Kerr sets the Record Straight.

[NeilMcD]

Kerr responds to newspaper story

Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr took the opportunity to rubbish reports in the Evening Herald that he and Roy Keane had clashed over the squad been given the night off last Friday night.

Kerr had given the players the option of leaving the hotel on Friday night if the chose to with some of the players taking the opportunity to relax ahead of Wednesday’s clash with France.

“Every time that some papers seem to get the opportunity, they go for a bust up story with Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane although there may often be no truth in it,” said Kerr.

“In relation to this one, there is no truth whatsoever that I had a bust up with Roy or any other players. I don’t do bust ups with players. Whatever about with journalists or anyone else which have been pretty scarce, I certainly don’t do them with the players and I have a very good relationship individually with all the players.

“With Roy, I have a very good professional relationship as I have with the rest of them. We can discuss things openly. They give a point of view if they have one. In this situation there wasn’t one.

“The article itself is a complete contradiction in that the unnamed source says ‘I’m not sure of how Roy reacted to the stories of late night drinking.’ So the unnamed source didn’t know what Roy thought, ‘though I can’t imagine that he wasn’t happy.’

“So how contradictory can you get? The unnamed source hasn’t obviously spoken to Roy so if anybody thinks he has a problem with me, I think you should ask him.

“Because I’ve just spoken to him when this was produced to me and I won’t tell you the words he used — they’re not fit for family viewing. It’s a laughable story. It’s completely and utterly ridiculous.”



Now lads get behind the tame and dont be believe the ****e that is in the papers. I think it is madness the way some of the people reacted here on this board. It was obvious that this was a bull**** story from a terrible newspaper.

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

I wouldn't even call the Herald a newspaper. Anyone who knows anything will know that its chief soccer writer is a thug.

[Stuttgart88]

That's very gratifying to know. Pretty clear responser from Kerr & he's right to nip it in the bud.

If it's my reaction you're referring to Neil, I still think that 4-5am is too late for an athlete to be staying out.

[thejollyrodger]

HEARLD SCUM. I havent bought it in months cos its complete muck. Ill never buy that rag again.

[Dotsy]

I don't think many people on this board put much faith in anything the Herald published. However like Stuttgart I think the lads shouldn't be out until the small hours in nightclubs five days before this match especially lads that haven't been playing regularly lately and need to concentrate on getting match fit.

If nothing else it plays right into the hands of these scum reporters and does nothing for my nerves that are already shot reading stories that Duff is injured

[colster]

I don't think many people on this board put much faith in anything the Herald published. However like Stuttgart I think the lads shouldn't be out until the small hours in nightclubs five days before this match especially lads that haven't been playing regularly lately and need to concentrate on getting match fit.

If nothing else it plays right into the hands of these scum reporters and does nothing for my nerves that are already shot reading stories that Duff is injured

5 days before a game. Are you mad. This is just un-informed rubbish. 5 days in plenty of time to recover from a night on the beer. Take Andy O'Brien, he's had flu for the last couple of days. I think that would be more worrying 5 days before a game.
One hard training session would sweat all the alcohol out of them anyway.

[NeilMcD]

How times have changed though, I think Andy Townsend said that the Irish team had 6 or 7 pints the night before the Italy game in Italia 90.

[jbyrne]

5 days before a game. Are you mad. This is just un-informed rubbish. 5 days in plenty of time to recover from a night on the beer. Take Andy O'Brien, he's had flu for the last couple of days. I think that would be more worrying 5 days before a game.
One hard training session would sweat all the alcohol out of them anyway.

it may be 5 days before the game but its only a few hours before training that sat and keane more than anyone needs to get the best out of this weeks training. as i said on an earlier post i've nothing against the players unwinding with a few drinks but why the need to do so till 4 or 5am!! andy o'briens flu is unfortunate but wasnt self inflicted. robbie went boozing knowing that it would affect him

[Dotsy]

5 days before a game. Are you mad. This is just un-informed rubbish. 5 days in plenty of time to recover from a night on the beer. Take Andy O'Brien, he's had flu for the last couple of days. I think that would be more worrying 5 days before a game.
One hard training session would sweat all the alcohol out of them anyway.

