Pep Guardiola disagreed with Roy Keane, saying that parts of Erling Haaland's game were akin to playing in the Two-Man League' Photo: Getty Images/Matt McNulty
Champions vs Challengers, Master vs Apprentice, Sanpedor vs San Sebastian, Merino Derby. It should have been the game of the season, but Manchester City v Arsenal ended in a goalless draw so dull that even the most boring tacticians would struggle to call it exciting. The game needed a goal, and Sky Sports needed fireworks.
Roy Keane agreed, arguing that Erling Haaland's all-round performance was League Two standard. It would be tempting to think that the producer spoke a word into Keane's earpiece, emphasizing the need to liven up a bad match with something outrageous, if you couldn't also imagine Keane's reaction when he was told what to say.
"He is almost like a second league player" 😲
Roy Keane and Micah Richards weren't impressed with Erling Haaland 👇 pic.twitter.com/kbz0qNrTFQ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 31, 2024
When asked about the comment this week, Pep Guardiola put on his most puzzled expression, his eyebrows somehow raised twice. “I don’t agree with him, absolutely not. It's like saying he [Keane] is a second or third league manager. I don't think so. He is the best striker in the world. Erling is exceptional.
“I'm surprised this is coming from former players. I can understand the journalists because they have never been on the field, but former players always surprise me.” Now take the smallest violin, because football journalists are already used to this kind of insult. Guardiola effectively uses the schoolteacher technique: “I expect this from [a known problem child], but from you, [a usually well-behaved child]? Well, I'm disappointed.”
TV pundits operate from a safer position. Managers cannot neglect on-air interviews without serious financial penalties. More importantly, everyone close to the Premier League understands how the sausage is made. The show continues to grow thanks to the generosity of broadcasters, so it's in everyone's best interests to behave well and say a few words into the company microphones.
But a rift is growing between managers and managers. experts defining a narrative that feels new. Guardiola said former players were generally sympathetic to the current team, but criticism had become harsher in recent years, led by the Sky trio of Keane, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.
Gary Neville has become one of Sky Sports' biggest troublemakers. Photo: Getty Images
“Some analysts are very objective in their comments,” said Erik Ten Hag in response to Carragher's Monday Night Football analysis of his team's performance against Fulham. “Some of them are very subjective and Jamie Carragher is one of them. He was criticized from the very beginning, but now he wants to express his point of view.”
Neville may never come up with a better one-liner than calling Chelsea a “billion pound blue bottle job” – a description that seemed as much a post-Carabao Cup final story as Liverpool's victory. Mauricio Pochettino, unsurprisingly, said he disagreed. “Gary, my friend, what have you done… His opinion now always remains the same. As much as I love Gary, I think it's unfair to use such words against such a brave team.”
Pochettino is referring here to his enormous power and enormous social media presence. Reach comes with great responsibility. But his answers, Ten Hag's and Guardiola's also tell you that this criticism has struck a nerve. Haaland may not be the best all-round player. Perhaps Chelsea really lacked character at Wembley. Perhaps Carragher was right about the pressure from United.
What's important is that everyone has the right to say what they think, as forcefully as they want. The slight tension between those involved in football and those paid to comment is useful and interesting. Definitely more than a Sunday game.
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