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A publishing phenomenon in hardcover, Roy Keane's autobiography was the biggest selling sports book of the year.Now in paperback it includes a new chapter covering Keane's vindication by the FAI report, and the punishment meted out by the FA and Mick McCarthy's resignation.Brilliantly reviewed, Roy Keane's riveting, brutally honest autobiography has the potential to be one of the year's biggest paperback bestsellers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Great ... just like the man himself
This book is off the charts. One of the very few books where the author is being completely honest. But with the person in question being Roy Keane, it dosent come as a big surprise. I loved this book. Keano is my second most favorite united leagend after Giggsy. This book gives a truthful look at his world without any blinkers and without being politically correct as many other books end up being. Keano rocks !

Perfect Purchase
Great Seller! Easy to communicate with. Fast shipping and item received was exactly how it was described. I would definitely buy from this seller again. A+++

A Decent Read
I found this book interesting but not overly so. It covers a period of time I was following Manchester United quite intensely so reading his recollections of that time was quite enjoyable.

I did not find the writing style or presentation overly compelling yet it was still a pretty decent read. I'd rate it more of a 3.5 stars because it really didn't keep my interest and that extra interview of his at the end of the book was 10 long pages of reading I could have done with out.

I recommend the book to all United fans as a good read. To non-United fans, this may rate 3 stars or less.

Honest , Direct but a bit one-dimensional
I'll come clean. I'm a Leeds United fan, so my natural instinct was to burn this book. I didn't. I read it, and enjoyed it. You feel you are listening to a straight shooter. It's a much better read than some of the tosh put out by ex-Leeds players. Sure, he has a persecution complex, but he's Irish. It comes with the territory. Since Keane fell out with Sir Alex and left Man United he's risen in stature. And if Leeds can hire Denis Wise, then they can certainly hire Roy Keane.....after he walks out on Sunderland in a couple of years..

KEANO! KEANO!
I could not put this book down, well written and a great insight into the heart of a true Manchester United warrior. ... Read more

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Keano - one of the very best!
Roy Keane is undoubtably one of the greatest football players currently playing, and his life outside the game is equally enjoyable to follow. His intensity and larger-than-life persona on and off the pitch make any bio of Keano worth a read.

Pure Tightness
This is the best book I've ever read.It tells all about Captain Tightness.This is a more choice novel than Catcher in the rye.Roy Keane is a better role model than Holden Caulfield ever was.Captain Tightness will teach you and your kids how to cleat the opponent without getting caught (or carded ha ha ha). ... Read more

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An interestingly enough examination of the Saipan incident of Ireland's 2002 World Cup quest.
This book examines the dispute between Roy Keane and Coach Mick McCarthy in the preparations for Ireland's national soccer team in the 2002 World Cup. In it, the Ireland national soccer team sets up camp prior to the tournament on the pacific island of Saipan but they lacked some necessary supplies like soccer balls! The story is told through the eyes of an Ireland fan, the author living back in the Emerald island watching all of the events taking place through news stories and even visits to pubs to watch the team play their games. His family and namely son partakes in the story too.

In summarizing, we do get an in depth view of this whole controversial episode of which we ourselves might base an opinion on whom was right and whom was wrong as if the pros and cons are laid out and outlined for us, the basic conundrum being that Ireland's midfieldsman, Roy Keane, a world class player at that time, did not join the team for the tournament in Japan/Korea because of disagreement on how the team was being run.

As opposed to the popular book, Fever Pitch which is well known and of which many subsequent soccer books have probably used as a blue print in how to narrate a story (though it was not the first to do it that way), this author is definitely writing with an Irish slant to his English language, maybe better said, he writes and talks like an Irishman so it is not always as perfectly understandable as straight ahead English but that is really not a problem and probably a part of the charm of this book. It could easily be given the full 5 star rating but I don't think that properly reflects that while it is a very good book, it might not be among the very best soccer books out there. Thus, I give it only 4 stars. It is a must for any fan of the boys in green.

Fail to Prepare - Prepare to Fail
In 2002, soccer's World Cup Finals were played in Japan and South Korea. Following a two-year qualifying campaign, thirty-two countries were involved. While countries such as Brazil and France were among the pre-tournament favorites, the Republic of Ireland had qualified for only the third time in their history.

Ireland's team captain leading up to the finals was Roy Keane, considered by many to be the country's greatest ever player. While soccer is a team sport, Ireland simply wouldn't have been capable of qualifying for the Finals without him. Keane, like all the other members of Ireland's squad, has spent the bulk of his playing career in England - where he has won the Premiership and the F.A. Cup (English soccer's top competitions) several times. He also has a winners medal from the Champions League (Europe's top competition) in his collection. A very focused and determined player, he believes it is necessary to train, eat and rest properly to perform at the highest level.

