Looks like Spurs are signing Mido (young egyptian striker).
BBC report
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Looks like Spurs are signing Mido (young egyptian striker).
BBC report
They also have a £1.5m bid in for right winger Routledge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by byrnie20
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.
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.
Cracking post Jamaican PM. I think we all get frustrated by him at times (most of us feel that was about a lot of strikers), but it's important to look at what he actually contibutes (as opposed to what he can't or doesn't) and also to think about where we'd be without him.
Good point Kevin77.
I've been critical of Robbie, but always in an objective way. A lot of us get frustrated by his sniping at refs, his constantly getting caught offside, his erratic finishing, his over-elaboration. There's room for constructive criticism but bashing the guy is not warranted.
But there was near hysteria when he got injured at Ibrox and it looked like he'd miss Cyprus and Switzerland. I think that shows just how highly we value him.
Brillient post Jamaican PM...
Robbie is one of my Fav players of all times, and yes I do critise him from time to time, but strikers and forwards always get more slack than other players..
IMO Robbie has bad days when he just can't get together and he does get frustrated which tends to make him worse...
He also can be lazy at times kinda just waiting for the ball to land at his feet..
But with all his Faults he still is one of the top players Ireland has ever produced and we would not be where we are without him...
Off topic: Hes a bit of a hottie too ;) :p
Definitely our best striker at the moment, and one of our best ever. Definitely has done it for us in the big moments and kept his head when taking very important penalties.
But I just wish he would stop throwing his hands up in the air and moaning about ten times in every game!
I think some of the stick being thrown at Robbie is along the lines of "Robbie is a very good player, but he has the potential to be one of the greatest", i.e Ronaldo or Raúl players in the game.
Robbie has been brilliant for Ireland and we are blessed to have him. He is one in a million. Just look around him to see the alternatives, not pretty. Not a whole pile coming through either (Elliott perhaps). So Robbie has to be cut some slack.
I have to agree, Robbie needs loads of coaching and should stick at spurs as long as possible. Another move is the last thing he needs. Competition for places wont do Robbie any harm and it will improve his game. Like Duffer. Its just his finishing and maybe communication with the other striker that needs work, he is always in the right place, has vision, passes well and works very hard at times.
I nearly had a heart attack there one day when I see Robbie actually going around the keeper. Its the first time I seen him do it, so he must have been getting coaching:)
And the same goes for Clinton, he has been getting a lot of stick, even when he looks like he was MoM against the French in Paris before the injury. He is working well for us and Im sickened with all the ill informed negative posts about him
One thing he has to stop is putting his hands in front of him to signal he wants the ball. He does this every single time he's near the ball, he doesn't gain anything from it and it just makes him look like the leader of a playground match tbh.
I still hear people say Keane wants to score the perfect goal and spends too long on the ball, thats bullshít. He gave that up long ago. He was the 5th highest passer of the ball at Spurs the last time I checked (central defenders and central midfielders being the only players with higher amounts). He also dribbled with the ball less than Defoe and had a higher dribbling success rate than Defoe. Thierry Henry has over double the amount of dribbles that Keane has and Keane has the higher success rate of the two.
While Keane has a very good goal/shot ratio, he does tend to kick thin air a lot though.
Great post Jamaican pm. I admit that I was one of the people that criticise Robbie but after reading your post I changed my mind. Some very intresting stats there. Robbie is clearly a true legend.
Ronan, you are The jamaican PM's personal worshipper aren't thou? :eek: :D :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Ronan85
Quote:
Originally Posted by kerr's tribe
the fella's only got 8 posts and as far as i can c der all lickin up to the pm.
i have questioned the pm personally about this ronan85 but he claims to have no knowledge of him. i don't no wheather or not to believe the pm?
i no on previous ocasions the pm has been accused of having multiple identities. is ronan85 another one? will we ever find out? r is this a state secret?
Just read ronans posts.... A bit sus alright either that or you have a seriously scary stalker PM :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by $Leon$
Back to the topic of the post can't wait to see does Reid and Keane take full advantage of all the training opertunities they now have to gether.. Hopefully they will click well and produce plenty of goals for us of course :D
Fully agree with all the others - an excellent post.
Saw Robbies's first International in 1998 as a 17 year old against Argentina, and agree with thejollyrodger that our expectations have been slightly too high, based on his wonderful start in International football as a 17 year old.
When the original poster states that Robbie is behind Kanoute in the pecking order at Spurs, it is only because both Defoe and Keane are better suited to playing with a target man rather than each other.
When Jol tried playing all three recently, with Robbie just behind the other two it didn't work out, and Robbie was replaced at halftime. But I felt that in that game Kanoute spent most of the first half on the right wing and not up front.
It would appear that at the moment Jol is managing to keep his (4) strikers at Spurs happy, but I do wonder how long that situation will last.
On the Ireland scene, there have been signs that there just could be a fruitful partnership with Morrison. But again this could be threatened if the later is not getting regular Premiership football at Birmingham.
I just hope that TheJamaicanP M's thread, and the responses
will have the effect of making some supporters think before they post unfair criticism of one of our best bets for getting us to Germany, and then enjoying our most successful ever World Cups.
