Football has the capacity to provoke some unbelievable hypocrisy but last nights post match analysis of the Champions League last 16 match between Man Utd saw Roy Keane serve up a special batch if his reserve 2004 collection as he branded Nani guilty of dangerous play and deserving of his red card. It was of course during the tie with Porto in 2004 Champions League quarter final tie that Keane decided to stamp on the ribs of Portuguese international goalkeeper Victor Baia and rule himself out of the second leg, restricting him to a view from the stands as Eric Djemba Djemba marshalled the midfield with the quality and assurance that would see him go on to make fifteen loan appearances for Burnley. What is perhaps most surprising about Keane's comments is that they were directed towards a player that is often vilified as a 'luxury' midfielder for attempting to earnestly control a difficult over the shoulder ball in a dynamic and committed way that many of his critics regard to be lacking in the majority of performances. Keane, whose entire game was built on an aggressive robustness seemed to be willing to condemn a player for what he himself would have done, and in my opinion Nani had an energy and directness to his play that we have yet to see this season, an energy that Keane himself would no doubt have been snarling words of encouragement towards had he been at the heart of Manchester United's midfield last night. What we are therefore left with is a predicament do we A) support the hypocritical comments a one time United legend, whose endless quest for footballing perfection will leave him in a forever manic state or B) side with the needlessly prolific step-over fiend who for one night was on the receiving end of a somewhat theatrical response to a brush of a boot, and for one night actually looked worth his salt. So, I'll ask you once again:
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