Yesterday, Roy Keane left Manchester United Football Club by 'mutual consent'. In my simplicity, I had always taken the term 'mutual consent' to mean 'agreement by both parties'. It seems the term now has a new meaning, namely 'the entirely one-sided will of Alex Ferguson'.

Keano Has Left the Building: A Tragedy in Three Clichés

"Truth is the first casualty of war"

Keane, the man who dared to speak the truth about Utd's poor form, however brutally (and it was brutal), is the first casualty in a civil war within a football club in decline. In the past Ferguson has indulged Keane and other great players, knowing that their brilliance was worth the odd disciplinary lapse. Not this time. Keane is in decline as a player, so Fergie's not prepared to indulge him any more. But, more than that, sacking Keane is the act of a wounded animal, lashing out in a desperate attempt to save his own skin. It won't. We'll be seeing another high profile departure from Old Trafford soon, by 'mutual consent' (the consent of the Glazer family).

"Live by the sword, die by the sword"

To some extent, the ruthlessness with which Keane was despatched from United reflects his own footballing persona. It's not difficult to imagine Keane acting in the same manner as Ferguson did if the roles were reversed. Has Fergie's authority in the dressing room been so badly undermined that he felt Keane had to go? Keane has made many scathing remarks about his teammates in the past without any public response from the manager. To this outsider, sacking Keane now looks like the act of an insecure manager.

"Sick as a parrot; the boy's done good; bragging rights" etc etc etc

The football lexicon is one of cliché and banality. The great majority of players have little or nothing to say for themselves. Their lips move but they say nothing. They're all bling; glittering on the surface, hollow underneath (I love the onomatopoeic quality of the word 'bling'; makes me think of the ker-ching! of cash registers). Keane has always spoken his mind, cutting through the bullshit. This makes him valuable in a sport whose lifeblood is being drained away by dullness and conformity. Keane has courted controversy throughout his career by simply telling the truth as he saw it. He is a genuine sporting idealist, always striving for perfection, wounded deeply by failure. Keane is a poor politician; he is too honest for that.

Roy Keane is no saint. I'm convinced that much of what will be written about him in the coming days will be hagiography. The nightclub 'incidents' (ie. punch-ups) of his earlier years, the tackles that too often crossed the line dividing sport from naked violence - they are unpleasant footnotes to an otherwise glorious career. But one thing is indisputable; Roy Keane is the real deal. In a game full of whingers, fakers and posers, he will be sorely missed.