradictory character, capable of being very self-destructive (notably his feud and possibly career-ending tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland).

At the time of his appointment, I thought that he would be spectacularly successful as a manager or a complete train wreck. I have to admit I was leaning to the latter, but his strength of character and refusal to accept the status quo meant that he was, in retrospect, the perfect catalyst for a revival at the Stadium of light.
Problems mount

Having created change at the club, Roy Keane then took Sunderland to the Premier League. Although the squad was limited in ability, its spirit and determination helped Sunderland to survive its first season without relegation. At this point we had seen very little, if any, of Keane's more volatile nature, as he remained the model of calm and focus on the touchline.

In the close season, however, it became apparent that even with Keane in charge, Sunderland was not the most attractive destination for the best players. In the end, Keane spent over £70 million on 33 players, as he had to compromise on quality and found himself with a bloated squad. He had some genuine quality in specific positions, but Keane's Sunderland was not a team of superstars.

In order to take the club on a level, not just to fight relegation but to climb the league, Sunderland would need to sell before buying any more players. That could prove to be difficult (for the next manager).

There has been talk of Keane losing the confidence of the players of late. His team has lost six from the last seven games. It certainly seems that Roy Keane questioned his ability to take the club any further.

Looking ahead

It is probably safe to assume that Roy Keane is as ambitious as a manager as he was as a player. When it looked like he had taken Sunderland as far as he was likely to, this may have created a problem for Keane.

People have talked about Roy Keane as a successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Whether that's his goal or not, the Sunderland job was not going to be a platform from which Keane could demonstrate that he has the qualities to be manager of an elite club on a European level. His chances of European football were slim, so he wasn't going to demonstrate that he could guide a team to the European Cup or Premier League title. He wasn't going to be able to demonstrate that he could manage the most talented players.

So Roy Keane, Sunderland manager, was always going to be a risk for a top European team to recruit.

If he was to become a top team's manager, he wasn't going to do that from the Stadium of Light. But the Sunderland job could be a stepping stone to a stepping stone to a top job. Maybe he could be the next Everton, Aston Villa, Tottenham or, dare I say it, Newcastle manager (not assuming that any of these jobs will be available any time soon). Should he take a team like this to regular European football, with some sort of trophy along the way, then perhaps the top job would be realistic. At least it would take him one step closer.

The alternative for Keane might have been relegation, and he might not have been able to contemplate having relegation - or failure - on his CV.

As a talent manager, I think that while the timing and nature of his resignation from Sunderland could have been better, he was going to have to leave some time soon. Sunderland was Keane's "development role" in talent management language. If it wasn't going to give him more opportunity to develop in the ways that he wants to, he was right to go.

I can't predict Keane's next move, let alone his next again, but I will say that the manner of his resignation this week, in an unmanaged and abrupt manner (how has he helped his successor?) probably hasn't helped his cause. It suggests that he's still not quite thinking about the bigger picture - something he'll have to do at a top club - and it also serves as a reminder of his volatile past.

Rob Robson
Sports Networking
Soccer Center

	Author:	robrobson (robrobson's profile, robrobson's blog)
	Posted On:	Friday, 5th December '08, 11:49pm
	Tags:	Coaching, Football, Psychology, Soccer Training and Team Sport
	Comments:	0 comments, go to comments

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