These are professional footballers who will be up against their toughest opponents in thisi group next Wednesday. Keane hasn't been playing much for his club and needs the additional training more than most. A few pints is onething. Clubbing until the middle of the next morning is fookin stupid

[Pauro 76]

shocking if the Herald printed it. Shoddy sensation seeking wannabe rag, worse than the English Sun.

[zinedineontour]

lads get over it ffs .. they went out friday 5 days before a game ... they are young lads who are entitled to enjoy themselves and have some fun .. just because they went out does not mean they are not taking the game serious.. some people on here really need to get off their high horse and trust in the lads ffs ...

[Donal81]

I can say with first-hand authority that the Herald has a very, very relaxed approach to truth and integrity. I am always surprised by how many people buy the thing. Apart from the fact that there's nothing in the rag, what little is there is so clearly full of sh*te. The sad thing is that everyone knows it.

[OwlsFan]

How times have changed though, I think Andy Townsend said that the Irish team had 6 or 7 pints the night before the Italy game in Italia 90.

:rolleyes: Are you sure it wasn't 18 pints with chasers on the morning of the game followed by a visit to a pizzaria and then a mad dash to the stadium just in time to make the game ?

[colster]

it may be 5 days before the game but its only a few hours before training that sat and keane more than anyone needs to get the best out of this weeks training. as i said on an earlier post i've nothing against the players unwinding with a few drinks but why the need to do so till 4 or 5am!! andy o'briens flu is unfortunate but wasnt self inflicted. robbie went boozing knowing that it would affect him

It won't affect him as much as you are making out. Having the Flu is many times worse than having a late night out of the beer. Would you complain if O'Brien played on Wednesday after having the flu until Saturday/Sunday?

[NeilMcD]

And your point is. I was just saying how things have changed in football in general. Lots of people are making a big deal about Robbie and a few others having a few drinks 5 days before a game. Its funny when you then compare that to 1990 and the team having a few pints the night before the game. Not sure what your point is though.

[colster]

These are professional footballers who will be up against their toughest opponents in thisi group next Wednesday. Keane hasn't been playing much for his club and needs the additional training more than most. A few pints is onething. Clubbing until the middle of the next morning is fookin stupid

Are you serious. One late night is not going to affect them that much. The lad's been training for the last 2 months with Spurs (with a small break when he was injure). Are you honestly saying that one bad training session after a night on the beer is going undo the 2 months that went before.

[OwlsFan]

The point is I'd like you to back up your Herald like statement that the team were out on the pi*s the night before the Italian game in 1990. If you can substantiate it, fair enough but the trend is now to paint the previous teams as a shower of alcos until Roy stepped in to put an end to it all. As far as I recall Big J used to have curfews before games and but permit the players enjoy themselves when he thought it necessary. Seemed to work ok with qualification for 3 major championships.

[NeilMcD]

Thats not what I was getting at all. I tink a lot of that Keane stuff is a nonsense to be honest as i dont think he is as annoyed about players enjoying themselve as is portrayed. My source is Andy Townsend, Cant remember what programme he was on but I actually heard him say it, I think it was around the time of the Saipan incident. I was not having a go at Big Jack at all. It was more to do with how times have changed in football in general and not how fans react to such things nowadays whereas before fans would have drank with the team.

[jbyrne]

It won't affect him as much as you are making out. Having the Flu is many times worse than having a late night out of the beer. Would you complain if O'Brien played on Wednesday after having the flu until Saturday/Sunday?

if he's not 100% then he shouldnt play but i cant come on here and give out about him as his flu is not his fault. keanes hangover was self inflicted

[colster]

if he's not 100% then he shouldnt play but i cant come on here and give out about him as his flu is not his fault. keanes hangover was self inflicted

I'm making the point that having the flu 5 days before a game is a lot worse then being on the beer five days before the game.
I would imagine that O'Brien would have sufficient time to recover from the flu to play. Therefore Keane should be fully recovered for the game.

