
'He punched me' – Roy Keane admits manager he 'loved' took a swing for him
Brian Clough may have punched Roy Keane in the chest after the ex-Ireland captain made a mistake that resulted in an FA Cup clash being replayed, but Keane still "loved" the iconic manager.
Keane, 53, is best known for his fiery performances at Manchester United, but many say Clough was the one who moulded him into the player he became. The legendary Nottingham Forest manager was known for his unpredictable behaviour and temper, particularly in the dressing room.
Keane joined Forest in 1990 from Cobh Ramblers and went on to become one of the most sought-after young midfielders. Much of his development was down to many hard lessons he learned under Clough.
One of those ended with the legendary manager punching him, after a mistake from Keane led to Forest drawing to Crystal Palace at the City Ground in an FA Cup third-round replay in 1991. Offering an insight into Clough's man-management during a recent appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, Keane said: "He (Clough) played mind games sometimes.
"If you got beaten, you'd think he's going to go after you and then he'd go the other way and go, 'Have a few days off.' If you'd won a few, you'd be going, 'Listen, (I think we'll be getting) a couple of days off' and he'd be like, 'No, you're all in tomorrow.' He'd definitely be playing mind games.'
Keane then turned to ex-Forest goalkeeper Mark Crossley, who was widely known as 'Big Norm' at the time, and said: "We (had) the incident with me, you and the Crystal Palace goal where he punched me after the game. He'd give me days off and he'd be brilliant.'
Disaster struck for Keane when his short back-pass to Crossley led to the keeper scuffing the ball to Palace ace John Salako, who looked up and lobbed Crossley in the final moment of the game. The game finished 2-2 after extra-time and Clough was furious, as Forest had already drawn 0-0 with Palace in their first FA Cup meeting.
As there were no penalty shootouts in the FA Cup at the time, a second replay had to be scheduled, leaving Clough furious. While Crossley admitted he should have done better with his clearance, Clough did not see it that way. The Corkonian midfielder said: "I'm looking and it was honestly like slow motion. You know about not upsetting the manager because we all loved Brian Clough. He gave us a chance like Norm did for me.
"I remember John Salako got it and I'm looking at Norm running back. John Salako, what would he have been? Forty-five yards out? (I thought) 'Norm get back. He's f***ing not getting there'. I swear, as soon as I heard it hit the net...
"He (Clough) blamed me for the back pass and it was the cup game. So then we went to a replay and he wanted the game done and dusted there. I think it ended up going to, three replays or something.
"So he had the thought of having a free weekend and was going, 'Now I've got to go to London, all the way to London to play Palace in the cup game that we hadn't won.' So he blamed me after the match.'
Turning to Crossley, Keane said: "I don't think you said much after the game. You just let me take the wrap for it. He (Clough) just punched me in the chest.'
Keane made 148 appearances for Forest between 1990 and 1993. He would eventually leave the City Ground to move to United, in a deal worth €4.45million, which was a British record at the time.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The 42
37 minutes ago
- The 42
Ireland suffer defeat against world number one side Netherlands
IRELAND SUFFERED a narrow 2-0 defeat against the world number one side Netherlands in Amstelveen this evening. Mark Tumilty's men created several chances against the Olympic gold medallists, but were on the back foot early on when defender Lee Cole had to clear the ball off the line to prevent the opening goal. Ireland then had a period in the ascendancy, with Alistair Empey seeing his goalbound shot blocked. Goalkeeper Jaime Carr was then forced into a good save before Thierry Brinkman thought he had given the Dutch the lead with a reverse stick shot, but it was ruled out after Ireland immediately opted to refer for backstick, which the video umpire agreed with. Advertisement Ireland continued to defend well in the second quarter, and down the other end, Empey won the first penalty corner of the contest, before Luke Madeley's effort on goal was blocked. It was the Dutch who then took the lead through a penalty corner of their own, as Luke Dommershuijzen registered his first senior goal. Some strong Irish defending, including a vital block by Matthew Nelson, ensured their opponents could not double their advantage before half-time. Yet the Netherlands made no mistake with their first chance after the break, as Steijn van Heijningen expertly deflected the ball into the net with a deft touch. Ireland continued to threaten, with the Dutch again keeping them at bay following the concession of another penalty corner, though the Irish defence also had plenty of work to do to prevent their rivals from adding to the scoreline. In the final quarter, Empey won Ireland's third penalty corner of the game, but Cole's resulting effort was saved and cleared. The Dutch saw the game out convincingly and consequently extended their lead at the top of the FIH Pro League table to seven points. The two sides meet again at the same venue tomorrow. The contest gets underway at 7pm Irish time and is available to watch live on the TG4 Player.


