The player who, more than any other during his period at the club, has made the most impact on the clubs success. The man who was the boss of the team on the pitch.

Who will do that now ? Who will lift the team when they need it most? Who will inspire them ?

Answer that question, then go and buy him Sir Alex, because he's not on the payroll at United.

Sir Alex must be asking himself this morning "How are we going to replace Roy"? The same question he's surely been asking every morning for the last 4 or 5 years.

This is the same Roy Keane that 12 years ago, may well have gone to Arsenal, Blackburn, Juventus or basically anywhere he fancied, if Sir Alex had been given the £5.5 Million he wanted to buy David Platt. I'm betting Alex is rather thankful things turned out the way they did.

I imagine Keane too is happy with the way things turned out. He would have been a great player, wherever he played, that was obvious to anyone who saw him as a raw recruit at Notts Forest, where he developed under the watchful eye of Brian Clough. United was made for Keane & vice-versa. Yet, perversely this can only be a good day for United.

The most fitting legacy of Keane would be a shake up at Old Trafford that he himself would be proud of. A few soft arses need to be kicked to bring a realisation that Man Utd no longer compete on equal terms with the best in this Country & Europe. Sir Alex more than anyone, knows this.

It is pointless to speculate on the future of Sir Alex, the club & it's American owners, but we can comment on the activity we see on the pitch.

It is patently obvious to any Reds fan that things are not as they should be at the Theatre of Dreams, and have been so for quite a while. I doubt there are few true United fans who won't agree with the comments put forward by the Irishman in recent times - the same things are being said in the stands.

Bollocks to the prawn sandwich brigade. Listen to the ones who know how far you've slumped in recent years. How many of the current squad, other than Rooney & v.Nistelrooy would get a game 5 years ago. Giggs, Scholes & Neville would be there, but any others?

Man United will miss Keane, but only the memories of Keane. His work there is now done & it will now fall on some poor individual to try and fill his boots. More likely, several quality introductions will be needed, and fast. There is a huge hole to fill and possibly no one man can fill it.

I predict he'll be turning out for Celtic within weeks and how good is he going to look in Scotland? Injuries permitting he's got 4 or 5 years there if he wants them.