Richard Keys and Andy Gray singled out Roy Keane as they roundly criticised a generation of pundits they believe are far "too quick to condemn" struggling players.
The pair, who work for Qatar broadcaster beIN Sports, left Sky Sports in 2011 after leaked footage showed them making derogatory remarks about female match official Sian Massey. Gray was sacked and Keys followed his long-time colleague out the door after further examples of their sexist language emerged.
In the years which have followed, the likes of Keane, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have become mainstays on Sky Sports' popular coverage of the Premier League. The Irishman has a reputation for being particularly critical of players, especially those on the books of his beloved Manchester United.
Keane claimed he would have lynched David de Gea after a goalkeeping error in 2020 and branded Harry Maguire a "disgrace" last year. Keys and Gray have taken issue with this brutal style of punditry in a joint-interview, with the former claiming it would not have been acceptable during their time with Sky Sports.
"Not everything in football is s***. But it is if you watch British television," Keys told the Daily Telegraph, adding: "If Andy or I had offered a scintilla of the same criticism to the modern player, we would have been out on our ear."
"The guys who are criticising were probably the most sensitive of their time," Keys continued. "When he was manager at Ipswich, Roy hammered me. Now here he is on everybody's wish list, because he comes along and hammers everything else."
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The incident Keys alluded to actually occurred in 2008, when Keane was managing Sunderland. The former midfielder hit out at Sky Sports' pundits in no uncertain terms, even declaring he would rather "go to the dentist" than feature as an analyst for ITV Sport for a fixture between Manchester United and Celtic, name-dropping Keys as one of the key reasons for his grievances.
Gray echoed his colleague's fresh remarks, adding: "We're too quick to condemn. Rather than battering players, I try to look for reasons why they might be struggling. Luckily, I had a boss at Sky, Andy Melvin, who taught me, 'Don’t just criticise, tell me why it's bad and why it might get better'.
"Look at how Harry Maguire is being beaten up. And yet Manchester United paid £80million for him. So, he can't be hopeless. If I had a bad day on the pitch, I would look at the Sunday papers, see a rating of three out of 10, and that would be it. Now there'll be memes about you worldwide."
