Keane exposed as fraud on The Overlap after questioning ‘genius’ of Championship-bound Anderson | OneFootball

During an especially painful segment of The Overlap, involving the requisite Gary Neville squeaky-voiced bewilderment during a gruelling back and forth with Wayne Rooney, Jill Scott’s opinion being dismissed out of hand and the performative anger of Roy Keane, we were treated to one of the most unwittingly specific and therefore glorious examples of hypocritical self-deprecation in broadcast history.

Neville launched into an admittedly strange diatribe about how any midfielder behind Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson – after all of the latter’s six caps for England – in Thomas Tuchel’s pecking order may as well throw the towel in if they’re hoping to displace either of them from the Three Lions starting line-up for the World Cup.

“Rice and Anderson, they’re so far ahead of, say, [Adam] Wharton and [Jordan] Henderson,” Neville began. “Them two lads are realistic. When you’re behind two great players like Rice and Anderson you’re realistic – ‘I can’t really get ahead of them two lads because they’re just so good – they’re brilliant…’.”

As is his wont, Keane interjected in faux rage: “But you can’t think that way, Nev! You can’t be realistic as a footballer, you’ve got to think ‘I’m taking his position’. That has to be your mindset!”

And then it arrived: a stunning 20-word swipe at Anderson steeped in a delicious combination of hypocrisy and unsuspecting self criticism, said in the heat of a moment warmed by Keane himself, in which the grumpy pundit forgot about his own career in a bid to play his aghast role in proceedings at all costs, spotting an opportunity for angry exasperation and jumping at it.

A Nottingham Forest midfielder hailed after getting relegated to the second tier? Not on the watch of a pundit in a unique position to know exactly what makes a Nottingham Forest midfielder relegated from the Premier League “such a genius”, as part of a select group of former such midfielders, along with Steve Stone, Scott Gemmill, Nigel Quashie and Des Lyttle.

We look forward to future slams of midfielders leaving the Premier League to retire at Celtic and pundits being criticised for subbing moody catchphrases for actual analysis, such is Keane’s evident displeasure with his own career.

Unless Keane genuinely believes a footballer can’t be that good if they get relegated, and after winning seven Premier League titles having signed for Manchester United from Nottingham Forest, largely as captain of that team, even the most self-critical minds would struggle to back up that assertion; his criticism of Anderson speaks to his brainless desperation to play the bad-tempered contrarian.

Amid Martin Keown’s descent into becoming a mere Arsenal mouthpiece while Michael Owen makes batsh*t Liverpool claims, we understand that punditry is an entertainment business, that strong opinions aid in that entertainment and that Keane often combines big views with comedic timing in a hugely entertaining way.

But this was fake irritation for irritation’s sake and there will come a point when the audience sees through it to such an extent that Keane becomes less a comedy character and simply a fraud making ends meet by pretending to be angry.