Robbie Keane [Archive] - Page 118

kennedmc

04/03/2013, 10:36 AM

Would you have any strikers in your top ten?

No I wouldn't have any strikers in all time Irish top ten. I don't believe we have produced any great / world class forwards. I think Keane and Stapleton were the best that I have seen and I would favour Stapleton because I think he has more to his all around game then robbie.

Robbies is a good / very good player and had had a fantastic career. If you asked objective non irish fans to name their top 50 forwards of the last 20 years I wonder where and if robbie would feature?

On that mls clip, firstly decent finish by robbie (not sure about stunning as the title clip states!) but the defending from the short corner is comical - you'd get slaughtered in a junior league for that. I didn't want Keane to go or mls because I though the standard is poor and I have seen nothing to change that.

Bungle

04/03/2013, 10:49 AM

If we talk about what Robbie has done in a green shirt, then he is easily one of our greatest ever players. He has been a vital player to our team for close on 15 years and he has scored a huge amount of goals, often in crucial games against big teams. His decision to continue playing for the BIG is admirable and shows his commitment to playing for his country. It is Trap's decision not to pick Robbie and while I would not start him in our next two games, I do respect him for not retiring.

If you talk about Robbie in the global grand scheme of things, then he has probably been in the 2nd tier of strikers for most of his career (very good but not world class), but has occasionally showed glimpses of being a world class player, such as at WC 02 and the season before he went to Liverpool, when if he was English, he may have won the PFA player of the year - think he scored 30 odd goals in a calendar year from January to December around that time.

A comparison could be made with someone like say Ronnie Whelan. Ronnie was a truly world class player in one of the greatest club sides of all time. However, his form for Ireland was at times poor if I remember.

Crosby87

04/03/2013, 11:25 AM

Cormac Byrne happy to report from LA for the Indo.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/robbie-keane-finds-the-net-for-the-la-galaxy-in-the-first-game-of-the-postbeckham-era-29107106.html

gustavo

05/03/2013, 12:13 PM

Robbies is a good / very good player and had had a fantastic career. If you asked objective non irish fans to name their top 50 forwards of the last 20 years I wonder where and if robbie would feature?

Why would that matter?

We're talking about best Irish players of all time , How they measure in an overall context is irrelevant.

barney

05/03/2013, 12:28 PM

Christ on a bike, I've seen some head in the sand stupidity in my time but some of the posts on Robbie Keane are beyond ridiculous on this thread.

The "Aldridge, Stapleton and Givens would have scored more than him against the same level of opponents" really takes the biscuit.

Robbie Keane is in the top 10 Irish players of all time. In fact, he's probably in the top 5 for most reasonable people. To say he is nowhere near just stinks of someone having an awful, petty bias against him.

BonnieShels

05/03/2013, 10:41 PM

Yard of Pace

05/03/2013, 11:23 PM

When I read people saying Robbie isn't one of our greatest ever players, I feel like I'm on crazy pills.

Top 5 for me, no question. He has over 50 goals! I mean.....come on!

BonnieShels

05/03/2013, 11:24 PM

When I read people saying Robbie isn't one of our greatest ever players, I feel like I'm on crazy pills.

Top 5 for me, no question. He has over 50 goals! I mean.....come on!

But most of them were...

*in friendlies
*against weak opposition
*tap-ins
*penalties

Circle as many or as few as appropriate.

SkStu

05/03/2013, 11:27 PM

But most of them were...

*in friendlies
*against weak opposition
*tap-ins
*penalties
*involved arm and hand waving

Circle as many or as few as appropriate.

Added a little more clarity to the anti-Keane argument.

Crosby87

05/03/2013, 11:33 PM

SkStu

06/03/2013, 12:05 AM

I've been to three local games in 6 years one of which was a Moose Jaw Warriors game. Not a huge fan of hockey tbh. Much prefer the CFL - Go Riders!

BonnieShels

06/03/2013, 12:10 AM

Bandwagoner!

Crosby87

06/03/2013, 12:21 AM

I didnt know moose jaw played there. theyve had some pens propects over the years. do they fight in the WHL?

Colbert Report

06/03/2013, 3:53 AM

Of course they fight! There are far more fights in the Dub than there are in the NHL.

