Debut: 2-0 win vs Norwich City, August 15th 1993.
League Record: 309 games (+17 as sub), 33 goals
Sold to: contract terminated (November 2005), subsequently signed for Celtic
A legend, though he probably wouldn't like me saying that. With Bryan Robson finally approaching the end of the road, we signed possibly the only man capable to taking over the same role. I'm not sure anybody in this list will come close to the levels Roy Keane strived to achieve his goals on the field: he didn't care about making friends or being liked by anyone – all that mattered was victory.
Despite the fact he would eventually become one of the most highly-regarded players in world football, young Roy was a late starter. At 19, he was still playing in his native Cork before Brian Clough brought him over to Nottingham Forest. Months later, he played in the 1991 FA Cup final, though ended up on the losing side.
By 1993, though, Clough had lost his battle with the bottle and Forest were relegated. Keane was ambitious and wanted to be playing at the highest level: Blackburn (at that time) matched that level of ambition and he looked nailed on to join them until a last-minute Fergie swoop saw him come to the right side of the A666. His joining us would be immortalised in the terrace classic ‘Keano’s Magic Hat’.
With the departure of Paul Ince in 1995, Keano was free to establish total dominance of the midfield, a position he would maintain for the best part of a decade, and when Eric retired in 1997, he took over the captaincy too. In this role, he took a more traditional approach – offering bollocings to teammates when they were needed and inspiring through sheer drive and energy.
His importance to the team was reflected in his first season as skipper, when a serious long-term injury resulted in a serious tilt at the title running out of steam. He came back the next year stronger and hungrier for missing out - leading to his greatest moment in a red shirt.
It was the 1999 Champions League semi-final against Juventus, who at that time had stars like Davids, Zidane and Del Piero at the top of their game. The first leg at Old Trafford had ended 1-1 and within no time at their place, we were 2-0 down and looking dead. Keano had had enough, took charge and scored the first goal in our 3-2 comeback. What made this more remarkable was that he picked up a booking that meant he would miss the final, but instead of moping, he played harder and better than ever.
The attitude and commitment that saw him win so much at United also led to one of his most infamous moments, when prior to the 2002 World Cup, he criticised the training facilities organised for the Irish team. Convinced management saw the whole affair as little more than a jolly, he stormed out after a bust-up with manager Mick McCarthy. Around the same time, he criticised sections of the United support of just turning up for the experience and not getting behind the team. A lot of the traditional fanbase found it hard to argue.
Three years later, his forthright views got him in trouble again. After we took a 4-1 kicking at Middlesbrough, he went on the in-house TV channel and laid into various players, not holding back one bit. Ferguson found this unacceptable and the subsequent rift between the two led to his leaving the club. To give Keane his dues, everything he said was spot on and he later stated he went to each player he criticised and explained why he said what he had. Though he was past his peak at the time, he was still the captain and a major influence on the team and we've not had that kind of box-to-box midfielder since.
Following managerial spells at Sunderland (mixed fortunes) and Ipswich Town (not good), he’s currently seen as a pundit for ITV’s coverage of England and Champions League games, where he’s often amusing with his usual straight talking.
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