Keane not happy with Stoke

Sunderland boss, Roy Keane has attacked Stoke for pulling out of the deal to sign Marton Fulop.

Keane has accused the Potters of being disrespectful to Fulop, saying ‘It’s a bloody disgrace to treat a player like that.’

It was said that Fulop and Stoke could not agree personal terms but the Black Cats obviously suspect that Stoke used it as an excuse to pull out of the deal when Thomas Sorensen became an option after the player told Keane on his return to Wearside that he ‘just asked for a bit more’ (in the manner of Oliver Twist, maybe?)

Whatever the circumstances (and we don’t know what went on), you have to feel some sympathy for Fulop as he has been eager to get a deal going throughout the close season. But Keane had spent many weeks turning down Stoke’s earlier bids before accepting a final bid that was more than double the original, causing many people to question if he was overpricing his third choice keeper. If he had accepted an earlier bid, you’d have expected a deal to have been done and dusted long before Thomas Sorensen came on to the scene.

As it is, Sorensen is a far better option for the Potters from both the playing and business angles. He has the Premier League experience over many years that we desperately need and comes as a free agent, saving us the £3m that we can spend on someone else. Compare that to Fulop who would have been an expensive gamble as he is relatively untested in the Prem with only six appearances to his name.

The downside to this little spat is that if Stoke intend going back to Keane soon to put in a bid for the former Stoke captain, Danny Higginbotham, you would hope that the Irishman’s notorious temper will have cooled by then.