United Rant

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has lashed out at England manager Fabio Capello’s critics, delivering a player-by-player rating of the national side’s humiliating World Cup failure. Ipswich Town manager Keane derides the England squad as average, shorn of ‘World Class’ players bar Wayne Rooney.

“To keep criticising the manager is crazy. Capello is a brilliant manager,” said Keane said, who made 480 appearances for United.

“The players have to look at themselves. They get away with murder.

“You say that the players are good individuals in the Premier League, but tell me who they are?

“I think Wayne Rooney had a brilliant season. You look at the goalkeepers, I thought David James at Portsmouth, they didn’t have a good season and the other one, Green, at West Ham [United] they just about stayed up.

“Glen Johnson at Liverpool did okay, they had a poor season. John Terry had his issues, I don’t think he had a great season.

“Chelsea won the double but that was down to some world class attacking players. Upson, who played yesterday, West Ham didn’t have a great season.

“Ashley Cole’s just come back from injury to be fair to the boy. [Steven] Gerrard didn’t have a great season at Liverpool, James Milner had a good season.

“[Gareth] Barry I thought was very average for Manchester City this year. [Emile] Heskey started the season up-front for Aston Villa and he got three goals.

“You keep talking about these world class players, and they’re not. Wayne has the best chance but he still hasn’t done it on the world stage.”