Keane grounds magic carpet - for now

TEAMtalk watched with interest as Roy Keane waved goodbye to his Sunderland dream as Niall Quinn's magic carpet ride came to earth with a bump.

The 37-year-old could not resist the temptation to dip his toe into the water for the first time when the Black Cats chairman offered him the chance to cut his teeth in management with no interference from the board and a war-chest which was the envy of the vast majority of his counterparts.

Now, 27 months on he decided he had taken the club as far as he could and, having made up his mind, he left with no hope of Quinn, his Drumaville consortium, or anyone else, persuading him otherwise.

It was not how it was meant to end, but it had become apparent in recent weeks that all was not well at the Stadium of Light, and Keane has never been a man to let things slide.

He famously walked out on the Republic of Ireland in Saipan days before their 2002 World Cup campaign got under way, dividing a nation in the process.

This time around there was no bitterness or recriminations, and it was with sadness that Quinn, who tried to broker a peace deal in the Far East, surveyed the ashes of his dream for the club.

Speaking as he launched his search for a manager back in 2006, Quinn said: "I need someone who wants the challenge of making Sunderland great again.

"I want to get everyone back on the magic carpet."

Quinn was as good as his word and Wearside was buzzing when he unveiled the man he firmly believed would spearhead a new era in the club's chequered existence.

He said: "There are many people shaking their heads wondering how we have managed to pull it off. In a way, I am feeling like that too.

"We are fortunate to have him, but he is here and it is happening."

Keane arrived on Wearside with a reputation, and whether intentionally or not, swiftly set about the task of rebuilding it.

The snarling, bulging-eyed midfielder of legend gave way to a disarmingly honest and charming, even witty, man, who marked his elevation by acknowledging the excesses of his past.

He revealed he had offered apologies to Quinn, whom he had previously branded "a coward" and "a muppet", and former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, and even international nemesis Mick McCarthy eventually received an olive branch.

Keane said at the time: "Listen, I have apologised to lots of people, and I am sure I will have to a few more times."

But for more than a year apologies were the last thing on Keane's mind as he set about the task of dragging the club from the lower reaches of the Championship into the Premier League at the first attempt.

He did it very much his own way, as Anthony Stokes, Marton Fulop and Tobias Hysen were to discover when they turned up late for the team bus to Barnsley and were left behind, and he rejected a celebratory parade in the belief that his side had achieved nothing of note.

However, it was then that eyebrows started to be raised.

Keane was rewarded with enormous sums of money to rebuild his squad for the challenges of the top flight, and amid a frenzy of spending he handed over a British record £9million fee for goalkeeper Craig Gordon and paid Cardiff £5million for striker Michael Chopra just 12 months after they had bought him from Newcastle for a tenth of that.

A 15th-place finish was adequate and when new American investor Ellis Short backed another huge investment this summer, expectations were raised even further.

However, some ofhis latest dealings have failed to bear fruit - the likes of Pascal Chimbonda and El-Hadji Diouf are yet to prove their worth - and with 11 players out on loan, questions were raised over the manager's judgment.

A run of four successive home defeats added fuel to the fire and, never afraid to look at himself in the mirror, Keane today decided the fault lay with him and moved to solve the problem.

His reign has been eventful, it has given the club its highest profile for many years, but the magic carpet ride is grounded, for the time being at least.