Roy Keane reignites feud with Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson (R) and Sunderland Manager Roy Keane leave the playing area at the end of the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford on September 1, 2007 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

 Word of advice to anybody who played for Roy Keane at Sunderland or Ipswich Town: if you ever run into him again, don’t call him ‘boss’.

Keane had previously made fun of former teammate Gary Neville for getting emotional at a Bruce Springsteen concert, and it appears his antipathy for the ‘Boss’ moniker also extends to former managers of his.

It’s common for footballers to continue to refer to their one-time managers as ‘boss’ or ‘gaffer’ well after their time working under them has come to an end, but in characteristic Keane fashion, he has absolutely no room in his life for that kind of sentimentality.

Roy Keane left bewildered by concept of affection

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 7: TV pundit Roy Keane working for ITV Sport during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round Replay match between Aston Villa and Chelsea at Villa Park on February 7, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by James Baylis - AMA/Getty Images)

Keane fell out with Ferguson nearly 20 years ago now (Image credit: Getty Images)

Also unsurprising is that Keane bristled at Sir Alex Ferguson, in particular, still being called ‘boss’ by Neville and co.

The Irishman has been at odds with the legendary former Manchester United manager for nearly two decades, going back to when Sir Alex fined Keane for a scathing post-match interview in October 2005 that never saw the light of day publicly, before sending the midfielder packing to join Celtic.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Keane demanded of Neville: “Why do you call him boss?

“He was your manager of a football club, his contract was with the club and your contract was with the club… why do you call someone boss? Do you call anyone else boss, besides your wife?”

Neville quite reasonably responded: “I still call the school teacher who I was brought through by Mr. Wright. You’ve been used to calling someone that for 25 years… I would never call him Sir Alex, or Alex. For 25 years I called him boss."

A bewildered Keane rejected that explanation, saying: “I don’t get it. Not just you, everyone… He’s not your boss now, is he? He’s another human being, why are you calling him boss?”

Roy Keane and Gary Neville working on television for the Carabao Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle in February 2023.

Neville and Keane (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Steven Chicken

Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.