Roy Keane (StuForster/Allsport)

Following a summer that has seen him garner more column inches than entire Premiership sides put together, Keane went into the 2002/03 season with more than a few points to prove.

A spectacular expulsion from Ireland's World Cup squad saw Keane achieve unprecedented notoriety for an outburst at manager Mick McCarthy. He was to spend the summer walking his dog while Ireland reached the second round.

Following that, the serialisation of his autobiography saw newspapers' football pages reach paroxysms of sensation as he admitted booze problems, deliberate fouls, disliking his team-mates and an inability to control his anger.

He would be banned for five games and fined £150,000 for what was written in the book.

The phrase 'heart on his sleeve' was made for Roy Keane. The Football Writers and the Professional Footballers Association's Player of the Year for the 1999/2000 is United's natural midfield successor to Bryan Robson.

A player that can do it all, with simplicity and determination the key to his game, in Keane, United have one of the world's very best midfielders.

He began his footballing career with Cobh Ramblers before Brian Clough took him to Nottingham Forest as an 18-year-old. Clough gave him his debut away at Liverpool and the youngster instantly won many admirers.

In the 1993 close season United paid a then record fee of £3.75million for the 21-year-old.

His ball winning skills, drive, determination and late runs into the box to score vital goals have made him an irreplaceable figure in the team's midfield, and Alex Ferguson made him club captain on Eric Cantona's retirement from professional football in 1997.

He spent a season on the sidelines during 1997/98 after sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury but returned for the triumphant 1998/99 season.

As United reached the climax of that glorious season, Roy enjoyed mixed fortunes. A yellow card in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Juventus forced him to miss the final but he recovered to put in his best-ever display in a United shirt to win United through to Barcelona.

The next season saw him sign a new four-year deal with the club after a lengthy and protracted media saga and he bagged a remarkable twelve goals from his centre-midfield spot during 1999/2000.

The 2000/01 season saw no lessening of his exploits on the field as United won the title in record time. Off the field his notoriety increased as his remarks about executive fans and his team-mates after United were knocked out of the European Cup saw him hit the headlines.

An attempt at mid-air surgery on Manchester City's Alf Inge Haaland saw tabloid newspapers reach fever pitch (and again 15 months later) - a phenomena repeated when he tried to chin Alan Shearer in United's 4-3 loss at Newcastle early in the 2001/02 season, an incident that nearly drove Keane to quit the game entirely.

Then a sending off at Sunderland at the end of August 2002 as a feud with Jason McAteer over Keane's antics prior to the World Cup rumbled on. Keane landed an elbow in McAteer's face in injury time right in front of referee Uriah Rennie.

Although boss Ferguson defended the player, he eventually changed his mind after seeing video replays. Keane was due to serve a three-match ban for his dismissal, but decided to have a hip operation, taking him out of action and the limelight - for a short while at least.