What does Robbie Keane have to do to get a break?
Before he left Spurs for Liverpool, Robbie Keane was a hero at White Hart Lane; he had scored over 100 competitive goals for the club and was the vice-captain. His nomadic career had seen him struggle to find form elsewhere, but at Tottenham, Keane established himself as one of the best strikers in the league. The partnership that he formed with Dimitar Berbatov was phenomenally successful; they finished the 2007-08 season with 23 goals each. Since his return to Spurs, he no longer enjoys the complete adulation of the fans that he once did.
Keane’s stellar form for Tottenham attracted the attention of Liverpool and he angered Spurs’ fans when he made the switch to Anfield a month or so after saying he would stay at Tottenham. The unsuccessful spell at Liverpool led to a hasty return to North London last January as Liverpool accepted a bid from Tottenham in the region of £16 million. While his return was welcomed by a lot of Tottenham fans, there remains a significant contingent who have yet to forgive Keane for leaving in the first place. This resentment does seem harsh though, Keane’s boyhood club was Liverpool and the move represented his last chance to succeed at a footballing superpower after his unsuccessful spell at Inter Milan.
The residual anger has lead to fans criticising Keane for his performances in recent months. It is true to say the Irishman has yet to rediscover the form that attracted Liverpool in the first place. Since his return to the club he has scored only 11 league goals and 4 of those came in one game. It is also becoming apparent that Spurs most potent strike partnership may be that of Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe which has seen Keane occasionally being moved out to the left of midfield to accommodate the England duo. It remains to be seen what role Keane will play when Luka Modric makes his return from injury.
While Keane has not been hitting the back of the net as much as he would have hoped, his general performances have been fairly good; he was shown a good work rate and demonstrates leadership qualities on the pitch. Harry Redknapp has condemned the fans who have been lambasting Keane’s recent performances and it is clear the player has the support of his manager. The only way for Keane to win over the fans is to continue to play with passion and drive; if he manages to pick up the habit of scoring important goals for the club again, the fans will soon forget about his brief affair with Merseyside.
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‘What does Robbie Keane have to do to get a break’ – stop playing like a tit for starters.
Stop wagging his finger at the officials and get on with it.
You are watching a very different game to suggest his general performance is good. He is ineffective and looks lost this season.
Furthermore your belief that he shows leadership qualities on the pitch is absurd. His communication is poor and he fails to lead by example.
The reality is that against Wigan and Villa we produced our 2 most compelling performances of the season – both without Keane. A coincidence? I think not!
His work rate and endeavour cannot be faulted. He remains the most technically gifted player at the club and just needs support from the fans.
Who wrote this article? Harry Redknapp? Robbie Keane?
Keane has been by far Spurs’ worst player this season, missing chance after chance.
Despite what many think though, Keane is not supposed to be an out-and-out goalscorer.
No, his all round play is supposed to make him the player he supposedly is.
Nevertheless, as well as a lack of goals this season (ok so he put 4 past Burnley, the only time you’ll ever see a striker score four and still play badly) he has given away the ball time after time, blamed everyone else, moaned at the ref and just been an annoying person to watch.
I never rated Keane in the first place, he was always okay in my mind. I have nothing against him for moving to Liverpool- he has always been a mercenary and he always will be.
I do appreciate that he played a big part in lifting the dressing room after last season’s turmoil, but for where we are now and even more so for where we want to be- he is no longer up to scratch.
Nothing to do with him abandoning us- I was actually pleased about this- but more to do with the fact he’s rubbish. And at 29, he won’t be improving.
And to say Spurs fans get on his back- I for one despise the guy but will always sing his name while he wears a cockeral on his chest. Come to the lane for once in your life and hear ‘there’s only one keano’ for yourself.
Poor article. Stick to washing the dishes love.
“Keane’s boyhood club was Liverpool ”
Yeah sure it was
And in answer to the question – Play Well Instead Of Rubbish
I sometimes wonder if some of our fans actually want us to get into the CL.
Keane this season has been an embarrassment.
Next time you see him fall on his arse then start waving his arms about shouting and generally making a fool of himself (it was probably due to his poor control), ask yourself this: Is this the same Keane of two seasons ago?
Keane has been a waste of space this season – He can’t get involved and when he does his judgement is appaling. He stops play and when he makes errors blames everyone but himself.
Yes he was good once but those days are gone.
As for the earlier comment about being the most technicaly gifted player at the club??
Try asking Modric, Lennon, Kranjcar, Huddlestone, Defoe, Bentley and even Crouch.
This bias for a player past his sell by date is really, really stupid and hurting the club.
mark, you are an idiot.
…says jim from the comfort of his armchair 3pm on a saturday…watching robbie keane score on match of the day…
“that morten gamst pederson, he’s world class…and matty taylor…what players”
“oh and bent…wow”
When Keane was at Liverpool he missed that many sitters it was ridiculous..trying about 3 times back heel flicks from 6 yards out when the match was 0-0, and the ball needed a good welly! He cost Liverpool the league last year. Liverpool averaging over 2.5 points per game after he left was no coincidence. Thank goodness Rafa minimised our losses to £3m by selling the chump back to Spurs.
Maybe he can regain his best form if given a long run in the team, but can Spurs afford to give him that run if they really want Champs League?
Robbie will be joining the Villa come January. He is a class act that you spud fans do not appreciate
We could have signed him when he was playing for Coventry
But he will joins us at the right time and will be appreciated by the great Villa Holte End