Crosby87

07/03/2013, 12:39 AM

How soon before our (somewhat) beloved Skip picks up an injury on Costa Ricas horrible playing fields?
Some indicate it could come soon.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tough-trips-central-america-nothing-192634677--mls.html

DannyInvincible

07/03/2013, 5:16 AM

It's a different world south of the border, and the challenges that await Major League Soccer clubs, from poor field conditions to hostile environments to questionable officiating, is part of the game.

Of course, officials don't make mistakes, or God forbid they'd be prone to a bribe, back in the first world...

tricky_colour

08/03/2013, 3:43 AM

This should settle things, Keane is the #2 player in MLS currently. :D
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/03/05/castrol-index-weekly-top-20-la-galaxys-mike-magee-robbie-keane-ride-top

Hey stu do you ever go to Regina Pats games?

The number 1 player is Mike Magee!!
He is of Irish descent!!
He has not played a full international for the USA (just U20)
It has to be said.....
SIGN HIM UP TRAP!!!!

DannyInvincible

12/03/2013, 8:28 AM

Robbie is the world's 15th-richest footballer: http://www.independent.ie/woman/cha-ching-robbie-keane-makes-footballs-rich-list-29124799.html

Welcome to the multi-millionaires club, Robbie Keane. The Ireland captain, who is based in LA with his wife Claudine and 3-year-old son Robert Jnr, is worth an estimated €40.6 million.

The 32-year-old is now wealthier than Premier League bigwigs such as Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and John Terry, thanks to his lucrative move to play for the LA Galaxy in 2011.

The list of the world's top-earning footballers was revealed with David Beckham, unsurprisingly coming out on top with a €200m net worth. The Goal.com rich list also sees Lionel Messi's €132m, Ronaldo's €128m and Wayne Rooney's €57m rounding out the top ten. And Irish teammate Damien Duff also appears on the list at number 39, with a net worth of €21.2million.

While their football pay packets are the stuff of dreams, many of the top earners' large bank balances are due to 'freelance' income from modelling gigs, endorsements and public appearances.

"The world's top footballers can no longer be regarded as just athletes," Goal.com managing editor Amar Singh explained. "They are major international brands. And David Beckham is the biggest brand of them all. Our findings show just how much wealth footballers are able to accumulate by leveraging this."

Robbie is believed to be earning €2.5m a year from the LA Galaxy, not including bonuses, and he and his model wife are in the middle of moving home once again. The high profile pair were living in a Malibu beach house, however they decided to move once again and sold the property to Spice Girl Mel B.

DannyInvincible

14/03/2013, 7:46 AM

'Robbie Keane scores as LA Galaxy progress to Concacaf Champions League semi final': http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3942/ireland/2013/03/14/3823754/robbie-keane-scores-as-la-galaxy-progress-to-concacaf

The Galaxy captain scored in a 4-1 victory over Costa Rican side Herediano to help send the club into the semi-final of the Concacaf Champions League

Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane scored in LA Galaxy's 4-1 victory over Herediano in the quarter-final of the Concacaf Champions League.

Galaxy took the lead on 18 minutes through an Omar Gonzalez header, while second half goals from Jose Villareal, Jack McBean and Keane secured the win for the MLS side.

Villareal scored on the 69th minute to put Galaxy 2-0 up, while Keane latched onto a through ball from Michael Stephens in the 83rd minute before slotting home. Herediano scored through Elias Aguilar on 85 minutes, but Jack McBean's stoppage time goal made the final score 4-1.

Speaking after the game, Keane praised Villareal's decisive goal and suggested that it could be a 'big season' for the midfielder.

"He has done well. As I've said before, it could be a big season for him," Keane told the club's official website.

"He stepped up tonight and showed his quality. He scored a vital goal at an opportune moment so it was good for us."

