Robbie Keane

[hudhastings]

Is it just me or is he putting on weight again? He can hardly do his somersaults anymore. :D

When is he going to stop arseing around and do something of note at club level?

He scored a class goal today against brtn i think his confidence has come back we are now again beginning to see the keono of old. hes hitting his peak at the perfect part o the season, i reakon jol will have a stricker choice head ache when kanoute oms bk frm injury. does he leave out keane or play keane with defeo//

[4tothefloor]

I've been critical of Keane in the past, but I think he is playing brilliant stuff at the moment. He was superb against Everton and it was only bad luck that deprived him of a hat-trick. His goal against Brighton was top class. If Henry had scored that, Sky Sports would be repeating it every 20 minutes.

I think Keane knows that he has to push on now, seeing that Spurs have so many attacking options. Jol is an attack minded coach and this suits Robbie. There's unreal competition for places at Spurs now, and it seems to have brought the best out of Keane. Lets hope he can bring his form to his Ireland performances.

[Plastic Paddy]

There's unreal competition for places at Spurs now, and it seems to have brought the best out of Keane. Lets hope he can bring his form to his Ireland performances.

A-men to that, brother! Here's hoping... :D

:D PP

[tetsujin1979]

Yeates came on and did well by all accounts (didn't see any of the game myself, apart from the goals), report on him on the spurs website here (http://www.spurs.co.uk/article.asp?hlid=248805)

[Stuttgart88]

He looks about 12! I think Jol rates him which is good news.

[bitored]

I watched the highlights of Spurs v. Brighton and noticed a player for Brighton called Kerry Mayo. Surely with a name like the All-Ireland final he has to be Irish?!

[eirebhoy]

What postion is he?
Up front or behind the strikers. From what I've seen I think we have Robbie Keane II on our hands.

[drummerboy]

He plays up front, or left side midfield. Class act. Hiis father played for Shels and Rovers. Sadly passed away last year after accident leaving 5 kids, the eldest one being the lad at Spurs. Jol seems to rate him.

Another interesting thing is that Jol played Stephen Kelly on Saturday and left Pamerol on the bench. According to papers Spurs are willing to listen to listen to offers for the Frenchman. Southampton are interested.

Jol is a brilliant coach. He will bring the best out in Robbie Keane.

[eirebhoy]

I actually think Jol considers Kelly his first choice right back now that he's back from injury.

[Plastic Paddy]

Jol is a brilliant coach. He will bring the best out in Robbie Keane.

I agree wholeheartedly. At a tangent (and at the risk of duplicating another thread), I was very pleased when Jol was appointed. I'd also be very pleased if Andy Reid were to join Spurs, as I feel Jol would improve him too. As well as being an astute tactician, Jol seems to be an excellent man-manager.

:D PP

[drummerboy]

While I think it would probably be a good move for Reid, I think he will have stiff opposition from 18-year-old Ziegler, plus it might also stymie the progress of Yeates, who can also play there

[eirebhoy]

While I think it would probably be a good move for Reid, I think he will have stiff opposition from 18-year-old Ziegler, plus it might also stymie the progress of Yeates, who can also play there
Yeah, but its better than the competition he'd face at Newcastle or Villa. Reid is certainly better than the two players mentioned.

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

I agree wholeheartedly. At a tangent (and at the risk of duplicating another thread), I was very pleased when Jol was appointed. I'd also be very pleased if Andy Reid were to join Spurs, as I feel Jol would improve him too. As well as being an astute tactician, Jol seems to be an excellent man-manager.

:D PP

Fully agree PP. You can tell by the look of a manager if he is good or not. Jol has the charisma and the players respond. Spurs are a great club with some of the best young players in the Premiership. Jol is what Robbie has always needed. He is a manager who will bring the best of Robbie. Robbie needs stability. This is his third season at Spurs. Think that goal against Brighton was his 39th for the club. I've always felt that Spurs is great for Robbie and Robbie is great for Spurs.

[eirebhoy]

1 more goal and Keane will have 100 career goals. Not exactly a spectacular figure but a still a milestone.

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

1 more goal and Keane will have 100 career goals. Not exactly a spectacular figure but a still a milestone.

Fair point eirebhoy. He should have more, but remember he is still only 24. Niall Quinn was in his early thirties when he reached that milestone. We should be glad for the gift of Robbie Keane that God has given us.
BTW, does that include his international goals or the couple of goals he scored for Inter?

