Fans' Reaction: There has been a mixed reaction to today's news that Roy Keane resigned as manager of Sunderland Football Club with some fans being "gutted" at the news as others said good riddance to the Irishman who walked out once more when the going got tough.
As a player, and then as manager, Keane has always guaranteed plenty of copy fodder when a dictaphone was placed under his chin. In fact anything the Corkman did or said has always been well documented. And when Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn managed to persuade his former Irish international team mate to Wearside he was considered the new saviour; the one to return footballing pride back to the north east.
In the good times the 37-year-old steered the Black Cats to promotion and the hallowed turf of the Premier League since taking up his first managerial role in August 2006. He then managed to keep them in the lucrative top league last season - arguably a greater feat than winning promotion.
However, since then things have turned for the worse and with over €80million ploughed into transfer dealings for over 30 players by the Drumaville consortium, plus a recent run of five defeats in the last six games, the strains began to show, not only for Keane but diehard Sunderland fans too.
Comments flew about website forums following yesterday's news and a fan on the local Sunderland Echowebsite summed up one particular view on the Wear.
"I'm gutted Keane has walked. I feel mugged, like many Sunderland fans. He walked away from Ireland as a player, now he's walked away from Sunderland as a manager," said the fan.
"When the going gets tough a good manager rolls his sleeves up and digs in. Shame on him for bottling the fight.
"I felt Keane was the right man for the job and we could have achieved great things with him, but he needed a strong assistant manager to help him make decisions.
"I think he'll struggle to find another job because chairmen will be aware how strongly Quinn wanted him to stay, and his tendency to run at the first sign of danger.
Another fan was equally unsympathetic in his views of Keane's decision to walk out: "Keane has proved one thing to me, he is out of the same mould as Keegan," he said referring to Kevin Keegan, who left fierce north east rivals Newcastle United.
Others made reference to the fact that a manager can only do so much. "I don't think Keane's a bottler, I just think he's so use to winning and he takes defeat so badly, he couldn't take it anymore. The manager can only control so much once a player crosses the white line it's up to them to perform."
"At least the issue has been resolved," said another fan. "Did he deliberately hold out until just before the Man United game? It's probably a good thing for there appears to be problems in the squad."
Perhaps the whole saga was best summed up with the resigned words of Black Cats supporter: "Here we go again....club struggling to get points on the board, home form terrible, crowd beginning to mutter about transfers…and then we loose the manager.
"As a lifelong fan, you get a bit tired of the same old humiliation you have to suffer."
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