Manchester United have had their fair share of issues when it comes to the managerial department since the great Sir Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013.
David Moyes didn’t even last a full season, Louis Van Gaal completed two campaigns and won the FA Cup but was sacked, while Jose Mourinho didn’t make it through his third season despite winning the Europa League and Carabao Cup.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick failed to win anything before Erik Ten Hag arrived, and while he won the League Cup and FA Cup in his first two seasons, he was sacked early into his third campaign and replaced by Ruben Amorim, who lasted just 14 months after having the worst record of any of them in the Premier League.
With United going through managers at an alarming rate in the last decade, Man Utd legends Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes have revealed one man who they are stunned has never had the hot seat before.
Nicky Butt ‘Can’t Believe’ Roy Keane Has Never Been Man Utd Boss
While speaking on their ‘The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast’ in November, the United midfield legends were talking about the recent past at the club, and Butt admitted that he ‘can’t believe’ his former captain Roy Keane has never been considered for the role. He said:
“Do you know what I can never get my head around, is why Roy Keane has never got a chance at [managing] Man Utd. I know he’s a mate, so it’s a bit biased, but if you look at his personality and his playing career there, his character, and what he did in his managerial career – he did unbelievably at Sunderland.
“If you look at all the troubles they’ve had, and he still lives local, I can’t for the life of me fathom how nobody has sat down with him and had a conversation and said, ‘would you be interested in the job?'”
Paul Scholes agreed with the sentiment, and questioned why he hasn’t been an assistant at the club either.
“Even as an assistant. You look what he did with Martin O’Neil, you could’ve given David Moyes a Roy. I just think when it’s been going bad, if they’d got Roy in, Roy is a very astute person, he’s a very clever bloke. He’d then go and get a really good coach in to do the stuff that he might think he’s not the best at, because I think Roy is very much a Sir Alex Ferguson manager.
“He’s a manager, he manages people. He comes alive on match days. He tells people what to do, he looks at it. He’d go and get some, whatever his flaws, he’s not too big to think, well I need this and I need that and I’ll go and get it.
“He’s not stupid enough to think I can do everything. And I just can’t for the life of me think how powers that be at that football club would not have spoken to him over the last five years.”
Butt and Scholes Back Roy Keane to Replace Ruben Amorim
Butt and Scholes have once again backed Man Utd to appoint Keane as Amorim’s replacement. Butt said on the ‘The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast’: “Tuchel is my No1, my No2 maybe Michael Carrick but my outsider… go and get Keaney. People might laugh and he might not want the job.
“But United have tried everything: superstar managers in Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, one of their own in Ole Gunner Solskjaer then they’ve got one of the best coaches in Europe in Ruben Amorim, with a few in between. Some have been shocking.
“Why not have a conversation with Keane? He would lead the dressing room, he might fall out with a few, he might knock a couple out, let’s be honest but the fanbase would go whoom [together and upwards]. It might never happen. It will take a real strong leader to employ him but sit down and have a chat with him.
“Roy has changed unbelievably in the last ten years – he’s always been funny and great company but he’s calmed down so much and he definitely knows his flaws and would bring people in to accommodate that. He will blow and cause problems but he would put something in the changing room that it’s not had for a long time.”
Scholes added: “The reaction would be like Cristiano Ronaldo coming back. It probably won’t happen but people forget how good Roy was as a manager. He did an incredible job at Sunderland. The reason he has calmed down may be because he hasn’t had to deal with players.”
Roy Keane to Man Utd?
While the idea of Keane sitting in the dugout at Man Utd is something that there is an obvious affection for within the fan base, realistically it wouldn’t make much sense.
The former Ireland star had a good run at Sunderland and Ipswich in his managerial career, but those came well over a decade ago and he has been out of the game for a long time now as the main man.
There’s no doubting that Keane would bring some standards back to the club, which have dropped a fair amount in recent years. But whether he’d bring any tangible success back to Old Trafford on the pitch is an entirely different story, and one that is most certainly not worth the gamble.
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