[eirebhoy]

I've actually just realise that 100 goals is a high figure when compared to other players. A few selected players off the top of my head:

Duncan Ferguson 120
Eidur Gudjohnsen 105
Keane 100
Juan Pablo Angel 99 (doesn't include South American cup matches)
Nicolas Anelka 99 (doesn't include cup games in France and Spain)
Paul Dickov 98
Craig Bellamy 85
Jermain Defoe 82
James Beattie 76
Didier Drogba 67 (league and europe only)
Alan Smith 65
Freddie Kanoute 60
Milan Baros 48
Wayne Rooney 24

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

He should have more. According to the Spurs website, that goal on Saturday was the 100th goal of his club career. This is his seventh season of first team football. However, considering that he had 90 career goals before the start of this season, Robbie has an average of 15 goals a season in league and cup competitions. With the exception of a season at Leeds, I dont think he's ever failed to hit double figures.

[Dillo]

Whatever the case, there's no denying that Robbie has made significant progress both off and on the pitch over those seven seasons. His relationship with Carlton Palmer's daughter, his diction has improved in leaps and bounds (no doubting Jamie Redknapp's influence on this), his move from West Tallaght to White Hart Lane and he's also broken the Irish goalscoring record. As the song goes... "Things can only get better" and they surely will for Robbie.

[eirebhoy]

He should have more. According to the Spurs website, that goal on Saturday was the 100th goal of his club career.
Oh yeah, he scored one in the cup for Inter didn't he? Soccerbase don't include continental cup goals.

[Slash/ED]

He scored in two different cup games for Inter I think.

[dr_peepee]

I think he scored in Europe for Inter...

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

I think he scored in Europe for Inter...

No, Inter were knocked out in the qualifying stages of the CL by some minnows that season. Keane came on as a sub in the second leg and played well. He had a chance to win it for Inter late on but his shot was cleared of the line.
From what I can remember, his goal in the Italian Cup was against Lazio - he flicked the ball over Nesta's head and scored??

[tetsujin1979]

No, Inter were knocked out in the qualifying stages of the CL by some minnows that season. Keane came on as a sub in the second leg and played well. He had a chance to win it for Inter late on but his shot was cleared of the line.
From what I can remember, his goal in the Italian Cup was against Lazio - he flicked the ball over Nesta's head and scored??

I thought he won the penalty in that European game, and Recoba missed with it, see more here (http://www.wldcup.com/news/2000Aug/20000824_5372_inter_lippi.html) doesn't mention who won the penalty though

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

I thought he won the penalty in that European game, and Recoba missed with it, see more here (http://www.wldcup.com/news/2000Aug/20000824_5372_inter_lippi.html) doesn't mention who won the penalty though

You may well be right. Cant ever remember the penalty in the game. Keane was praised by the Italian media and the Inter fans after that game from what I can recall though.

[ken foree]

No, Inter were knocked out in the qualifying stages of the CL by some minnows that season. Keane came on as a sub in the second leg and played well. He had a chance to win it for Inter late on but his shot was cleared of the line.
From what I can remember, his goal in the Italian Cup was against Lazio - he flicked the ball over Nesta's head and scored??

yea weren't they norwegians that knocked them out? i think the near-goal you speak of was a backheel from about 12 yards indeed. against lazio, someone hit a long ball over the top and he ran onto it with nesta closing and lobbed the keeper. lovely goal

[tetsujin1979]

yea weren't they norwegians that knocked them out? i think the near-goal you speak of was a backheel from about 12 yards indeed. against lazio, someone hit a long ball over the top and he ran onto it with nesta closing and lobbed the keeper. lovely goal

It was Helsingborg of Sweden, searched around a bit more, check it out here (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/2000/08/23/champions_inter/)

[eirebhoy]

I can't bellieve how biased Sky's ratings are. Every week Defoe gets rated higher than Keane. If anyone saw today's match, Defoe was hardly in the match while Keane was very lively. They gave Robbie a 6 with the tag of "Struggled" and Defoe a rating of 7 with the tag "Lively". Only 2 other Spurs players got a 7 and they were also both England internationals. :rolleyes:

Not suprisingly Lampard got a 9 for scoring a peno and an open goal and doing f*ck all else.

