I Gave My Book to Roy Keane
Why didn’t I make him pay?
That was on Good Friday. I came to the match almost a whole hour early. I am a Salford City season ticket holder since autumn. I didn’t even know who Salford was playing that day. As far as I’m aware, this is the worst season Salford has had since ‘The Class of 92’ bought the club. I need to admit, I am here because of them — the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Nicky Butt. They all have shares in the club and they are often seen there in the stands, sometimes only a few seats next to me.
Players just started warming up, and the northern stand was mostly empty. There was only a security lady by the entrance of the office who mentioned Manchester United icons usually spend their time before games. I went to her and told her that I would want to give my book ‘Beyond Cristiano’ to Roy Keane if he was joining. Keane is not one of the club’s owners, but I assume he is a good friend with the owners, so if you don’t see him trashing goalkeepers on Sky TV, there is a big chance he is at the Peninsula stadium watching Salford City. The lady told me that Roy has a hot head and that I should be delicate when approaching him.
“He keeps it real, I know,” I said and went away.
I opened the book and wrote on the first page:
“To Roy,
May this book help you keep it real.”
I was going to add, “…In the mad media environment,” but I worked out the simpler, the better. He will figure it out what he needs to figure out.
So I just finished with my signature — ”Karlo Tasler.”
The game started, and the stands were filled with people, but Roy was not there. I checked a few more times during the first half, but I could only see Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs sitting there. A referee blew a half-time whistle, and I went to have a pint in the communal area. As I was coming back to my seat, there he was — Roy Keane himself, sitting next to Steve Bruce and some other guys. I put my backpack on the floor, took the book out, and approached Roy.
That tribune there feels like some other times, like some other world. Two of the greatest legends of Manchester United just chill there among regular fans of the club, being one of them, and watching fourth-tier football. I believe that is Alex Ferguson’s legacy. I remember Patrice Evra once shared a story that epitomised Ferguson’s relationship with fans.
Apparently, after one game, Manchester United players ignored fans who were waiting in front of the team’s bus to get their shirts signed. Ferguson was the last one who came to the bus and, unlike his players, he stayed signing autographs for 45 minutes. Every single fan got a moment with Ferguson.
When he got on the bus, he gave the players the loudest ‘hairdryer’ in their lives, screaming that those fans were paying their salaries and the least the players could do was to sign some shirts. They had to go out of the bus and do it. And even though Roy Keane eventually massively fell out with Ferguson, I guess such fan-oriented culture has stayed deeply entrenched in the ex-Man United players.
“It is a book I wrote,” I said as I got my way to Roy. “It’s about Cristiano Ronaldo, his blessings and his curses. I think you might like it as well.”
We shared a few words, shook hands, and I went back to my seat.
“Hah, good old Roy,” I thought as the second half began. “He is so classy. Nice clothes, nice shoes… Wait a minute. Why did I give Roy the book for free?” I asked myself. “Do rich people get everything for free?”
When I sell my book to people who do well financially, I sell it for the full price of ten pounds. When I know someone struggles with money, I am happy to give them five pounds. People who are skint, I just give them the book for free, what else can I do? But why the fuck did Roy Keane get the book for free then?
Roy is famous for his temperament. Maybe that’s why. His personality made him such a strong presence on the pitch and his hot head was the reason his opponents were scared of him. The book that I gave him is about awareness of the roles we play — can we use our anger as a tool? That is the question! And where is the line after which we get completely consumed by our anger and create suffering for us, our teammates, and our opponents?
I started watching football just when Keane’s footballing career was coming to an end, so I didn’t see much of him. Today he works as a TV pundit and he comes across as a likeable guy. Even though our anger can make us completely blind and unaware of what it’s really going on, it became clear to me that his anger is under control when he recently said, “It takes two to tango,” when speaking of his arch-enemy Alex Ferguson.
I think he might like the book.
If you want to be as cool as Roy and have a copy of ‘Beyond Cristiano’, you can buy it for the full price here.
If you are broke or extremely wealthy, you can send me an email, and we can discuss the price.
karlo.tasler@gmail.com