Robbie's goal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZWBBf1zWgE

DannyInvincible

14/03/2013, 7:47 AM

Full highlights of the game here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MSESUvoxYc

brine3

14/03/2013, 9:21 AM

Top 5? Let's see... Irish players who I rate better than Robbie Keane, in alphabetical order to avoid arguments :)

Liam Brady
Shay Brennan
Damien Duff
Tony Dunne
Steve Finnan (criminally underused in a green shirt)
John Giles
Shay Given
Ray Houghton
Charlie Hurley
Denis Irwin
Paul McGrath
Roy Keane
Kevin Moran
Ronnie Whelan

Robbie Keane is the Irish Pippo Inazaghi. A goal poacher with an incredible instinct for goal. But not a great team player and tactically rather poor. But he has certainly been in the top 20 Irish players of all time. I would say he is one of the greatest strikers we have ever had, for sure. Difficult to compare Stapleton and Robbie Keane, seeing as they played in completely different eras. A player like Robbie Keane would have been kicked off the field in 1980s British football. Quinn was also a great Irish forward, but had a different role (holding up the ball), so also difficult to compare.

Crosby87

14/03/2013, 10:21 AM

"Unidentified Fan" now on LA Buses:
http://static.independent.ie/incoming/article29129989.ece/ALTERNATES/h342/robbie-keane.jpg

And with all the traffic people will have plenty of time to try to work it out.

Charlie Darwin

14/03/2013, 10:37 AM

Can't help but note that the unidentified fan is pictured right next to the ventilation system.

Serb

14/03/2013, 11:55 AM

Robbie Keane is the Irish Pippo Inazaghi. A goal poacher with an incredible instinct for goal. But not a great team player and tactically rather poor. But he has certainly been in the top 20 Irish players of all time. I would say he is one of the greatest strikers we have ever had, for sure. Difficult to compare Stapleton and Robbie Keane, seeing as they played in completely different eras. A player like Robbie Keane would have been kicked off the field in 1980s British football. Quinn was also a great Irish forward, but had a different role (holding up the ball), so also difficult to compare.

I don't buy a word of that. So what if Stapleton and Keane played in different eras? If Stapleton had played in the 1890s, how would have gotten on with the big heavy leather ball? It has no relevance to how good they were during their playing careers. Players don't choose when you get to play for Ireland � all you can judge them on is how much of a difference they made when they were picked and, quite frankly, we would be nowhere without all 54 of Robbie's goals for Ireland.

Robbie Keane is in the top three players for Ireland.

Charlie Darwin

14/03/2013, 11:57 AM

I have to question the sanity of anybody who would put Frank Stapleton ahead of Robbie Quinn, let alone Niall Quinn. Good players all but Robbie is a cut above.

DannyInvincible

14/03/2013, 12:05 PM

Robbie Keane is the Irish Pippo Inazaghi. A goal poacher with an incredible instinct for goal. But not a great team player and tactically rather poor. But he has certainly been in the top 20 Irish players of all time. I would say he is one of the greatest strikers we have ever had, for sure. Difficult to compare Stapleton and Robbie Keane, seeing as they played in completely different eras. A player like Robbie Keane would have been kicked off the field in 1980s British football. Quinn was also a great Irish forward, but had a different role (holding up the ball), so also difficult to compare.

How do you compare any set of players from different positions though? Their greatness or ability is surely measured by how they demonstrated an aptitude to perform in the role they were assigned in the era in which they played. You also have to gauge how crucial or significant their contribution to the team was, and you can't doubt the significance of Robbie's goals and general play to the Irish cause over the past decade and a half. As Serb says, we'd be nowhere without his contribution.

Sullivinho

14/03/2013, 12:19 PM

SkStu

14/03/2013, 4:51 PM

54 goals should automatically put any Irish international into the top 5 of all time, if not higher. It is so far ahead of the competition (other strikers) its in a different league. It is such a huge contribution to Irish success since the 90's, it eclipses the conrtibutions of most of the players on brines list. To argue otherwise is foolish in my opinion. To be clear, i dont think we should take club form/achievements into account for these types of lists unless specified.

gastric

14/03/2013, 9:29 PM

I remember when Robbie first burst onto the scene Niall Quinn excitedly commented how Keane would easily pass his goal scoring record for Ireland which at the time was around 21 goals. Robbie now has easily passed that record and because of this he has to be accepted as our best striker of all time. In terms of assists and the ability to change a game, it would be hard to look past Quinn. As for Stapleton, having met him, all I can say is he is a grumpy and unfriendly individual who I don't respect.

BonnieShels

14/03/2013, 10:03 PM

Do tell?

brine3

14/03/2013, 10:23 PM

Very good player and I wish we had one of his ilk at rb about now but...

you're having a laugh.