[thejollyrodger]

why dont we start a campaign to bycot the scummy hearld ?

here, i wouldnt get too annoyed about Robbie, its not like he is going to score against world class defences anyway :rolleyes:

[eirebhoy]

here, i wouldnt get too annoyed about Robbie, its not like he is going to score against world class defences anyway :rolleyes:
He has scored against better.

[Noelys Guitar]

Rubbish story. Robbie Keane or any other Irish player won't be effected by staying out late a week before the actual game. The herald story is complete fabrication written by an illerate in a cubby in a bar. Isn't the game big enough for these tossers?

[tetsujin1979]

Whenever I go to the gym consistently over a period of time (I try to make it 3 times a week, about an hour and a half each time) I notice that I'm less affected by hangovers the next morning, sometimes not even getting one.
Now that's only 90 minutes 3 times a week, professional footballers train for that amount at least twice a day, 5 days a week. I'd imagine that they'd have a similar reaction to hangovers, they recover better and faster.
Just my 2 cents on the whole thing.

As an aside, some guy rang into NewsTalk 106 tonight that they saw Robbie late on friday night at Molly Malone's statue posing for photos, and looked completely sober.

[thejollyrodger]

More often Robbie hasnt, most of his 25 goals are against poor teams and in meaningless friendlies and dont forget about the peno's.

I dont think the players did consume vast quantities of alochol (GAZA style) it was probably just 5 or 6 pints. They should be fine by now.

[zinedineontour]

More often Robbie hasnt, most of his 25 goals are against poor teams and in meaningless friendlies and dont forget about the peno's.

I dont think the players did consume vast quantities of alochol (GAZA style) it was probably just 5 or 6 pints. They should be fine by now.

hope this isnt peoples chance to have another go at robbie .. hes been our only world class striker for the last 10years and his goal against Germany in Japan was meaningless

[livehead1]

Robbie Keane.... Irish Football Legend...people won't believe what they had till he is gone

[eirebhoy]

More often Robbie hasnt, most of his 25 goals are against poor teams and in meaningless friendlies and dont forget about the peno's.
I presume your account is a public account as I don't know how many times a week your opinion changes. Is it the journalists changing your opinion? I'd actually say it is. Most of his goals have come against poor teams or in friendlies. Of course they have ffs. Of the 10 matches we play a year, only 2 or 3 of those are against decent opposition (not including friendlies). It also doesn't take a genius to work out that its easier to score against easier opposition so a player will score more.

I just looked up soccerbase to see what sort of opposition Henry is scoring against. The goals he has scored in qualifying or major tournaments are:

Cyprus
Switzerland x2
Israel
Cyprus
Malta x2
Malta x2 (again)
Denmark - Euro 2000
Czech Republic - Euro 2000
Portugal - Euro 2000
South Africa - WC98
Saudi Arabia - WC98

And Keane:
Malta x2
Yugoslavia
Malta
Turkey
Holland
Iran
Germany - WC02
Saudi Arabia - WC02
Spain - WC02
Albania
Georgia
Cyprus
Faroes x2
Israel

So 16 of his 25 goals have come in competitives. Half of which are against decent opposition.

Hopefully that dispells that stupid myth.

Even his 9 goals in friendlies are against decent opp:
Czech Republic
Russia
Denmark
Finland
Canada x2
Czech Republic
Holland
Croatia

[NeilMcD]

Fair play Eirebhoy, I love facts when there is so much nonsense that flies about. I dont understand why people dont check their facts before they make sweeping statements.