[livehead1]

yep its the same cr*p at liverpool united. keane made gerrard look like a schoolboy 2day with his passing. yet gerrard got a 6 and keane only 7. there was alot more than 1 grade between them 2day!!!! it said gerrard "not his usual self" and keane "cool display"...no i think thats wat you call "proving that your still a world class footballer" when you keep someone who the english media have been raving about all year (gerrard), quiet!

[eirebhoy]

And just to add, the only 3 players to get more than a 7 for Chelsea were also the only 3 England internationals that started, Johnson, Terry and and Lampard. Its the last time I'll rely on Sky for ratings, its the first time I looked at the rating for a match I'd already seen. I actually sent them some feedback. I think we can all admit to being a bit biased towards the Irish players but none of us are as blatant as that.

[Slash/ED]

Vintage Sky really, some of the stuff they say completley baffles me. If someone scores it seems they'll automatically get MOTM, espically if English. The most laughable of this was when Joe Cole scored against Liverpool, I think, but was absolutley useless apart from the goal. Sky give him man of the match, Mourinho publically blasts him over his performance and drops him for a good long while. I'd take anything they say with a pinch of salt.

And I also thought Keane was impressive enough today, considering how little space he and the rest of the Spurs attack got.

EDIT - I also remember when Duffer signed for Chelsea Andy Gray wrote an article where he said Duff was "No David Beckham...or even Harry Kewell!" :D Sums them up really.

Also, I see they've given Scholes a higher rating than Keane, that's laughable really, I hoenstly thought Scholes was awful, his passing was all over the place.

[tetsujin1979]

Half the time the links to the player ratings don't work for me (although this could be because I use Opera rather than internet explorer) but I follow the fan ratings more than the official Sky ratings.

[1MickCollins]

The Beeb as usual get it spot on

Steven Gerrard - 6: Tried to get his team going after Rooney's goal but was effectively shackled by Keane and his set-pieces were also below-par.


Roy Keane - 8: Blockbusting volley crashed back off the bar and kept the usually influential Gerrard quiet.

[livehead1]

yep read my earlier post, i think i should become a summeriser!!! lol

[tricky_colour]

Half the time the links to the player ratings don't work for me (although this could be because I use Opera rather than internet explorer) but I follow the fan ratings more than the official Sky ratings.

I had a problem trying to see Man U's ratings (Liverpools were OK though)
I would imagine that it was due to a high level of traffic as it worked
on the 3rd or 4th try, so I doubt it is because you use Opera.
Not many sites give ratings so I imagine it is busy on Saturday evening.

[hudhastings]

yep its the same cr*p at liverpool united. keane made gerrard look like a schoolboy 2day with his passing. yet gerrard got a 6 and keane only 7. there was alot more than 1 grade between them 2day!!!! it said gerrard "not his usual self" and keane "cool display"...no i think thats wat you call "proving that your still a world class footballer" when you keep someone who the english media have been raving about all year (gerrard), quiet!


I wouldnt read the player ratings crap on sky sports its total biased rubbish. The Sunday times imo gives the more fair player ratings. keane plus defoe got a 7 while gerrard got a 6 and roy got a 9motm.

[eirebhoy]

Got a reply from Sky about the ratings:

Hi
Thank you for taking the time to email us - I am passing a copy to the
Sports editorial team.
Regards
Rachel

It'll be fun to see if they actually drop the bias. :)

[drinkfeckarse]

Lads can anyone supply me with Robbie's actual goals and appearances record for his various clubs please.

Just interested in seeing his goals to game ratio for his various clubs. I know they don't compare to his international record but I'm bored today and just thought of this!

[eirebhoy]

http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=11957

[drinkfeckarse]

Thanks eirebhoy :cool: , I knew you could sort it out for me although I don't know why I didn't think of that myself though :o

His record is slightly better than what I would've thought. 82 goals in 205 games, not a bad return at all.

[drinkfeckarse]

That's only league goals and appearances btw and it doesn't include 30 odd substitute appearances. Still a good return from him and so much more to come.

[Eirambler]

Looks like Spurs are signing Mido (young egyptian striker).

BBC report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/4164607.stm)

[eirebhoy]

Looks like Spurs are signing Mido (young egyptian striker).