Well you only disagree with 1 of the 14 I picked ahead of Robbie Keane so I'll take it we are in good agreement.

Steve Finnan was probably our best player in Japan/Korea. Says a lot about Mick's judgement that Finnan wasn't a starter going into the tournament...

And of course Finnan has bags of Champions League experience, including a winner's medal.

Should have had about 30 more caps than he got.

brine3

14/03/2013, 10:30 PM

54 goals should automatically put any Irish international into the top 5 of all time, if not higher.

Well to get into the Top 5 Ireland players of all time you'd have to be ahead of at least Paul McGrath, John Giles, Liam Brady, Roy Keane and Denis Irwin. And then there's Shay Given, I'm sure he saved at least 54 certain goals in his time.

I'm consistent though, I once argued with an Iranian that Mehdi Mahdavikia was the greatest Iranian player of all time and not Ali Daei, in spite of his 109 goals.

gastric

14/03/2013, 10:31 PM

samhaydenjr

15/03/2013, 3:34 AM

Well you only disagree with 1 of the 14 I picked ahead of Robbie Keane so I'll take it we are in good agreement.

Steve Finnan was probably our best player in Japan/Korea. Says a lot about Mick's judgement that Finnan wasn't a starter going into the tournament...

And of course Finnan has bags of Champions League experience, including a winner's medal.

Should have had about 30 more caps than he got.

No it doesn't say much about Mick's judgement - if you simply look at Wikipedia, you see that, at the beginning of qualifying, Finnan had only a handful of Premier League appearances at a newly-promoted Fulham, whereas his competition for the right-back position, Stephen Carr and Gary Kelly, both had years of experience in top-half Premier League clubs, which would have naturally put them ahead of him in the pecking order at that time and, as both helped guide Ireland through the successful campaign, it would also have been natural for Mick to have chosen them as the main two for the right-back position in the squad, had Carr not been injured. That Finnan really emerged as Mr Dependable during the tournament when needed was great, but the fact that Mick preferred Carr and Kelly (both fine full-backs) over him before the Finals was no damning error of judgement on his part, just a sign that we were blessed with depth in that position.

pineapple stu

15/03/2013, 6:43 AM

And of course Finnan has bags of Champions League experience, including a winner's medal.
"He won the Champions' League" as a token of praise died when Djimi Traore won it.

Also, I'd be fairly sure there's at least three players on your list you've never seen play.

BonnieShels

15/03/2013, 7:03 AM

I don't want to go into great detail, but suffice to say, John Byrne was an absolute gentleman and signed autographs and chatted away with a group of Irish schoolboys while Stapleton was what I mentioned above. While he was a class footballer, I find it hard to be objective about him since.

Fair enough.

Just like me and that French player. I can't reconcile any praise for him with what he done that cold November night in Paris.

geysir

15/03/2013, 7:22 AM

"He won the Champions' League" as a token of praise died when Djimi Traore won it.

Also, I'd be fairly sure there's at least three players on your list you've never seen play.

Maybe on its own, winning a CL medal as a token of praise is suspect but just because Traore won one, doesn't diminish its place in Finnan's career.

brine3

15/03/2013, 7:42 AM

No it doesn't say much about Mick's judgement - if you simply look at Wikipedia, you see that, at the beginning of qualifying, Finnan had only a handful of Premier League appearances at a newly-promoted Fulham, whereas his competition for the right-back position, Stephen Carr and Gary Kelly, both had years of experience in top-half Premier League clubs, which would have naturally put them ahead of him in the pecking order at that time and, as both helped guide Ireland through the successful campaign, it would also have been natural for Mick to have chosen them as the main two for the right-back position in the squad, had Carr not been injured.

Handful of apps for a newly promoted team? Finnan was named in the 2001-2002 PFA Team of the Year.

Carr had been injured nearly all season.

Kelly started at right-back, fair enough. But even so, the writing was on the wall in qualification already. Against Holland Kelly was run absolutely ragged and got himself sent off. Finnan came on and got the assist for the winning goal.

