Roy Keane was not a happy man after the Manchester derby on Saturday and he had every reason for that as well. He was left very unimpressed by the performance on the pitch as well as the post-match gestures of the players. The Manchester derby ended in a stale 0-0 draw which has left the Manchester clubs in 8th and 9th position respectively, albeit with a game in hand.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Keane was very unhappy with the application of both sets of players during the match in terms quality. “Just on today’s game, really poor and I’m looking for teams towards the end of the game with the quality they’ve, the desire to go and win the game of football.”
When talking about the performances of both teams, Keane said, “City as we expected, loads of possession, very very predictable, sideward and backwards, no intensity, real lack of quality considering the players out on the pitch. United, credit to them defensively. I thought they defended very very well. But the lack of quality and end product from both teams was really poor, really disappointing.”
“We knew Man City would dominate possession. But I never felt Man City were actually gonna score that many goals. You think there may be 1 opportunity.”
Both sets of managers seemed pleased with the result and none of them tried more than 1 substitution in the entire game, despite both of them being in favor of 5 substitutions. But Roy Keane was having none of it. “Yes, particularly with the options they’ve on the bench. I said at half time, these clubs both have had success over the last few years from going to win football matches. You got to gamble a little bit. I’m not saying you get 7-8 people in the box but you’re trying to win a game of football.”
The very fact that both teams settled for a draw irked Keane even more. “You don’t settle for draws. It’s a derby and John Stones is saying it’s a clean sheet and blah blah blah. Got to go and win football matches.”
Keane also pointed out that both Liverpool and Tottenham have had good starts to the season and considering both of them dropped points, it was a good chance for both the teams to reduce deficits. “Liverpool and Spurs are all doing well and you’ve got to try to hunt these teams down. They keep saying there’s a long way to go in the season but when the game is there for you, with the quality that was there on the pitch.”
Micah Richards pointed out that lack of fans could be an factor for the stale performances. Although Keane did acknowledge that, he did believe that the quality on offer was still sub-par. “The fans are yes, of course, that’s a big issue for derby games. I know that. But still the quality on the pitch, go and find way to win a game of football.”
But what frustrated Keane most was the lack of intensity during the match and both sets of players exchanging pleasantries at the end of the game. “We got 2 bookings in a derby game. I’ve never seen so many hugs and chats after a game. It’s a derby game, I’m scratching my head. I’m really frustrated because I’m thinking you’ve got to go and try to win a game of football.”
“At the end of the game, the stuff smiling, hugging, the players chat with each other. Just get down the tunnel. I don’t get it. Everyone must be pals with each other and be popular. You’re playing for these clubs, particularly Man United to win football matches, not to be mates with each other.”
