There were plenty of debates to be had after another weekend of Premier League action, but few would have expected the playing talents of Roy Keane to be among them.
Yet, the former Manchester United captain was the subject of a bizarre discussion among TV pundits after Richard Keys questioned the midfielder's ability on the ball alongside the duo of Andy Gray and studio guest Jason McAteer.
The debate started after talks concerning Keane and his clashes with members of the Republic of Ireland squad in his role as assistant manager.
Gray raised a point over how some ex-players cannot transition into being good coaches because 'they can't understand why the players that they’re coaching, who are not as good as they were, can’t do the things that they could.'
That is when Keys stunned Gray and McAteer by questioning whether Keane was 'a great player? In the sense of…I’m talking of a Hoddle, or a creative type.'
McAteer offered Keys a way out by admitting he once shared the same view point only to change his mind having played alongside him while they were Republic of Ireland team-mates.
Gray soon joined McAteer in praising Keane's ability on the ball but Keys stuck to his guns suggesting that the likes of Peter Reid and Graeme Souness were better players.
Rio Ferdinand led the perhaps inevitable backlash on Twitter after beIN SPORTS posted the exchange on the social media site.
Ferdinand, who played alongside Keane at United between 2002 and 2005, simply posted 'Riiiiiiiiiiiiiichard' followed by a series of emojis that reflected his embarrassment of the subject.
Even rival fans leaped to the defence of Keane with one user claiming 'I'm a Man City fan and even ill admit Roy Keane was a great player I can’t wait until he sees this video.'
Another user added further weight to Keane's status as a great player by saying 'He [Keys] misses the point. Roy Keane's game was all about winning the ball, tackling, motivating his team mates and never saying die. He was probably one of the finest players ever in that role and world class at it.'
