Saipan review Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy's epic spat becomes amusing state-of-the-nation psychodrama

"Here is a sports drama which is also a true-life psychodrama of the Irish republic. In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the nation was convulsed with dismay when mercurial star player Roy Keane stormed out of Ireland's chaotic training camp on the Pacific island of Saipan and got on the first plane home after a colossal row with manager Mick McCarthy."

"Could it really be true that Ireland's key performer was going to let the side down? Was he just a spoilt Man U brat? Or was Keane a true Irish patriot, insisting on high standards of training and management for Irish football which this (English-born) manager wasn't providing? It's a story which is capably, straightforwardly told by film-makers Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D'Sa, and well acted by its leads Eanna Hardwicke as Keane and Steve Coogan as McCarthy."

"Hardwicke conveys Keane's tense, opaque quality: his mutely provocative air of entitlement, his clear belief in himself as a star in a different league from his fellow players, and his inability to resist briefing the press. An interesting part of the drama is the English/Irish divide: Keane cannot quite conceal his contempt for McCarthy's credentials and for his hero-worship of former Ireland manager Jack Charlton, an Englishman. But it is notable that he will listen to the terse advice of Alex Ferguson a Scot."

Set against the 2002 World Cup Saipan incident, the drama portrays Roy Keane storming out after a colossal row with manager Mick McCarthy, exposing team chaos, national dismay and media scrutiny. Performances capture Keane's tense, opaque entitlement and McCarthy's proud Irish heritage and managerial limits. The narrative frames their clash as both an ego confrontation and a reflection of English/Irish cultural tensions, questioning training standards, management credentials and player motivations. The aftermath complicates Keane's stance, suggesting both principled protest over facilities and possible fear-driven distancing from an anticipated team collapse.

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