BBC report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/4164607.stm)
They also have a £1.5m bid in for right winger Routledge.

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

Since I became a member of this website I have read more about Robbie Keane than any other player. For some time now I have been meaning to post a serious thread on the man. It would appear that Robbie takes a lot of stick from Ireland fans on this forum. While I agree with some of the criticisms, I believe we are too harsh on the younger Keano.

I have been lucky enough to follow Robbie Keane's career since his first game with Wolves in August 1997. The 17 year old came off the bench to make his first team debut and score. Since then, Robbie has gone on to write himself into the history books. He became a hero during his time in the Black Country. After a £6 million move to Coventry City, Robbie blossomed under the watchful eye of Gordon Strachan. That season, he set Highfield Road alight with goals against the ilkes of Arsenal and Chelsea. After a promising start at Inter Milan, a change of manager made it difficult for Robbie to establish himself in Serie A. Bear in mind that Robbie was at a club that already had Ronaldo, Christian Vieri, Ivan Zamarona, and the young Uruguayan, Recoba. However, his time on the sidelines did not dent his confidence as Robbie returned to the Premiership with a bang. In his first month with Leeds, he won the Premiership Player of the Month award. There is no doubt that Robbie had enough ability to succeed at Leeds. However, it was at this point that one of Robbie's weaknesses became apparent. Dave O'Leary dropped him as he felt that Alan Smith and Mark Viduka were a better partnership. For all Robbie's talent, one of his major failings is that he has struggled to perform as part of a successful partnership. The exceptions being his partnership with Niall Quinn at international level and Cederic Roussell at Coventry.

Some people on this site have the perception that Robbie Keane is always on the move. This is not quite true. He is about to complete his third season with Tottenham Hotspur. For the previous two seasons he was voted the club's player of the year. This season, he has started 24 games and been introduced as a sub 10 times. He has managed to score 8 Premiership goals, 3 FA Cup goals, and 3 Carling Cup goals.

Indeed, it appears to me that Robbie has achieved a level of consistency throughout his career that he is rarely given credit for. This is his eight season of first team football. He has scored 104 career goals at club level. In other words, if Robbie Keane doesn't score again this season his average will be 13 goals a season. That's not bad for a 24 year old who has had plenty of clubs and spent most of the 2001-02 season on the bench at Leeds. In addition, he has scored 24 international goals in 58 caps for Ireland. That's five more goals than John Aldridge managed and four more than Frank Stapleton. Robbie even went through a goal drought for Ireland. However, since November 2001 he has hit the net 17 times for his country. That's one of the most impressive strike rates in international football.

I think that we in Ireland have an inferiority complex. I think we look towards English strikers and almost covet them. Alan Smith is about the same age as Robbie Keane. He may play for Manchester United. However, Smith has scored approximately half the career goals that Robbie has. Also, Smith has achieved very little at international level. Another player who is often considered better than our Robbie is Craig Bellamy. I wouldn't dream of putting the Welshman in the same bracket as Keano. Bellamy's career could be compared to Robbie's as it has been somewhat nomadic. However, the man on loan to Celtic has scored less than eight goals on average per season in his professional career to date.

Yet despite all he has achieved, people still persist to give him a hard time. I believe the man is worth his weight in gold to the international team. Before we had Robbie, all we had was David Connolly, Keith O'Neill, Jon Goodman, etc. People seem to think that our small nation should produce strikers like Ruud Van Nistlerooy. Nonetheless, Robbie may go on to set records that may never be broken by another Irish international. He looks set to win more than a hundred caps and it is difficult to predict just how many goals he will score for us. We should be grateful for the gift we have been given. Similar to Paul McGrath, Roy Keane and Damien Duff, Robbie Keane is a gift from God. We should appreciate his talents and pray that he will remain injury-free.

Robbie clearly has some faults, but these can be rectified with good coaching. For that reason, I hope he stays at Spurs and where he will benefit from the tutelage of Martin Jol. Spurs is a good club for Robbie. He has Chris Hughton and a number of emerging Irish players alongside him. Robbie needs consistency and he needs to lose some of the rawness that exists in his game. This will allow him to become a better stike partner. Freddie Kanoute would appear to be ahead of him in the pecking order, yet Kanoute has only scored 7 times this season (half Robbie's total). Robbie is still only 24. He has shown glimpses of what he might achieve (eg. Amsterdam 2004). I believe he is a very good player and in time I hope that he can be a great player. I don't buy the argument that Robbie is in the comfort zone. He has too much enthusiasm for his club and his international team to be like that.

