Robbie Keane

[the bear]

Straight past Greece and it's just there on your left....... I'll get my coat:roll:

you won't need your coat it's 40 degrees :)

[the bear]

How did you find Turkey, Bear?

recommend it crosby, lovely weather lovely food, great spot

[Crosby87]

I can see Keano years from now with his grandchildren bouncing on his knees, waiting on his every word, as he tells the story of fulfilling the life long dream of playing Alajuelense. "Papa, there was a football league in the states?" They will ask. "Yes", he'll say, with a twinkle in his eye.

[Sullivinho]

Robbie makes his CONCACAF Champions League debut against the Costa Rican team Alajuelense tonight....

I met them once back in the old championship manager pc games.

On the same day I forget a dental appointment...I remember sh!te like that. Such is life. :D

[dynamo kerry]

robbie interview here from 18 to 26mins... reaffirms commitment to Ireland, from 18 to 26mins: http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime

entertaining bit when they ask robbie if he was surprised to get called up to the national team. I don't think he'd ever been asked that before. Felt a little like when that tv3 girl asked eddie o'sullivan if he was considering his position...

[cclinton]

Looked lively is an apt description for last night... after that, he was tactically very poor, running aimlessly and without any sense of combination play. Had potential to score off two decent crosses in the first half but went behind the defenders and the chance was easily dealt with by the defender. --- On this performance, Robbie should be behind both of our other two primary forwards for upcoming euro games. --While it's only the 2nd game over here, last night would be an indicator that internationally (the level us on this board are focused on) there's not much left in the tank for Robbie...... and it's a situation that's not dependent on what league he's playing in.

[John83]

Looked lively is an apt description for last night... after that, he was tactically very poor, running aimlessly and without any sense of combination play. Had potential to score off two decent crosses in the first half but went behind the defenders and the chance was easily dealt with by the defender. --- On this performance, Robbie should be behind both of our other two primary forwards for upcoming euro games. --While it's only the 2nd game over here, last night would be an indicator that internationally (the level us on this board are focused on) there's not much left in the tank for Robbie...... and it's a situation that's not dependent on what league he's playing in.
That'd be the level he's scored 5 goals in 6 games this campaign while not really playing consistently at club level, would it? The way people go on about Robbie Keane, I'd fecking love to see a good forward play for us. He'd have a thousand international goals to his name, his first touch would cure cancer and his off the ball movement would be so beautiful as to make grown men weep in joy.

[SwanVsDalton]

Looked lively is an apt description for last night... after that, he was tactically very poor, running aimlessly and without any sense of combination play. Had potential to score off two decent crosses in the first half but went behind the defenders and the chance was easily dealt with by the defender. --- On this performance, Robbie should be behind both of our other two primary forwards for upcoming euro games. --While it's only the 2nd game over here, last night would be an indicator that internationally (the level us on this board are focused on) there's not much left in the tank for Robbie...... and it's a situation that's not dependent on what league he's playing in.

You're right there. It's a situation more dependent on his international form. Top scorer in our group despite playing very little club football in that time is enough for me.

[Charlie Darwin]

Let's drop the top scorer in our group because he's only scored one goal in two games for his new club.

[theworm2345]

Interesting that if he had stayed at Spurs a little longer he likely would have come up again Shamrock Rovers.

[Fixer82]

Saw fair bit of LA Galaxy game last night in a bar in Chicago. Robbie looked fairly sharp. As was said above he didn't really get much goal opportunities but certainly looked like he was putting himself about and well up for it.
In other matters I'm hung over to bits.

[Charlie Darwin]

Interesting that if he had stayed at Spurs a little longer he likely would have come up again Shamrock Rovers.
Another of the teams Robbie has "done a Robbie" on and admitted to supporting as a boy. (Seriously.)

[geysir]

The folly of a youth.

[cclinton]

agreed, certainly enough for me too .... I was commenting on what I saw over the last two club games, since he has not seen much club action lately. Really hoping that with a decent run of club games he can go on for a long time.

