Roy Keane was in more than his fair share of legendary teams during his 12-year stint at Manchester United.
The Red Devils legend saw the transition from Sir Alex Ferguson’s early sides - led by Bryan Robson - to the Class of 92-dominated XI and finally the beginning of the Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney era. In total, he lifted the Premier League title on seven occasions, as well as being named in the PFA Team of the Year six times.
So when it comes to the recent history of Manchester United, there are few players better placed to put together the greatest team in the club’s recent past. On Monday, the former United skipper was asked to compile a starting line-up from those he played with and while most were consensus picks, there were a few notable omissions.
Roy Keane’s Manchester United XI: Schmeichel; Neville, Stam, Pallister, Neville; Beckham, Ince, Robson, Giggs; Ronaldo, Rooney.
A quick glance at the team and the absence of Paul Scholes is perhaps the most surprising. After all, the former England midfielder is often cited by fellow professionals as the best they’ve seen.
Cristiano Ronaldo once said: "Scholes is the best I've played with and he helped me a lot when I was young. He's amazing." While Neville and Beckham both suggested he belonged in the pantheon of United greats.
Opponents like Xavi, Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane were also full of praise with the latter once describing him as “almost untouchable in what he does.” But Keane, who lined up alongside Scholes more than 300 times during his career, instead opted for Paul Ince and Robson.
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“Robson has to go in there. Great player for Man United. Scored some big goals for the club when they weren’t at their best,” he explained during Monday Night Football. “I’m going to put Paul Ince. Another very good player, maybe tarnished his reputation, he ended up playing for Liverpool.
“When he was United, there was always talk of him being the Governor and people held that against him. That was just banter. No nastiness with that.
“He was a really good teammate. Tough leaving Scholes out. But I thought Incy was brilliant in midfield. Good teammate to have next to you. He could head it, defend and score goals. I enjoyed his company.”
And leaving out Scholes wasn’t even the most difficult decision Keane had to make when building his dream XI. That choice came at centre-back, with the Red Devils having more than their fair share of brilliant defenders during the nineties and early noughties.
Rio Ferdinand is widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever defensive players, but for Keane, he fell slightly short with Gary Pallister and Jaap Stam the two he opted for at the heart of his defence.
Ferguson once claimed that allowing Stam to leave Old Trafford was one of his biggest mistakes and that was an opinion seemingly shared by his former skipper, who was full of praise for the Dutchman. “This was the hardest one. I couldn’t leave Jaap Stam out,” Keane said.
“Big, strong, brave, brilliant in one-on-ones. I’ve gone with Garry Pallister as well. Rio was a good athlete and read the game well, but my relationship with Pally was good. When I first went to United, there were certain lads who went out their way to help and Sharpey and Pally were always on the scene.”