But what is most grating is that Mick picked an unfit Jason McAteer at right-half against Cameroon and it was a total disaster. I think it says a lot about Mick's stubborn loyalty that he'd rather pick an unfit McAteer (who had been dropped at Blackburn) over a fit Finnan, who had just been named as the best right back in the Premier League and was in the form of his life. Thankfully he made the change against Cameroon, but only after we had gone 1-0 down. Lucky for Mick it worked out in the group.

brine3

15/03/2013, 7:52 AM

Also, I'd be fairly sure there's at least three players on your list you've never seen play.

I didn't realise when people say Robbie Keane is in the "Top 5 Irish players of all time" that they are only referring to players they have seen themselves. Obviously that would explain a thing or two...

Shay Brennan and Tony Dunne have nearly 900 appearances for Man Utd between them, two league titles and a European Cup. In the modern era these guys would have 100 caps each for Ireland, but in those days, as we know, Irish players were rarely released by their clubs and had to play matches in Dublin only a couple of hours after getting off the boat from Liverpool.

pineapple stu

15/03/2013, 9:06 AM

Maybe on its own, winning a CL medal as a token of praise is suspect but just because Traore won one, doesn't diminish its place in Finnan's career.
I didn't say it did. Finnan absolutely had a very good career, and was a very good player for us. But brine3's comments weren't much more than "He has a winner's medal" (He has since expanded in fairness)

Shay Brennan and Tony Dunne have nearly 900 appearances for Man Utd between them, two league titles and a European Cup. In the modern era these guys would have 100 caps each for Ireland
Would they? I'm not so sure. Let's transport them from their era to the modern day without the benefits of modern coaching (because that's the comparison you're making). It's a different game now. Fitness and tactics have improved hugely since the 60s. Would they even get in the squad now? What level would they be playing at - lower Premiership? Second flight?

Legends in their own time, surely. I'm not sure if that translates to top ten Irish players ever.

BonnieShels

15/03/2013, 9:30 AM

I don't like taking players from one era and putting them in an other. But there's no discernible reason why any player who excelled in any particular era wouldn't have excelled in another.

At the end of the day, they are the best of the best, generally at any given time.

osarusan

15/03/2013, 9:40 AM

Let's transport them from their era to the modern day without the benefits of modern coaching (because that's the comparison you're making). It's a different game now. Fitness and tactics have improved hugely since the 60s. Would they even get in the squad now? What level would they be playing at - lower Premiership? Second flight?

I don't see that as the comparison he's making. Presumably they were as fit as they could be / needed to be for the game at that time. Why wouldn't they be as fit as they could be / needed to be for the game at this time?

tetsujin1979

15/03/2013, 9:55 AM

Handful of apps for a newly promoted team? Finnan was named in the 2001-2002 PFA Team of the Year.

Carr had been injured nearly all season.

Kelly started at right-back, fair enough. But even so, the writing was on the wall in qualification already. Against Holland Kelly was run absolutely ragged and got himself sent off. Finnan came on and got the assist for the winning goal.

But what is most grating is that Mick picked an unfit Jason McAteer at right-half against Cameroon and it was a total disaster. I think it says a lot about Mick's stubborn loyalty that he'd rather pick an unfit McAteer (who had been dropped at Blackburn) over a fit Finnan, who had just been named as the best right back in the Premier League and was in the form of his life. Thankfully he made the change against Cameroon, but only after we had gone 1-0 down. Lucky for Mick it worked out in the group.McAteer had moved to Sunderland long before the World Cup started. He played regularly for his new club from the previous October

pineapple stu

15/03/2013, 9:58 AM

I don't see that as the comparison he's making. Presumably they were as fit as they could be / needed to be for the game at that time. Why wouldn't they be as fit as they could be / needed to be for the game at this time?
I don't doubt there's no inherent reason they wouldn't have improved with modern training (I'm assuming modern training makes a big difference, and I think that's a fair assumption). But does it stand to reason that they were better than Keane on the basis of the player they could have been? I don't think that's necessarily fair.

geysir

15/03/2013, 10:08 AM

I don't think it stands to reason to regard a player from another generation as a top 10 legend based on stats and other peoples' opinion, it doesn't have much value.

In 2055, no doubt Brine5 will be listing Robbie Keane as a top 5 Irish legend based on his stats and positive opinions about his worth to the Irish team