The events that led up to the World Cup Finals that year, however, must have left him feeling disillusioned with the international set-up. The FAI (the organisation in charge of Irish soccer) had decided that Saipan would be used as the pre-tournament base. After all, it had a very nice hotel. Unfortunately, the team arrived to discover the FAI had brought no soccer balls or training gear - which made training a little difficult. Furthermore, Keane, as captain, wasn't too impressed with the attitude of some of his team-mates; there have been suggestions of late nights and heavy drinking (and I don't mean isotonic fluids). Furthermore, when the training equipment finally arrived, he was unhappy that some were allowed to skip the scheduled training sessions. Keane's anger at what was happening around him led to a huge argument with the squad's coach, Mick McCarthy. It seems that McCarthy found Keane's attitude unacceptable and reservations without foundation; as a result, he dismissed Keane from the squad and sent him home.

The story was huge, and Ireland was divided. A large part of the Irish population bizarrely agreed with McCarthy. Vilified by many in the media, Keane was labelled a traitor. Some made claims about what he'd said to McCarthy. He denied making the most controversial remark, a denial supported by Niall Quinn - another player who'd actually backed McCarthy's position. Keane, however, did have his supporters - among them, the population of Cork City and Conor O'Callaghan. In this book, O'Callaghan looks back to the events of Saipan, the reaction of the Irish people and its effect on him. He was involved in any number of arguments defending Keane - his barber was one of his favorite sparring partners - while the situation left his seven-year-old son thoroughly confused. Like Steve Staunton - who was appointed Ireland's captain after Keane was dismissed - O'Callaghan was brought up in Dundalk. Staunton was another player who'd backed McCarthy at a press conference. One of the funniest incidents takes place at a street party after his neighbour returned home - O'Callaghan made sure his neighbour knew not everyone was happy with his role.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I'd imagine it has a limited appeal. There'd need to be some interest in soccer, and it will mean more if the reader followed the 2002 World Cup. (Having said that, it probably won't be enjoyed so much by those who supported Mick McCarthy). If you're interested, other books that cover the events of Saipan include "Laptop Dancing and the Nanny Goat Mambo: A Sports Writer's Year" by Tom Humphries and the autobiographies of Niall Quinn and Roy Keane. ... Read more

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1 September 2001, Lansdowne Road: Ireland vs Holland. In one of the biggest upsets ever seen in football, the Irish team beat the Dutch to gatecrash the World Cup party. But for Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane - the chief architects of this incredible achievement - there was no warm victory embrace. They shook hands, briefly and awkwardly, not looking at each other. It was a moment that defined a footballing era: the manager and his captain behaved like strangers, with no hint of the camaraderie said to exist in the team. That moment foreshadowed the most extraordinary debacle in Irish sporting history, when a bust-up between Keane and McCarthy ended in the manager sending the captain home, his World Cup dream in tatters. Paul Howard examines the complex and explosive dynamic between the two men who brought the Irish team to the World Cup, but whose relationship could not endure to the final round. He talks to the players, the management team and the fans, and raises serious questions about the role of the FAI. This is the full story of the Irish team, their World Cup campaign and soccer's greatest controversy. ... Read more

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This work contains a pictorial biography of the great international soccer star, Cork-born Roy Keane. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Soccer Digest, published by Century Publishing on October 1, 2002. The length of the article is 501 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A brief respite from soccer's me-first culture. (Direct Kick).(Angelo Di Livio)(Brief Article)
Author: Scott Plagenhoef
Publication: Soccer Digest (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2002
Publisher: Century Publishing
Volume: 25Issue: 4Page: 6(2)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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Stimulating and accessible, the titles in the LIVEWIRE series have been produced in association with The Basic Skills Agency to ensure a non-patronising approach towards the requirements of readers with special needs. They provide teenagers/adult interest level fiction and non-fiction for those with reading ages below 10, or adult students learning English as a second language. Each book is graded at one of the following reading ages: 6-7, 7-8, 8-9 or 9-10. All LIVEWIRE books are written by qualified Special Needs teachers, and are expertly assessed and subtly colour-coded for the appropriate reading age. The books in the LIVEWIRE REAL LIVES strand contain fascinating stories of popular music stars, famous historical figures, Hollywood actors, TV personalities and top sports people. ... Read more