Good to see the Robbie Bashing ending, I think that the only player Ireland has ever had that compares with him in terms of natural goal scoring ability would have to be John Aldridge. Highly regarded on the continent, he would probably do better there, especially seeing as he wouldn't have the whole silliness of being poor cousin Paddy in the Premiership - only everybody's favourite, RMK ever completely seemed to have laid that to rest, and Duff very nearly has.
I reckon that he suffered from a few managers who didn't have faith in him (remember Venables at Leeds), but Jol might be able to make the most of him - I suspect that he is goading him into being a better player by threatening him with a transfer. That said RObbie at Ajax would be a good thing.
Im not a stalker of the pm. Im just intriged by his posts. Sure Im not the only one who is. As for leon what are you on about? I was only recognising a great post by Jamaicas finest. Robbie Keane has achieved amazing things in an Irish jersey. He is a lot better than given credit for.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eire06
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronan85
Ignore $Leon$ Ronan, he never makes decent contributions to the forum. Controversial as he is, the PM makes a great contribution to the forum.
Robbie Keane: Higher Level: C+..... Good, but could do better.
By all accounts Robbie was particularly wasteful on Wednesday at Charlton, along with Kanoute. Each contrived to miss a hatful of chances all set up by Andy Reid (who also had a free kick cleared off the line).
Jol said something like "Robbie's great technically and scores great goals". Reading between the lines this means he should score more bread & butter goals. Maybe I'm being too critical but I thought Robbie shouldn't have given Shay any chance to make that save last weeken though I concede he had only been on the pitch abouyt 5 mins.
Just constructive criticism :)
I spent Sunday afternoon/night in the Temple Bar pub in Dublin with a certain drunk Robbie Keane drinking Guinness and Red bull and vodka (not all mixed in one super glass), he was dancing like a nut and when my friend asked him to sign a photo of him in the paper he shouted 'Who's that gorgeous b*stard, I should be called Robbie 'Brad Pitt' Keane as he dribbled onto his lovely girlfriend. I like ratting up people, haha. He also told me to back him to scroe 1st in Israel. I will if he's not still hungover
Robbie Keane - record Irish goal scorer, does friendlies, gentleman - a class act.
He had a good weekend then as he was on the lash on Saturday night in the company of Damien Duff in that club off Grafton Street, along with their girlfriends.
Totally agree, sound fella aswell..Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Agree completely. Robbie does the business for Ireland and that's all that matters. There are players who have done a lot less for Ireland, got involved in a lot worse antics than Robbie and behaved in a dreadful manner, yet they seem to receive god-like status.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Has Robbie put his feet out of the spurs door and into the transfer market by his actions yestreday.It seems Robbies frustration has taken its toll.Robbie probaly shouldnt of done what he did but i think robbie has gorwn impatiened with jol.Every time spurs are linked with a move Robbie seems to be part of the package,This can not have a good affect on a player.Spurs do have four very good strikers, But does robbie have the patience and the will to win his place in the starting eleven?
Why, what did he do yesterday?
AFAIK, he had a go at Jol about not playing him enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by tiktok
Its not the first time Robbie has been linked in the transfer market. There is 4 strikers at spurs and if Kanoute is getting the nod before Robbie then he should maybe think about moving to another club. Robbie is hard to play with IMOQuote:
Jol dismisses frustrated Keane's strop
http://www.rte.ie/sport/2005/0403/keanerobbie.html
Sunday, April 03 2005 12:00
Robbie Keane's future with Tottenham looks increasingly uncertain after the out-of-favour striker stormed down the tunnel when it became apparent he would not feature at all in his side's 1-1 draw at Birmingham.
Despite netting 15 goals in all competitions (nine in the Premiership) for Spurs this season, Keane again found himself on the substitutes' bench yesterday, with manager Martin Jol favouring Fredi Kanoute to partner top scorer Jermain Defoe up front.
And when Spurs' third substitute, striker Mido, came on for the injured Noureddine Naybet in the 71st minute, Keane could not hide his frustration at Jol's decision.
However, Jol was dismissive of the Irish international's tantrum: "It's not about Robbie Keane, it's about the club. We made some good changes and Mido had a great chance.
"Maybe Robbie Keane was angry but it's not a problem for us, it's his problem. It was difficult enough as it was."
Well it does not sound too good for Robbie.He really should be playing regular football to keep his confidence and sharpness up but he can't react the way he did.Jol seems like a stubborn man who likes to stick to his guns and could leave Robbie on the bench for longer than he is allready.I don't know what to suggest.
He was right to be angry but stupid to do what he did, eitherway it's not the end for him at Spurs if he pulls his socks up and apologises.
He's not good enough for spurs or most premership teams or ireland for that matter when he's good enough he will get his chance but i can't see that being anytime soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skitz3
what are you on about he aint good enough for ireland???? for feck sake, we are a country with a population of 4million, u show me other countries with that size population who have similar ability footballers. he is light years ahead of nearly all of them, he is our record goalscorer of ALL time, and has scored against some of the top footballing nations in the world. there is no better striker to have donned the irish jersey.. that was your 35th post, i pity those who have read the previous 34...sort it out
I'd imagine most Premiership sides would quite fancy him to be honest.Quote:
Originally Posted by skitz3
But not good enough for Ireland? Eh? How in God's name do you figure that one out?