Pirlo. Raul. Kaka. We have high standards here at WeStreamFM and today is no different. While one is often inclined to be drawn towards more technical or creative players when looking at past icons of the game, let’s not forget that much of these players’ success was in part due to the heroic efforts of unsung heroes that did the dirty work behind them, which in turn enabled them to become the creative or more attacking threat that made them the household names they are today. For every Pirlo there was a Gattuso; for every Raul there was a Redondo or a Makelele, and for every Kaka you need a Xabi Alonso - great players are only as good as those around them and this has long been the case both historically and in modern day football.
Roy Keane epitomised this key function in the great Manchester United sides of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Were it not for Keane, Paul Scholes would arguably never have become the outstanding attacking threat that he was which made him one of the most feared and effective attacking midfielders to ever grace the Premier League, and for this reason we will today be looking to identify the next Roy Keane in today’s generation of defensive midfielders, using Football Manager to guide us towards identifying the perfect candidate to be given the unenviable honour of being dubbed the “next" Roy Keane.
The rules are simple - any modern day replica identified must be of the same nationality as the legend at hand, and must be aged 23 or under in order to qualify and earn the mantle as the next big thing. With Ireland struggling at International level in recent times, will we be able to identify a suitable candidate from the Emerald Isle with the potential to emulate Keane’s success for club and country? There’s only one way to find out.
by @MaddFM_
“He’d rather die of exhaustion than lose” (Alex Ferguson, 1999)
Where to start with Roy Keane. While some of you may know him mainly for his direct and no-nonsense approach as a pundit on Sky Sports, it’s Keane’s on-field exploits that really defined him as a footballing legend at Manchester United where he captained the side for 8 of his 12 seasons at the club. Ferocious in the tackle, outstanding positioning and anticipation, unrivalled work rate and excellent with his feet, one could argue there hasn’t been a midfielder like him in the Premier League since, and it’s easy to understand why he amassed 3 Footballer of the Year awards, 7 Premier League medals, 1 Champions League, 4 FA Cups and earned 67 caps for Ireland the majority of which he also earned as Captain of the national side.
While Keane may look back on certain moments of his career and wonder (e.g. being suspended for the 1999 Champions League final, his 2002 exit from the Ireland World Cup camp in Saipan or that incident with Alf-Inge Håland) - what he brought to that famous Man United side in terms of leadership, skill, influence, determination and pure class was one of the pivotal drivers in their long term success. Living up to his name is no easy feat for whomever we identify as having potential to be the next Roy Keane as surely there aren’t many players so irreplicable as the man himself, however with the help of Championship Manager 97/98 we can look back on a 25 year old Roy in an attempt to identify the key attributes which made him one of the greatest midfielders of his generation in the hope that we can replicate something similar in the latest version of Sports Interactive’s masterpiece, Football Manager 2021.
Rewind ⏪
1997. Roy Keane has just been handed the Man Utd captain’s armband by Alex Ferguson following the retirement of one Eric Cantona, which also sees Teddy Sheringham arrive at Old Trafford from Spurs for a €3.5m fee and the Number 7 jersey handed to a 22 year old David Beckham.
Considering Keane got even better as the years went on, it’s easy to see what it was that made him such a formidable force in the middle of the park for club and country. Aggression, Determination, Influence, Positioning, Stamina, Strength, Tackling - not a single player comes close when filtering specifically for a minimum 16 rating across all 7 of those attributes in CM9798 (David Batty being the closest with 15 Influence). What chance have we of replicating this in FM21 looking for an Irish player under the age of 23 in the same position?
🔎 Aggression
🔎 Tackling
🔎 Determination
🔎 Leadership
🔎 Positioning
🔎 Work Rate
🔎 Irish
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The red side of Manchester winces as 18-year-old Man City academy graduate Joe Hodge is the player that looks most likely to evolve into the next Roy Keane going by FM21 standards. Obviously we can’t set a threshold of 16 for these attributes nor can we expect a young player to already have built up a high level of Strength or Stamina at the beginning of FM21, however Hodge ticks all the right boxes in terms of attribute potential (Tackling, Work Rate, Aggression, Leadership, Bravery) and with a Determination level of 19 (higher than his age) he is primed and ready to be trained and moulded into a powerhouse of a Defensive Midfielder and future captain of club and country. The likes of Jayson Molumby (Brighton), Conor Masterson (QPR) and Conor Coventry (West Ham) all came close to contention however were just slightly lacking that star quality potential, and Hodge at just 18 is at a perfect age to be developed into a a key player for almost any side in your next Football Manager save (if you can convince Man City to let him go). Spoiler alert: I am in the year 2026 in my current save and the kid has managed to find his way over to Dortmund under the guise of the Football Manager A.I. - imagine how good he can become with a proper Football Manager at the helm 🔥.