[weldoninhio]

Have you actually examined who Robbie has scored his goals against? The minnow thing is a myth and you're either a WUM or an idiot. Czechs, Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany France, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Russia etc etc...Scored in qualifiers, play offs and 3 in 4 games at his only finals, his international record can't be faulted.

Date↓ Venue↓ Opponent↓ Result↓ Competition↓ Scored(Tally)↓
14 October 1998 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Malta 5–0 Euro 2000 qualification 2 (2)
1 September 1999 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Yugoslavia 2–1 Euro 2000 qualification 1 (3)
8 November 1999 Ta' Qali Stadium, Mdina Malta 3–2 Euro 2000 qualification 1 (4)
13 November 1999 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Turkey 1–1 UEFA Euro 2000 qualification 1 (5)
23 February 2000 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Czech Republic 2–0 Friendly match 1 (6)
2 September 2000 Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam Netherlands 2–2 2002 World Cup qualification 1 (7)
10 November 2001 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Iran 2–0 2002 World Cup qualification 1 (8)
13 February 2002 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Russia 2–0 Friendly match 1 (9)
27 March 2002 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Denmark 3–0 Friendly match 1 (10)
5 June 2002 Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima, Ibaraki Germany 1–1 2002 World Cup 1 (11)
11 June 2002 International Stadium of Yokohama, Yokohama Saudi Arabia 3–0 2002 World Cup 1 (12)
16 June 2002 Suwon Big Bird Stadium, Suwon Spain 1–1 2002 World Cup 1 (13)
21 August 2002 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki Finland 3–0 Friendly match 1 (14)
7 June 2003 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Albania 2–1 Euro 2004 qualification 1 (15)
11 June 2003 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Georgia 2–0 Euro 2004 qualification 1 (16)
18 November 2003 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Canada 3–0 Friendly match 2 (18)
31 March 2004 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Czech Republic 2–1 Friendly match 1 (19)
5 June 2004 Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam Netherlands 1–0 Friendly match 1 (20)
4 September 2004 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Cyprus 3–0 2006 World Cup qualification 1 (21)
13 October 2004 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Faroe Islands 2–0 2006 World Cup qualification 2 (23)
16 November 2004 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Croatia 1–0 Friendly match 1 (24)
4 June 2005 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Israel 2–2 2006 World Cup qualification 1 (25)[99]
1 March 2006 Lansdowne Road, Dublin Sweden 3–0 Friendly match 1 (26)[100]
15 November 2006 Lansdowne Road, Dublin San Marino 5–0 Euro 2008 qualification 3 (29)[101]
22 August 2007 NRGi Park, Aarhus Denmark 4–0 Friendly match 2 (31)[102]
11 November 2007 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales 2–2 Euro 2008 qualification 1 (32)[103]
29 May 2008 Craven Cottage, London Colombia 1–0 Friendly match 1 (33)[104]
20 August 2008 Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo Norway 1–1 Friendly match 1 (34)[105]
15 October 2008 Croke Park, Dublin Cyprus 1–0 2010 World Cup qualification 1 (35)[106]
11 February 2009 Croke Park, Dublin Georgia 2–1 2010 World Cup qualification 2 (37)[107]
1 April 2009 Stadio San Nicola, Bari Italy 1–1 2010 World Cup qualification 1 (38)[108]
29 May 2009 Craven Cottage, London Nigeria 1–1 Friendly match 1 (39)[109]
5 September 2009 GSP Stadium, Nicosia Cyprus 2–1 2010 World Cup qualification 1 (40)[110]
18 November 2009 Stade De France, Paris France 1–1 2010 World Cup qualification play-off 1 (41)[111]
28 May 2010 RDS Arena, Dublin Algeria 3–0 Friendly match 2 (43)[112]
7 September 2010 Aviva Stadium, Dublin Andorra 3–1 Euro 2012 qualification 1 (44)[113]
8 October 2010 Aviva Stadium, Dublin Russia 2–3 Euro 2012 qualification 1 (45)[114]
26 March 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin Macedonia 2–1 Euro 2012 qualification 1 (46)[115]
24 May 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin Northern Ireland 5–0 Carling Nations Cup 2 (48)[116]
29 May 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin Scotland 1–0 Carling Nations Cup 1 (49)[117]
4 June 2011 Philip II Arena, Skopje Macedonia 2–0 Euro 2012 qualification 2 (51)[118]

The ones in bold are hardly the greatest of sides?? I stand by my argument that his record will be beaten in the very near future. Retire Robbie, your time is up!!

