Why hasn’t Sir Jim Ratcliffe picked up the phone to Roy Keane about the Manchester United manager’s job? Erm. How long have you got?
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim is under serious pressure to turn his side’s form around after they suffered another defeat at Brentford on Saturday.
The result at the Gtech Community Stadium was the Red Devils’ third Premier League defeat in six games this season, leaving them 14th in the table.
Their only victories in 2025/26 came via a 97th-minute penalty against newly-promoted Burnley and at home to a 10-man Chelsea.
They were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the second round by League Two side Grimsby Town, arguably Amorim’s lowest ebb as Man Utd boss.
It has been a disastrous appointment. Amorim was eager to stay at Sporting CP until the end of 2024/25 before taking over at Old Trafford ahead of 25/26, but the Man Utd hierarchy told him last November it was a case of now or never.
In sacking Erik ten Hag and appointing Amorim, Man Utd spent around £20million in compensation, and would need to pay off the Portuguese if they decide to sack him.
Amorim has lost 21 of his 49 matches in charge — an atrocious return, not just for a Man Utd head coach, but for any head coach at any club.
Rumours around potential replacements are swirling, with Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner among the leading candidates, while ex-Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has also been linked.
But what about Roy Keane? He’d sort this underperforming squad out, wouldn’t he?
Well…
The former Man Utd captain has been out of management since leaving Ipswich Town in 2011, after two years in charge.
Keane enjoyed more success at Sunderland between 2006 and 2008, and has also been assistant manager for the Irish national team, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest.
He was only at Forest for six months in 2019 after five years out of the game (not punditry-wise), and has since been one of English football’s leading pundits.
But he says it how it is, and most importantly, he Knows The Club and the standards that must be met.
Former Premier League midfielder Jamie O’Hara has bizarrely suggested that Keane should be brought back to the club by Ratcliffe, and is surprised the co-owner hasn’t considered it.
“I’m amazed that no one has phoned Roy Keane and said, ‘Can you come in at Man Utd and be part of what we’re doing here?’ because he is arguably Man Utd’s greatest captain,” O’Hara said on Sky Sports.
“He is a leader. He’s unbelievable. When you watch him, he’s ferocious. You listen to him when he walks into a dressing room, you’re going to listen.
“He’s going to lead by example. He’s not going to allow poor standards. I can’t believe Manchester United have not phoned Roy Keane.”
O’Hara doesn’t outright say Roy Keane should be Man Utd manager. But it’s still quite the suggestion.