Roy Keane to Take on Old Rivals in Cup Semi Final

Roy Keane

Just as cup draws always seem to do, two former rivals will fight fiercely against each other once again. Former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane and his Ipswich side have been drawn against United's notorious rival in Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, while the former Birmingham owners will see their current club, West Ham take on their old side.

Keane was renowned for his highly competitive, and aggressive style of play - the perfect leader therefore, for a massive club, and his Ipswich players would probably tell you that he hasn't lost any of his massive passion for winning. In his playing days, there was no team that Keane loved beating more than Arsenal, so the Irishman will gratefully snatch the chance to re-live his United glory days and progress to the Carling Cup final.

Birmingham, who progressed to this stage thanks to a 2 - 1 win over bitter local rivals Aston Villa, have been drawn against lesser rivals; but rivals for a different reason. David Sullivan and David Gold owned Birmingham for 15 years, but left amid certain allegations in 2008 and admitted that:

"deep down the public have had enough of us".

Thanks to comments made by Gold, including calling the Birmingham chairman "disgusting" he was banned by Birmingham's ground, St Andrews for the recent Premier League match between the Blues and the Hammers, so it will be interesting to see the on the pitch battle between the two teams fighting for a cup fnal place.

There will be two legs to the semi final games, and the winners will book a place at Wembley on February 27th. The semi finals look like they will be entertaining games, but surely this cup is Arsenal's to lose as their biggest challengers, Manchester United, crashed out 4 - 0 in the quarter finals against West Ham.

Roy Keane Biography

Roy Keane

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Biography, Man Utd, Roy Keane - Roy Maurice Keane, born 10 August 1971. He is a former Irish footballer and the manager of English Championship club Ipswich Town. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Man Utd, before ending his career with a brief spell at Celtic.

A dominating central-midfielder, Keane was noted for his aggressive and highly-competitive style of play, an attitude which helped him excel as captain of Manchester United from 1997 until his departure in 2005. Keane helped Man United achieve a sustained period of success in more than 12 years at the club.

Despite the huge transfer fee, there was no guarantee that Keane would go straight into the first team. Bryan Robson and Paul Ince had established a formidable partnership in the centre of midfield, having just inspired Manchester United to their first league title since 1967. Robson, however, was now 36 years old and in the final stages of his playing career, and a series of injuries kept him out of action at the start of the 1993–94 season.


The following season was less successful, however, as Manchester United were beaten to the league title by Blackburn Rovers and beaten 1–0 in the FA Cup final by Everton. He received his first red card as a Manchester United player in an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace after stamping on Gareth Southgate, and, as punishment, was suspended for three matches and fined £5,000. This incident was the first of eleven red cards Keane would accumulate in his Man Utd career, and one of the first signs of his fiery temper leading to indiscipline on the field.

Roy Keane played at international level for much of his career, representing the Republic of Ireland over a period of fourteen years, most of which he spent as captain. In the 1994 FIFA World Cup he played in every game, although he was sent home from the 2002 World Cup after an "incident" with national coach Mick McCarthy.

During his first season as Sunderland manager, he took the club from twenty-third position in the Football League Championship to win the league and gain promotion to the Premier League. Keane's arrival was largely attributed as the catalyst for Sunderland's recovery. He managed to keep Sunderland from relegation in the 2007–08 season, but in his second season as a top-flight manager he left his position with Sunderland in the relegation zone. In April 2009, he was appointed as manager of Ipswich Town.

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