[Charlie Darwin]

How near is "very near"? It took Robbie 13 years to hit 50 and there's nobody in the current squad with more than 10.

[paul_oshea]

Does nobody remember what weldononho said the last time?and we didn't hear from him in months.he reminds me those doom days prophets who buy themselves loads of time with their future predictions.

Btw i think cxlinton was more trying to make the point about the mls than robbie....

[BonnieShels]

The ones in bold are hardly the greatest of sides?? I stand by my argument that his record will be beaten in the very near future. Retire Robbie, your time is up!!

You're right.

If only the piece of crap that he is could have scored against teams he hasn't played against then we could really judge him and his career.

[tetsujin1979]

We should judge him on the goals he didn't score in the games he didn't play.
This post was brought to you by hipster tets.

[IsMiseSean]

The ones in bold are hardly the greatest of sides?? I stand by my argument that his record will be beaten in the very near future. Retire Robbie, your time is up!!

A bit harsh on the Danes putting them in with the likes of Andorra & Malta considering they're former European Champions and were preparing for a WC in 2002 when Robbie scored against them....

[Crosby87]

Have a sneaking suspicion Weldoninhio is Yapster reincarnated. Damn the internet.

[theworm2345]

Saw fair bit of LA Galaxy game last night in a bar in Chicago. Robbie looked fairly sharp. As was said above he didn't really get much goal opportunities but certainly looked like he was putting himself about and well up for it.
In other matters I'm hung over to bits.
Forgot you were coming over here...what do you think? :D Also, which bar did you go to?

[weldoninhio]

A bit harsh on the Danes putting them in with the likes of Andorra & Malta considering they're former European Champions and were preparing for a WC in 2002 when Robbie scored against them....

They won the Euros in 1992, so that irrelevant, and as soon as they came up against an above average team in the WC they got hammered.

[AlaskaFox]

It's a pity Ireland aren't sixth seeds like Wales. Then we'd only have the opportunity to play proper nations, unlike all those fake ones Keane scores against.

[Metrostars]

The ones in bold are hardly the greatest of sides?? I stand by my argument that his record will be beaten in the very near future. Retire Robbie, your time is up!!

So who then is going to beat Robbie's record shortly? Long? Doyle?

Fact is that Keane was and still is Ireland's greatest goalscorer. I'd even bet that he will score more than Long and Doyle in the remainder of this campaign. Combined.

[AlaskaFox]

So who then is going to beat Robbie's record shortly? Long? Doyle?

Fact is that Keane was and still is Ireland's greatest goalscorer. I'd even bet that he will score more than Long and Doyle in the remainder of this campaign. Combined.

I'd bet that too. Doyle and Long will get a goal each, while Robbie will get 3. Kilbane to score the winner on Friday though.

[samhaydenjr]

The ones in bold are hardly the greatest of sides?? I stand by my argument that his record will be beaten in the very near future. Retire Robbie, your time is up!!
If we use this standard to judge our strikers, then Niall Quinn only scored five goals against "proper" opposition, John Aldridge probably fewer and I'd be surprised if Frank Stapleton got into double figures

[Supreme feet]

If we use this standard to judge our strikers, then Niall Quinn only scored five goals against "proper" opposition, John Aldridge probably fewer and I'd be surprised if Frank Stapleton got into double figures

Agreed.

Aldridge's competitive record was pretty mediocre, aside from a hat-trick against Turkey (who were very mediocre themselves pre-1996) and the consolation goal against Mexico in 1994. The remainder of his competitive goals came against Malta, Albania, Latvia, Lithuania and Northern Ireland.

