Manchester United broke the British transfer record to sign Roy Keane in a £3.75m deal from Nottingham Forest in 1993.
As a box-to-box midfielder, the Irishman was seen as a replacement for Bryan Robson and to this date it is argued which one of the Manchester United legends was the greatest leader.
Although biased because he doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Keane, former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel did a Q&A on Twitter tonight and shared his view that Robbo was the best captain the Premier League has ever seen.
Keane was made United captain in 1997 after Eric Cantona’s departure and he would go on to have a number of run-ins with personnel in the dressing room.
I don’t think people should let that cloud their judgement on Keane. He set standards during his time at the club and they were too high for many who crossed his path.
Ryan Giggs says the talk about Keane being a ‘leader’ can undermine the ability he had as a player, which we totally agree with, and the Wales manager insists the his former team-mate ‘controlled’ games from midfield.
‘I think we all talk about what a captain and leader he was but he was a brilliant player,’ Giggs told Sky Sports (via The Metro).
‘He very rarely gave the ball away. He changed his game from being an attacking midfielder to being that one that sat a bit more but he could control a game, control the tempo of the game as well.
‘He was always in a covering position, he would be all over the pitch. As you know and as everyone knows that when someone needing telling he would tell them but that would motivate you as a player.
‘As you see here, he was always in the right position. He had the athleticism but he didn’t always need it because his positioning was so good. He was a brilliant player as well as a top leader and a great captain.’
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