[eirebhoy]

His goal in Malta was crucial to us winning as we only won 3-2. I wouldn't put Israel down as poor opposition. Its not easy to score against them. His goal against Albania was the opener in a 2-1 win. His goal against Georgia was the 2nd in a 2-0 win. Against Saudi Arabia he scored the opener. Maybe the only match we didn't need his goals were the 5-0 trashing of Malta but then again, he scored the first 2 in that match to open it up.

[thejollyrodger]

I read that in the newspaper the other day.. indo or irish times..

[NeilMcD]

Yeah I think it was an article in the Indo by John O Brien, here it is. But people Like Eirebhoy and Stuggart 88 do more research on their posts than a lot of the sports journalists so I would believe their views than I would of John O Brien or Dion Fanning or Hyland.


WHEN Tottenham manager Martin Jol chose to send Michael Dawson, a centre-back, up front last week in an effort to rescue a wilting cause against Chelsea, who knows what thoughts floated through Robbie Keane's head as the striker languished regretfully on the bench? Somewhat surprisingly, his future at White Hart Lane has survived the late and frantic manoeuverings of the transfer window. Right now, Keane must be wondering what future?

Beyond the musings of reporters and fans who support or castigate him, Keane has never been able to win over the constituency he needed in order for his career to flourish in line with his talent. Managers have signed him in a flush of enthusiasm, and then grown quickly frustrated as they watch him struggle to fit into their game-plans. The indulgence he gets with Ireland is a gift that has been denied to Keane at club level.

Since leaving Coventry it has been the story of his career. Marcello Lippi astonishingly brought him to Internazionale, fondly christened him 'Baby Irish' and returned him to England within four months. David O'Leary accepted him warmly at Leeds and then told him he was overweight. Without saying anything, Jol handed him the biggest insult of all.

Perhaps it was Keane's misfortune to arrive at Tottenham while the club was mired in a period of instability that mirrored his own career. Keane's three years at White Hart Lane have embraced four different managers and the thing that must crush him now is that just when Tottenham appear to be developing a team of genuine European aspirations, his role in their future looks seriously in doubt.

It is a predicament that perplexes those who have played with Keane and who have been touched by his effervescence and unquenchable spirit. Jason McAteer first remembers Keane from the US Cup in 2000. Two years earlier Keane had caused a stir when making his Ireland debut against Argentina in Lansdowne Road, but it was in America that he revealed his bubbly nature.

McAteer was reminded of his younger self. "He was a lively character. He was the life and soul, just a kid really. He was bold and brash and sometimes he had a little bit too much to say for himself. But sometimes you need that kind of attitude to be able to do the things he's done. Now he's established himself and those raw edges have worn off him. He's a player who does his talking with his feet now. His movement is unbelievable. He doesn't lose the ball and he never gives up."

Eight years ago he made his debut for Wolves in a Division One game against Norwich and, just as he would do on his Premiership debut for Coventry exactly two years later, Keane found the net twice. A few weeks later he banged two past Dean Kiely in a 2-0 victory over Bury. Before that Kiely had only heard snatches about Keane. Since then he has been one of the striker's greatest advocates.

Kiely remembers being asked about Keane and replying that he had the football world at his feet for a decade or more. That, he thinks, was six or seven years ago and why Keane has yet to fulfil his prophecy is a mystery the Charlton 'keeper is trying to unravel.

"Personally I think he's been hard done by," Kiely says. "I've seen Robbie at close quarters and when you see him turn up, put his boots on and train the way he does is enough for me. I find it really difficult to understand why he isn't embedded in the Tottenham side. I just think there are so many things going on in terms of what managers think that if Robbie isn't playing as much as he'd like it's not because he lacks enthusiasm or commitment. He doesn't lack anything."

The prevailing view in the game, though, is that Keane has flaws, serious enough to hinder his progression as one of English football's top strikers. The feeling at Tottenham is that he can't play alongside Jermaine Defoe who, at 22, has emerged as a serious challenger to Michael Owen as Wayne Rooney's partner up front for England. Had his proposed move to Everton gone through, Keane would have been taking a step down but, unquestionably, he would have been guaranteed regular football.