The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘I'm a Mayo man' – John Joe Patrick opens up on roots and dream of more caps after Republic of Ireland debut
IRELAND fans are still getting to know John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa and even what to call him. Some fans call him Finn, others John Joe, while he is known at French club 2 John Joe Patrick Finn is honoured to play for Ireland as his late father was from Mayo 2 The Stade de Reims ace is excited to create a legacy with Ireland The back of his shirt when he came on for his Ireland debut against Advertisement So what does he prefer to be called? He said: 'I prefer John but there are a lot of Johns in the squad, it's more easy.' The 6ft 4in 21-year-old is a player that naturally excites fans when he bursts onto the international scene given his impressive CV that is like no other in the Ireland squad. Born in Madrid, his mother Odetta is French with Cameroon heritage while his late father - also John - hailed from Galway but had Mayo roots. Advertisement READ MORE ON GAA Spanish is his mother tongue and he told Luxembourgish journalists he did not feel comfortable being interviewed in French yet, but spoke happily to Irish journalists in English. The midfielder said: 'My dad is from Ireland, also my grandfather and when I was young every summer I went to Ballyhaunis. 'So I had that connection when I was young, it really mattered. I am a Mayo man. 'It was nice, growing up it was so different from Madrid, where I lived. Those summers were really great, with my family, we had a great time, great days.' Advertisement Most read in Football He actually played for Salthill Devon for a while though he was first noticed by Irish fans when he joined Real Madrid as a nine-year-old. It was at Getafe he made his breakthrough making ten La Liga appearances as a teenager even as he finished school and progressed into the Ireland Under-19 squad. He earned Ireland Under-21 call-ups too and was also eligible for Spain, France and Cameroon. But while that was a focus in Ireland and led Advertisement ALWAYS IRELAND He said: 'Cameroon no, France no, Spain no, always Ireland. It's always good that the coach makes the effort to go and see you, to speak with me.' His debut came in the last minute as a replacement for Jason Knight on Tuesday night, though the midfielder admitted that it was not quite the debut of his dreams. He said: 'I feel good, I am a bit disappointed with the result, it was not the way I wanted to make my debut but I will just keep working and continue on this way. 'I feel ok but the last minute, it's not the way that everybody wants to make their debut, it's high intensity, into the game and it's not easy.' Advertisement But the 21-year-old hopes that his debut can be the first of many caps having quickly got up to speed with what Hallgrímsson expects from his midfielders. He said: 'He just told me I had to get the tactics, how the team works and I think I am catching the way the team play. We still have a bit of work to do but I am happy. 'The experience was good, the group has a lot of quality, I think if we can continue this way we can do good things. 'We are hungry, we are conscious that we are in a top World Cup group but with the work we are doing we can do it.' Advertisement Ireland's next games come in September with the beginning of the World Cup qualification campaign at home to Hungary and away to Armenia. And the midfielder hopes that a good start to the season with Stade Reims, who were relegated last season, can keep him in Hallgrímsson's plans. He also believes that next year is a big year for him when he expects to play regularly for Reims after a difficult settling in period in France. He added: 'At the beginning it was not easy, I was alone, my family stayed in Madrid but in the end the club made things really easy so the time I adapted was quick and the culture is nice. Advertisement 'It was a difficult moment to end the season like this (with relegation), but to come here is a bit of a distraction from the club, I had great days, now I can rest a bit and come back.'


Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Palace co-owner John Textor would sell shares for Europa League chance
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is willing to sell his shares in the club in order to ensure the Eagles can enter next season's Europa League, according to reports. The American, whose Eagle Football Group owns 43 per cent of Palace, has imperilled the club's chance of a first-ever European campaign owing to his involvement with Ligue 1 side Lyon, but is ready to offload his stake to his fellow co-owners in order to bring the saga to an end. UEFA does not allow clubs with the same ownership to compete in the same European competitions in a season. Eberechi Eze scored the winning goal when Palace beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final (Adam Davy/PA) As well as his stake in Palace, the 59-year-old has a controlling stake in the French club, also via Eagle Football. However it is also reported that the European governing body does not consider Textor's influence at Selhurst Park to be decisive and is leaning towards allowing the club into the Europa League regardless. The PA news agency understands no formal decision is likely on Palace's fate until the end of June. Textor has previously spoken of his frustration at how little influence his stake entitles him to, over football matters. Victory for Oliver Glasner's side over Manchester City in last month's FA Cup final gave them their first major trophy and with it a first crack at Europe. Nottingham Forest – who are owned by Evangelos Marinakis – have written to UEFA challenging Palace's involvement in the Europa League (Mike Egerton/PA) However, Nottingham Forest have since written to UEFA to challenge Palace's Europa League spot and in the hope of taking their place. Forest's owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Greek side Olympiacos, placed his shares in the club in a blind trust before the governing body's March 1 deadline, anticipating Nuno Espirito Santo's side's European qualification. At present Forest, who finished seventh in last season's Premier League, are set to enter the Conference League but would take Palace's Europa League place, should they be deemed ineligible.