It should come as no surprise that a day after his biographer said he'd "lost the plot" Roy Keane resigned as manager of Sunderland. It should also come as no surprise that he left considering he's already got the crazy, Ron Burgundy beard growing (see photo on right). So, in short, be on the lookout for a crazy-eyed Irishman swilling milk on the streets of Northeastern England.
Considering Keane's fiery temperament you'd have thought there'd have been a little more bluster to his resignation. You'd have expected a touchline breakdown or a dressing room bust-up first, not a quiet walk-away.
Whatever happens Sunderland is in pretty desperate shape. The Black Cats have lost five of six league matches and slumped into the relegation zone. More troubling, Sunderland has only scored 13 goals in 15 matches, good for 18th out of 20 teams in the league.
Part of the problem probably is a result of Keane's summer spending spree, which brought in a bunch of players -- Pascal Chimbonda, El-Hadji Diouf, Steed Malbranque, Djibril Cisse -- who had Premier League track records, which included massive inconsistency.
Left in charge for the interim is Ricky Sbragia, who last spent time as Bolton's caretaker manager in 2007. The big rumor in England is that Sam Allardyce will take over.
In any event, this likely won't be the last time we see Keane in a managerial role, unless he ships off to the South Pacific to paint the native islanders.
Keane Quits Sunderland originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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