"It would be nice to see him settled week in week out," says McAteer. "He'll score goals. Unfortunately, managers use this rotation system and sometimes Robbie is the first player to suffer. I think he's the type of player who needs to play every week. He just seems to get better and better."

Why should Keane be the first to suffer when teams are rotated? "Because he doesn't really have a physical presence," McAteer says. "Himself and Defoe are similar. Managers like someone up front who's a bit of a presence and that's why Mido is up there for Spurs. He's better in the air than Robbie. Robbie gets lost in all this and gets pushed to one side. He gets a bit part rather than playing every week." If, in Jol's mind, it is a case of Keane against Defoe it isn't surprising that he would opt for the England striker.

The distance between them isn't that vast, though. Last season Keane scored 17 goals in 45 games which, considering he started fewer games, doesn't sit badly with Defoe's record of 22 in 44. The previous season Keane scored 18 goals in 41 games.

THERE are more prolific strikers, but Keane at least is consistent.

"The boy is a natural talent," says David Pleat, Keane's former manager at Tottenham. "He's very skillful and a terrific dribbler. He scores good goals rather than simple goals. The only problem Robbie has, you either cope with his talent or you don't. In other words, he falls between the main striker and the one who drops off. He's so enthusiastic he seeks the ball and he goes very deep when you just want his talent to be on the shoulder of the last defender, where he scares them with his skill."

Pleat was aware of Keane from an early age. John Jarman was his chief scout at Luton in the mid-'90s and knew Eddie Corcoran, the scout who sent Keane to Wolves. He was reminded of the precocious teenager a couple of years later by Sammy Chapman, chief scout at Leicester. "The boy's a gift," Chapman told Pleat. Twice as manager of Tottenham - when Keane left Wolves for Coventry and again when he left England for Italy - Pleat tried to bring him to White Hart Lane.

Of Keane, he says the usual things. He is a straight-forward boy who loves training and, in nearly every respect, is a manager's dream. If only Keane was a straight-forward player, he'd be the total package. "People after a while look at him and they're not sure," Pleat says. "They start changing their minds and now at Spurs he's going to be displaced by the looks of things."

When Keane knocked two past the Faroe Islands last October, he surpassed Niall Quinn's 21-goal record in nearly half as many appearances but, as Clinton Morrison will testify, what Irish players achieve wearing the green shirt, while hardly a hindrance, has never been a guarantee of rewards at club level. No less than his club career, Keane's performances for Ireland have borne close scrutiny.

You can read it two ways. While a record of 25 goals in 58 appearances looks good, the fact remains that Keane has scored the majority of his goals either in friendlies or against the lower ranked teams in international football. The last truly vital goals he scored came in the World Cup - a penalty against Spain and a last minute equaliser against Germany. Before that you have to go back to Holland in 2000 and Yugoslavia a year earlier.

In one sense, the charge is fair. In the games that matter Keane, as Ireland's main striker, has lacked a decisive touch in front of goal. However, in his defence, Keane has arguably grown up in a side that is markedly inferior to its ancestors. It is easy to imagine Keane flourishing among the talent Jack Charlton had at his disposal, easier still to imagine him profiting during the Eoin Hand era when Ireland played a game that would have suited his gifts.

However he has got there, Keane has reached a watershed. He is no longer the 'gift' that turned heads on training fields when he was a teenager. His career is entering its second act and what better way to raise the curtain on it than by scoring against one of the game's finest teams.

The football world isn't at his feet anymore. It's time Robbie Keane went out and grabbed it.

John O'Brien

[thejollyrodger]

thats the articel niel... Maybe they got all the facts wrong but they certainly got one bit right


The football world isn't at his feet anymore. It's time Robbie Keane went out and grabbed it.

