Is Roy Keane the best pundit on television?

People were quick to raise eyebrows when Roy Keane moved into television punditry. After all, this was a man who during his playing days didn’t seem to get along with anyone. He famously fell out with the Irish national team, Sir Alex Ferguson, and just about everyone else he played with throughout his long and storied career, so it was questionable whether he — and his temper — could navigate the happy-go-lucky world of football broadcasting.

Yet now, more than a decade after his television debut, Roy Keane has established himself as one of the best in the business. And surprisingly, it’s his well-known attitude that’s responsible. Here’s why.

He’s comfortable with controversial opinions

We would mention pundits that don’t have strong opinions, but we can’t remember who they are. Roy Keane’s strong personality means he has no problem sharing his thoughts and feelings with the world, even if they are sometimes controversial. In fact, that he’s comfortable with sharing controversial opinions is part of what makes him so watchable. His take that Manchester City’s current team are inferior to the Manchester United team of 1999 generated plenty of arguments from City supporters, including club legend Paul Dickov, but, if nothing else, you have to admire that Keane was willing to say an opinion that other pundits shy away from.

He walked the talk 

Football is a game of opinions. But some opinions carry more weight than others. If you’ve been there, done it, and bought the t-shirt, then you can offer a level of insight that’s more valuable than someone who has just been there. There are plenty of pundits who have played at the top level without ever making a mark. Roy Keane was a leader during Manchester United’s glory days, and has won every trophy there is to win at club level. If he says that a player is good enough to have played in the best Manchester United teams he played in, then you can trust that it’s correct.

He’s not just happy to be there

Some pundits are just happy to be in the studio, discussing the game that they love. Roy Keane is different. He often looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. He clearly loves football, and you get a sense that he’s in the studio because of that passion, rather than his desire to hang out with fellow ex-professionals or to score free tickets to the biggest games. In other words, you get a sense that he’s living how he always played: truthfully. And that’s something that comes across to football viewers.

The editorial unit