Quinn scored competitive goals against Holland, Turkey, England, Northern Ireland (2), Denmark, Liechtenstein (4), Malta, Macedonia and Cyprus. Thirteen in all; quite a mixed bag.

Stapo scored competitively against Denmark (2), Cyprus, Holland, France, Iceland, Spain (2), Malta (2), Switzerland, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Luxembourg. 14 altogether. Better record than Quinn and Aldridge in terms of quality of opposition.

Keane has scored competitively against Malta (3), Yugoslavia, Turkey, Holland, Iran, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Albania, Georgia (3), Israel, Cyprus (3), Faroe Islands (2), San Marino (3), Wales, Italy, France, Andorra, Russia and Macedonia (3). 32 goals. There are a few very poor teams there, but even leaving out the nine goals against San Marino, Malta, Andorra and the Faroes, it's still 23 - an excellent record, which includes three in playoffs and three in Ireland's four major tournament games. The goals scored against Cyprus, Georgia and Macedonia are also very creditable, as they were tight games that Ireland struggled to win, and may have drawn or lost without Keane's goals.

Just to compare, Kevin Doyle has scored competitively against San Marino, Slovakia (2), Wales, Georgia, Andorra and Cyprus.

Hard to compare with past eras, as there are slightly more games in the qualifying groups these days, by virtue of having more teams in UEFA. However, Ireland's two biggest all-time wins - against Malta 8-0 and Cyprus 6-0 - both came in the 1980s. Also, back then, Turkey, Norway and Switzerland were regarded as minnows/banana skin teams in the same vein as, say, Georgia, Macedonia and Cyprus are today. Turkey lost 8-0 to England during the 1988 qualifiers, for instance. There have always been 'minnows' and 'low-profile-but-awkward' teams in qualifying groups. I don't think it's really any 'easier' to score at international level now than it ever was, and Keane's record is obviously commendable.

[EastTerracer]

Not sure about the headline but here is Robbie's interview with the Sunday Independent from yesterday's paper. For some reason they only added it to the online archive this morning...

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/leaving-for-la-robbies-revenge-2860332.html

[Stuttgart88]

Good article. I've no problem with Robbie's move, in fact I think it's genuinely good. Landon Donovan is a class act and if LA Galaxy is good enough for him, it's good enough for Robbie. Robbie's justification of the move holds a lot of water, for me. Good on him. Would any of us not have done the same? We can't all say that English football is over-rated and not good for our more stylish players, and then berate Robbie for settling for some second-rate opportunity in England.

[TiocfaidhArmani]

Good article. I've no problem with Robbie's move, in fact I think it's genuinely good. Landon Donovan is a class act and if LA Galaxy is good enough for him, it's good enough for Robbie. Robbie's justification of the move holds a lot of water, for me. Good on him. Would any of us not have done the same? We can't all say that English football is over-rated and not good for our more stylish players, and then berate Robbie for settling for some second-rate opportunity in England.

Exactly and $9 million a year and a lifestyle you can only dream of. Yeah, we'd all day no to that at the age of 31!

[BonnieShels]

Yeah, we'd all day no to that at the age of 31!

Mouth Ulther?

Srsly though, Ye are both right. Though I expect to be on at least that at 31. Fair is fair.

[Stuttgart88]

It's getting close to matchday so I reckoned a pointless dig by David Kelly must be due. True to form, the miserable **** obliged.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/keane-miles-behind-orsquodriscoll-in-popularity-stakes-2863678.html

[donalmcdonagh]

It's getting close to matchday so I reckoned a pointless dig by Liam Kelly must be due. True to form, the miserable **** obliged.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/keane-miles-behind-orsquodriscoll-in-popularity-stakes-2863678.html


Couldnt agree more, what a load of rubbish, I will very soon be ticking the independant off my reading list. 'Pointless' I think is a great summation of the article.

[BonnieShels]

David Kelly's article is as bad. Again what a waste if 5 minutes of my life. There was nothing in that article of note at all.

Two things though...


While Keane the professional footballer's unswerving loyalty to Ireland remains unquestioned, and his goalscoring record demands respect, Keane the human being remains as misconstrued as ever.