Perhaps he has set such high standards at such a young age that we expect so much from him.

[Eirambler]

Couldn't agree more. I think maybe some of the criticisms of him are justified (but not many), but the thing for me is, If Robbie Keane didn't play for Ireland, where would we be now?

For all the really good players we have at the moment Robbie is the one we can do without the least because he is the only one who will score regularly enough for us to be a force.

Just think of the striker pairings we'd have to have fielded since 98 if we didn't have Robbie. Scary!

[Donal81]

He's been debated a ridiculous amount on this site already, gets some ridiculous reactionary criticism, most likely from those who are quickest to shower the bloke in praise when he scores. He's our best striker that needs some work and let's hope he gets it, end of story.

[eirebhoy]

Excellent, well thought out post.

Just to add, it is only this season that I've noticed Keane coming in for a lot of critisism. At the same time Jermain Defoe has broke into the first team with England and been linked to a big money move to Chelsea. Now consider that and look at these stats:

Robbie Keane
Minutes played: 1701
Goals Scored: 8
Assists: 5
Minutes/Goal: 212
90mins/Goal: 2.35

Jermain Defoe
Minutes Played: 1975
Goals Scored: 11
Assists: 2
Minutes/Goal: 179
90mins/Goal: 2.0

Remember that Keane was played out of position about 3-5 times and those stats are pretty equal.

BTW - If you were to add cup matches Keane's game/goal average would be a lot better. He scored 6 goals in the equivalent of under 6 games.

[byrnie20]

Very good article there,Robbie Keane is a superb player and we should be thankful for a striker as good as him.He does miss a few chances but he never lets it get him down.I know a lot of England fans who would love him for them and have said they would swap Owen for him if they could.

[Superhoops]

Very good article there, Robbie Keane is a superb player and we should be thankful for a striker as good as him. He does miss a few chances but he never lets it get him down.......
All forwards miss chances and nobody minds that. His one weakness is that he gets wound up too easily and he would be a much better player if he stopped the constant whinging, particularly at match officials, when things don't go his way. There have been far too many times when, instead of closing down defenders, he is too busy arguing with and whinging at the officials. A few years ago, you could put that down to frustration and inexperience, but not any more. Still, he is up their with our best ever forwards.

[Closed Account 2]

All those who slate him would do well to remember what he did in the last minute v Germany and the penalty vs Spain. In the really big games, when the pressure is on Robbie has hardly ever let us down.

I think he is by far and away the best striker we've got and its hard to think of as good a natural finisher who has played for us in the last 10-15 years (maybe Aldo in his prime).

He is a fair bit better than Morrison (who isnt a bad player), and a lot better than Connolly (who just doesnt seem to cut it), Alan Lee (who isnt world class but does give us the aerial option) or the Doc (not a natural striker, but people forget he got 6 for us in the qualifiers for Euro 2004, so again is a useful option as a target man to throw on if the circumstances are right). And I think playing midfielders like Duffer and Reid upfront for us is a waste of their talents.

Robbie is our best striker and if he gets the service he'll score the goals, its that simple.

I hope he stays at Spurs as I feel Jol will help him as a player and he could get a good understanding with Andy Reid. Even if he's on the bench for the odd game, Robbie is naturally a lively lad and I dont see it affecting his confidence too much in the way it might affect say Clinton. If he is on the bench every once in a while it could be good for us as it would keep him fresh and hopefully would reduce the likelyhood of burnout injuries.

[onenilgameover]

Great stuff...its good to here so many people agree with your post too....Hopefully he will get less stick on here because of it...The amount of negative publicity Robbie gets in Ireland is ridiculous especially from Gilsey..if I read another article or listen to that man tell me how Robbie needs to learn his trade or grow up one more time I swear I'ill go mad...He's one or two things too say and repeats em over an over again. I reckon he's actually an elephant cos he don't seem to remember what he's just said.

Robbie got loads of stick on here after the Faroe Islands game where he scored twice and became Ireland's all leading goal scorer...When we as Irish fans should have been celebrating and congratulating robbie we chose to put the boot in..Great to have a piece written in praise of him.