Roy Keane stopped two Man Utd teammates fighting just so he could scrap with one who he 'never got on with'
Legendary former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has always held United players to the highest of standards but that doesn't mean he didn't spoil for a scrap at times during his playing days.
Man Utd were as successful on Keane's watch as they've ever been and the leadership of Alex Ferguson's on-field lieutenant was a major factor in their determination and ability to win.
But when two teammates got into an altercation after a 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford in 1998, captain Keane's intervention was apparently only partially motivated by his role as the team's fearsome general.
Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham didn't get along. The enmity between the strikers was well documented, not least in Cole's own catchily-titled, multi-colonic book 'Fast Forward: The Autobiography: The Hard Road to Football Success' in 2019.
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"For all the respect I had for him, he was far from pleased to see his number come up and instead of greeting me on the sideline to wish me luck or congratulate me, he dejectedly walked off, 25 yards down the touchline, without looking at me, or acknowledging my moment," wrote Cole, referring to his England debut as a substitute for Sheringham against Uruguay in 1995.
Later reunited unhappily at Old Trafford, there was no thawing of relations.
According to talkSPORT, Cole and Sheringham got into it on the way off the pitch after Sheringham told Cole he was at fault for the Bolton goal.
"What? I scored the equaliser, and now he’s saying that," wrote the former Newcastle United hitman.
"I run up the tunnel and just as he gets to the dressing room, I’m ready to steam in. I’m screaming all sorts and trying to throw punches, but everyone’s on me, pulling us apart."
That sounds like a job for the skipper.
"The next thing I know, Roy Keane has me up against the wall and he’s shouting in my face. 'What the **** are you doing, Coley? Sort yourself out. We’re a team.'
"I’m not hearing him, but I calm down, and suddenly Roy is going for Teddy, ripping into him, and it’s our turn to try to pull them apart.
"'What’s all that about, Skip?' I ask a clearly incensed Keane. 'You wanting to fight him reminded me of what a ***** he was to me at Nottingham Forest!'"
Keane confirmed in his book that he was no fan of Sheringham.
"Teddy arrived for training on his first day at the club in his red Ferrari, every inch the confident Londoner," wrote the former Republic of Ireland international.
"Teddy and I were acquainted from our Forest days but the chemistry between us was never quite right."
Sheringham joined Cole and Keane at United in 1997. The Red Devils won three back-to-back Premier League titles between 1998 and 2001, claiming a historic treble with the Champions League and FA Cup in 1999.
Chris Nee