LESS than two weeks ago, Roy Keane decided enough was enough. After 100 games in charge of Sunderland Football Club, the man who turned an unfashionable northeast club into a “box office”, walked away from football.
Fans and critics alike have blogged, phoned into radio stations, conducted philosophical discussions over a pint at their local pubs, each expressing his two cents worth on the matter.
There is no need for another opinion to be jettisoned into cyberspace, to defend the actions of a man that lives on his own terms, or to condemn him for his failings.
What did strike me however, was the manner in which Keane announced his decision to chairman Niall Quinn. The Telegraph called him “a manager of the 21st century” and his choice of a text message to indicate his resignation perhaps best exemplifies this moniker.
The first Short Message Service, or SMS as it is better known, was sent by Englishman Neil Papworth to his friend Richard Jarvis on 3 December 1992. It read “Merry Christmas”.
16 years later, SMS has become thoroughly ingrained into our culture. We use it for everything – from advertising to socialising to queuing at hospitals. Commercially, SMS is a profitable business too. It is a multi-billion dollar industry, given the sheer volume of SMS sent from mobile phones across the globe.
In 2004, the Asian region totalled 176 billion SMS sent. This year, the Philippines leads the way in terms of usage, with the average user sending 755 messages each month. Compare this with China where the monthly average is just over 100 messages.
Keane the player was of the traditional school, where hard graft and dogged determination were valued above all else. He enjoyed confrontation, welcomed it like an old friend.
Keane the manager however, is a man of modern times, embracing the faceless quality of technology. Rather than greet conflict again, he preferred to text it.