The return of Roy Keane

Now, this would be interesting. According to the Irish Independent, Louis van Gaal is considering, if he gets the job, bringing Roy Keane back to Old Trafford as his assistant. Apparently Van Gaal was a great admirer of Keane the player, and:

sees the former United captain as someone who is familiar with the club and is not afraid to speak his mind.

He's not wrong there. Keane — who yesterday on ITV savaged United's players, stating that they should be "ashamed" of their part in Moyes's downfall — is currently assistant to Martin O'Neill as manager of the Republic of Ireland, but the paper state that he is keen to return to day-to-day management.

The obvious problem is that the relationship between Keane and former manager Alex Ferguson, who will be involved in the process of appointing the new man, is somewhere between non-existent and utterly poisonous. It is less than a year since Ferguson's latest autobiography was published, in which Ferguson criticised the manner of Keane's departure, in particular the notorious and unseen interview which Keane gave to MUTV. Wrote Ferguson:

Jesus. It was unbelievable. He slaughtered everyone. Darren Fletcher got it. Alan Smith. Van der Sar. Roy was taking them all down. ... The hardest part of Roy's body is his tongue.

Keane described Ferguson's account as "insulting nonsense," and it's hard to see how there could be any working relationship. Still, it's a tempting thought. If only to see the look on some of the player's faces ...