[OwlsFan]

The guy is going to break the Irish goal scoring record by the proverbial mile by the time his career ends and still people have a pop at him. Typical Irish attitude. Personally I don't care how he gets on at club level providing he does the business for us at international level. I had the great pleasure to be at the Amsterdam Arena for both games against Holland where he scored cracking goals. Himself, Duff and Roy Keane are the class players of our side and I dread to think where we'd be without a goal scorer like Robbie Keane.

[eirebhoy]

I read that in the newspaper the other day.. indo or irish times..
I thought you were being sarcastic there for a minute after all the stick I give you on that subject. Seriously though, stop taking journalists words as bible.

[geysir]

There a couple of other things that annoy me about John O Brien's article to do with his flexibility on facts.
"Managers have signed him in a flush of enthusiasm, and then grown quickly frustrated as they watch him struggle to fit into their game-plans".
Wolves: fitted in well, manager sold him for money
Coventry: fitted in well, manager sold him for money
Inter: showed promise , Lippi went, new Manager sold him
Leeds: O Leary, I dont know
Spurs: Hoddle I think bought him, fitted in well, Santini was anathema to Spurs. New manager Jol, maybe difficulties, still just a maybe.

"Marcello Lippi astonishingly brought him to Internazionale, fondly christened him 'Baby Irish' and returned him to England within four months."
Factually wrong, Lippi did not return him.

[Jerry The Saint]

Just skimmed through that quickly but, for a start, this is rubbish
Marcello Lippi astonishingly brought him to Internazionale, fondly christened him 'Baby Irish' and returned him to England within four months.

John O'Brien

Lippi was sacked very early on in the season. Tardelli took over and had at least 6 top-notch international strikers at the club (Vieri, Recoba, Hakan Sukur, Roberto Baggio, Zamorano), he didn't fancy Robbie so he moved back to England to try and get a game more regularly. It was actually a bit of a sore point with the Inter fans (mainly because Tardelli sold Keane, Zamorano and Baggio but kept the unpopular Recoba and Sukur).

The thing about Keane not scoring in crucial games seems to be something that's been said so often people just go along with it without thinking it through. As has been pointed out, we don't exactly play too many of these so-called "vital" games every year.


While a record of 25 goals in 58 appearances looks good, the fact remains that Keane has scored the majority of his goals either in friendlies or against the lower ranked teams in international football. The last truly vital goals he scored came in the World Cup - a penalty against Spain and a last minute equaliser against Germany. Before that you have to go back to Holland in 2000 and Yugoslavia a year earlier.

[TheOwl]

The lads always go on the tear in Tamangos when they join up with the Irish squad, pretty much everybody in Portmarnock can tell you a view stories about some of the exploits of the Irish team.

I can understand both viewpoints on whether this is ok or not. I’m sure it mucks up the next day’s training, but the players need to be motivated for Irish games and often the games by themselves won’t be sufficient to this.

Not all the players, I’m sure, love playing for Ireland just because of the 90 minutes on the pitch, it’s a balancing act, but I’d imagine it would be near impossible to build team spirit in a hotel function room.

[Roverstillidie]

does it actually need to be mentioned that kerr was aware they were going out on a day off?

[thejollyrodger]

does it matter FFS ? the game is today, lets concentrate on beating the French

[Dotsy]

whatever the rights the wrongs are it is irrelevent today. Let just hope Robbie and everbody else on the team are in good shape come 19:55 tonight and play to the best of their ability.

[geysir]

The Heralds story on (Saipan 2) amounts to treason imo. The lie spread around the news wires, then had to be followed by tons of print devoted to denials, explanations etc. It was a perverse attempt to gain sensation at the expense of our world cup hopes. It was an attempt to scuttle the team spirit for a sensational falsehood, nothing less. I take that very personal.

[Stuttgart88]

Well said Geysir. They should be ashamed. Some chance though.