I was surprised to hear that Roy Keane had taken over at Ipswich so soon after walking out on Sunderland. For me, this is a high risk appointment as Roy has shown he has problems dealing with players and people in general.

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Chelsea maintained their perfect Premier League away record by winning at Bolton and Nicolas Anelka was on target again. Given that Didier Drogba’s absence against ‘Big Four’ opponents may well have cost the Blues, how do you see Luiz Felipe Scolari accommodating both strikers when Drogba is available again? Or do you think one will have sit it out?

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So after all the recent speculation concerning Roy Keane’s future at Sunderland it has emerged that he’s left the club. After a poor run of form that has seen the Black Cats slip into the relegation zone the Irishman has left in the wake of a 4-1 home thrashing at the hands of Bolton. The search will now begin to find a manager to take the reins at the Stadium of Light with former Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce strong favourite for the job.

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The Black Cats are reported to have bid £5million for United’s on loan centre-half Jonny Evans after 2 successful spells at the Stadium of Light. The 20-year-old played an important role in Sunderland’s Premier League survival but his fee seems particularly high for a youngster who’s made just 3 first team appearances for the Red Devils. There is no doubting the players ability but should Roy Keane be aiming for a higher calibre of player now the Black Cats have cemented a place in the top flight and is the reported fee far too high?

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Loyalty and football rarely go hand in hand nowadays. One mistake can be the difference between a manager remaining in charge or losing his job regardless of all the good he had done prior to that. These billionaire owners fail to recognise improvement, only seeing missed opportunities (and ultimately missed money). That’s exactly what’s happened down at Eastlands with Sven’s likely exit come May 11th. I think Dr. Shinawatra should take a leaf out of Niall Quinn’s book.

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Sunderland’s search for an away Premier League win continues at Fratton Park this weekend but their winless run looks set to continue against a revitalised, purposeful Pompey side. Roy Keane’s team have climbed to the dizzy heights of 14th after a run of 4 successive home wins but their away form remains the poorest in the Premier League. So don’t risk the £12,500 Premier 10 jackpot by backing the Black Cats to turn things around this weekend.

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The Black Cats return from a Jekyll and Hyde performance at White Hart Lane to the Stadium of Light desperately needing a home win. Roy Keane’s Sunderland were behind within 2 minutes at Tottenham and could have conceded a lot more after a dismal first half display but a much improved second half showing should have seen them grab a point. More shoddy defending though allowed Robbie Keane to score and to leave the Black Cats with an unenviable record of 8 successive away defeats. Luckily for Roy, their performances at home have been far more profitable.

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The 20 Premiership teams spent a combined £470m on transfers last summer but as Benitez, Jol and Keane all know these pounds don’t necessarily mean points.

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Sunderland remain the only club in the bottom 6 who have kept faith in their manager this season. Whilst 8 of the 20 Premier League clubs have sacked their managers, Roy Keane’s name has not been linked with the chop at all. The Black Cats have hardly been impressive since rejoining the top flight and find themselves in the bottom 3 despite spending £32million on new recruits so why is Roy exempt from the threat of the sack? One realistic conclusion is that the powers that be at the club are scared witless of the volatile Irishman or alternatively they believe in their man and don’t want to go down the same route as their local black and white striped neighbours.

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These two struggling Premier League clubs clash in the FA Cup for the first time in history this weekend. The opposing managers Steve Bruce and Roy Keane shared plenty of success as team-mates at Old Trafford playing in back-to-back FA Cup finals together but may see this competition as a burden on their respective club’s limited playing staff as League survival takes precedent over cup glory.

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