Keane the human being? Is David jealous that Keane doesn't want to be his buddy?

Keane is our top goal scorer and captain. Once he does his job I could careless that he isn't as insightful as Mr Kelly would like. Keane's private life is just that. Private. I'm not one of those people who goes in for the whole "if they are in the public eye they are public property idea". The pettiness knows no bounds.


Now that he has decamped to what Emmylou Harris once described as a "whole new world," Keane has been pilloried from all quarters of opinion, from bar stool to news print, for supplanting one hotbed of vulgar excess for another, albeit sunnier.

Yes, the fabled voices of reason that are barstoolers. The very same people who won't have any interest in Keane until November if we are in a play off.

I find it interesting that the former Captain R Keane was never subjected to as much vitriol despite his lack of willingness to engage sometimes and of course because of Saipan.

[jbyrne]

shouldnt such an article be in the social section of this rag rather than sport? you could count on one or two fingers the decent honest football writers in this country



Yes, the fabled voices of reason that are barstoolers. The very same people who won't have any interest in Keane until November if we are in a play off.

couldnt agree more with this. spot on

[AlaskaFox]

I think Kelly fails to notice the major flaw in his piece. How O'Driscoll has failed on the world's biggest stage, but Keane has not. But he makes only minor mention of World Cup 2002. I don't care if Robbie's not grounded or an open book. He's got 51 goals in 109 appearances. O'Driscoll (8th in the world) has 45 tries in 118. Which one is the bigger match-winner?

[jbyrne]

also, odriscoll lives and plays here and is our best ever rugby player. that keeps him firmly in the public eye all the time.

[geysir]

Imagine being confronted by the likes of that miserable gobs (Kelly) on your doorstep, cajoling a few words in response to accusations of vulgar excess.

[BonnieShels]

AF, I think that its unfair to criticise BOD in all this. Kelly us making that connection which is needless and just an attempt at vitriol.

[AlaskaFox]

AF, I think that its unfair to criticise BOD in all this. Kelly us making that connection which is needless and just an attempt at vitriol.

I'm not criticising O'Driscoll. He's a fabulous player, I was trying to point out that it's stupid of Kelly to downplay Keane's contribution to Irish sport.

[weldoninhio]

Free header, 4 yards out, misses. Enough said.

[Park_Lane]

Free header, 4 yards out, misses. Enough said.
So you're going to judge his whole career on one miss?? Every striker misses chances, every goalkeeper makes a boo boo from time to time, midfielders lose possession, defenders make mistakes. They are human not machines. Wouldnt surprise me in the slighest if he scores the winner on tuesday.

[Stuttgart88]

It was a shocker, absolutely rubbish effort. Easier than the very similar header he missed in the exact same position late in the home game against the Czechs.

There are no excuses, but I think the way we play very few of our forward players get a proper feel for the ball at any stage of the game.

[Charlie Darwin]

Also very similar to the header he nailed under pressure away to Cyprus.

[Stuttgart88]

Which makes it more frustrating.

I'm not criticising his whole career. He's got plenty of credit in the goodwill bank. But it was a shocking miss, and more so because it was by a guy who specialises in composure in front of goal.

How bad was Dunne's miss? I haven't seen it again. It looked like Sledge might have put him off.

[weldoninhio]

I'm going to base my earlier opinion that he should retire on that miss. What he has done previously in his careeris irrelevant. He is not up to the job at this point in time, and his semi-retirement in LA is not going to help matters.

[Charlie Darwin]

Dunne's came at him very quickly and he was probably expecting St. Ledger to get to it. He could have done better but it was a tough ask.

[geysir]

Are you on about the head and shoulder effort? I have little doubt that Robbie should have nailed it.
Wasn't it similar to the one he missed against the Czechs? Sometimes you could wring his neck :)

[Paddy Garcia]

Aldridge's competitive record was pretty mediocre, aside from a hat-trick against Turkey (who were very mediocre themselves pre-1996) and the consolation goal against Mexico in 1994. .

A daft article - however I don't think the goal that put us through to the knockout stages can be written off as a consolation.