With 2009 gone, football fans will be sitting back and reflecting on the year that has just passed and there are fewer fans that will be more content than those of Tottenham Hotspur. Whilst his former club Portsmouth have experienced a year to forget, Harry Redknapp has rebuilt the Spurs team and they are currently in full flow and are launching an assault on the monopoly that is the ‘big four’. There has however, for me, been one player that has been in the shadow of Spurs’ success this season; Robbie Keane.

Since returning to Tottenham in early February of last year, Keane has been largely disappointing. I am sure many Spurs fans will agree with me in saying that the striker has been half the player that he was during his first spell at Tottenham. Keane spectacularly admitted his love for Liverpool after his transfer and since his move back to the Lilywhites, it would seem as though his head has not been in the right place. The usually prolific striker has scored only six goals this campaign and has been one of the few members of the squad who has not been excelling under Harry Redknapp.

A four goal haul in a 5-0 home victory against Burnley has been the one saving grace in an otherwise poor season for Keane. It says a lot that despite 16 league appearances this term, 66% of the striker’s league goals have come in one game. Redknapp has often shifted Keane onto the left of midfield in order to accommodate for the captain but in recent weeks has found himself on the bench, given the form of Crouch and Defoe. I just wonder watching Keane play whether the captaincy has become something of a burden on his shoulders and whether he would return to his old self without the added weight of responsibility. In my opinion the striker would benefit from being stripped of his duties as captain and free him up to re-focus and look to re-capture the form that once made him a darling of the White Hart Lane faithful.

Has the captaincy proved a burden on Robbie Keane?

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Do you think Keane should be stripped of his duties, or should he leave the club altogether. If so, who should replace him? Comment Below and join the debate on our brand new Football FanCast Forum