When you think of Premier League hardmen over the years – those you would not want to bump into on a bad day – one that would very often come up into conversation would be Roy Keane. Known for putting a little extra bite into tackles, as Alf Inge Haaland would know a lot about after being on the receiving end of a challenge widely regarded as one of the worst in Premier League history, the Irish midfielder was certainly not someone to mess about with.
Made famous for his memorable battles with Arsenal's Patrick Vieira, you can now find the legendary former Manchester United captain grumbling over the saturation of the modern game as a pundit for Sky Sports. At every possible opportunity, 'Keano' uses the platform to suggest footy was just simply better during his heyday, a period when the sport was a sanctuary for the everyday nutcase.
From serious foul play being overlooked by referees to 'derby day' better translating to 'judgement day', Keane would love to go back to the 90s if he could. However, there is one part of it he doesn't miss. And as hard as nails as he was, there was always one player bigger and better than him, as the Red Devils icon revealed his surprising accusation about Everton adversary, Duncan Ferguson.
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The One Player Roy Keane Would Try to Avoid Was Duncan Ferguson
If Keano was as hard as nails, then Big Dunc was the sledgehammer
Duncan Ferguson
'Keano' and 'Big Dunc' were two players never shy to turn a football pitch into a battleground. But during the coverage of Arsenal v Everton’s FA Cup quarter-final tie back in 2014, Keane revealed that the latter was one player he would try to avoid whenever United went to war with the Toffees.
The camera panned onto Ferguson as he was taking a pre-match training drill, something he was usually seen doing in his previous role with the first-team coaching staff, and Adrian Chiles asked Keane what his thoughts were on Ferguson – to which he replied:
“I used to stay away from him. We’re talking about characters earlier and he’s certainly that. He was a top, top player and he’s obviously been promoted up the last two or three weeks to work with the first-team and no doubt the strikers at Everton will learn a lot from him."
His assessment of the former Dundee United, Rangers, Everton and Newcastle forward should hardly come as a surprise given his track record of delivering moments of madness. While earning his corn at Rangers, he received a three-month prison sentence for an assault on Raith Rovers’ John McStay.
But perhaps the best example of his spine-chilling presence comes away from the pitch, with Ferguson revealing he confronted two burglars in 2001 and beat the daylights out of one of them.
The man in question, Barry Dawson, spent three days in hospital recovering before being sentenced to 15 months in jail. And then there's the story about him grabbing Jimmy Bullard by the neck after the latter's cheeky quip following Ferguson getting sent off in 2006. A man who terrified everyone he faced in the Premier League, we'll never see anyone quite like Big Dunc again, as it's a shock that he's never featured in a blockbuster slasher film.
But that didn't stop Micah Richards, Keane's punditry partner, from questioning why the Irishman was so afraid of the Everton legend. "Roy Keane let me down," the former Manchester City defender said, as per SportBible. "I was watching clips and Roy walked away from a confrontation with him. I was like, how hard are you really then?"
Should Richards delve deeper into the annals, though, he'd soon realise why Keane chose to stay in Ferguson's good books.