Ever since Roy Keane called the evening he spent watching the Cobblers very nearly beat his Sunderland side 'the worst of his career' he has garnered a lot of respect in these parts.
Keane is a rarity in the modern game, a former player prepared to speak out against fellow former players, to shatter the kind of cosiness that exists in the Match of the Day and Gilette Soccer Saturday studios.

He is not interested in the old pals' act, instead preferring to incinerate it in his white-hot personal fires of professionalism.

The latest object of Keane's ire were the pundits on the aforementioned Sky programme, who the Manchester United legend claims he 'would not trust to walk his dog.'

He said: 'There was a debate this week about Arsene Wenger. How crazy is that? What that man's done for the game - and we're giving these people air time.

"I wouldn't listen to these people in the pub, and yet they're on television constantly, ex-players, ex-referees getting interviewed giving out their opinions."

This was, of course, before Wenger put out an Arsenal team which beat United to 're-ignite' their title bid, and then a few days later fielded a side containing five English-qualified players, two more than the side they trounced 3-0, Wigan Athletic.

Keane is right to be concerned about the prevalence of former professionals in the media; sometimes the old players provide a great insight into the game, relating it to their own experiences.
Jimmy Armfield on Radio Five is one of the best in the business - his presence on the airwaves is worth a little chunk of the licence fee by itself.

But far too many do not want to upset the apple cart and stick to bland opinions that tell the paying viewer or listener very little about the game involved.

The messages are clear: if you are a referee, you will be criticised even if you apply the laws of the game correctly. If you are a player who gets hurt, hard luck, it's a man's game, get on with it.
Fortunately this network of old boys only interested in looking after their own looks to be on the slide.

In fact, if you watch Sky Sports News for long enough you will find increasingly they are turning to their journalists to provide the insight, the inside track, the hard news that everyone wants.
We can only hope that this is the beginning of the end for the dinosaurs with nothing to say beyond the obvious.

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