Robbie Keane

Well said SKBIO.

Of course he's our best striker; it's just frustrating that he doesn't seem to be fulfilling his full potential.

I'd like to see him drop the diving and falling over from his game too.

It was mentioned above that Celtic could be an option for him. My own view (as always - from a purely Irish perspective) is that it'd be a wise move.

He's got to get used to scoring goals regularly and he's not going to do this at a mediocre (at best) PL club like Spurs. At present 12 to 15 goals a season is a very good haul for Robbie but he needs to be scoring 25+.

Think about it: Robbie's one-on-one against the 'keeper in the last minute of a crucial qualifier. Is he more likely to score if he's feeding off scraps at Spurs or if he's just scored 2 from the same position 3 days earlier against Dundee at Parkhead?

It didn't seem to do Larsson any harm.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Well said SKBIO.


Think about it: Robbie's one-on-one against the 'keeper in the last minute of a crucial qualifier. Is he more likely to score if he's feeding off scraps at Spurs or if he's just scored 2 from the same position 3 days earlier against Dundee at Parkhead?

It didn't seem to do Larsson any harm.

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well maybe he'd rather play in one of the best leagues in the world rather than play sh*t teams every week in a sh*t league.

also he wouldnt get half the salary up there id say....

Maybe so. I'm only thinking about how he can sharpen up his finishing. If he's used to scoring more regularly maybe this'll transfer to his international form.

Either way, I'd just like to see someone coaching some bad habits out of him regardless of where he plays. He's easily one of our better players but as SKBIO pointed out the pace of his development seems to have slowed down, whereas Duff's has sped up.

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Originally Posted by barglee

well maybe he'd rather play in one of the best leagues in the world rather than play sh*t teams every week in a sh*t league.

also he wouldnt get half the salary up there id say....

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If Henri Camara can get €25k I'm sure a salary wouldn't be a problem for Robbie. As has been said already, the problem is Celtic have no money at all. BTW, we're talking about 5 games against Rangers, at least 6 CL games, at the very least another 2 european games unless Celtic finish bottom. Thats at least ~13 or 14 big games and believe me the likes of Hearts away (beat Basel last night in Switzerland) is no worse than Norwich away.

jaysus didnt know camara was on that much.......

still dont think a player of Robbie Keanes ability and age would think about a move to scotland.

A few champions league games wud be great but in my opinion the league there is sub standard, equivalent to division1 in england(or whatever its called now)barring celtic and rangers.

bar maybe palace ,norwich ,west brom + portsmouth the rest of the premiership are big clubs with international players.

best way to devlop is to play aginst good players right/

Yes but the SPL isn't as bad as people make out. Look at the only players that got at least 20 goals in the SPL since 95:

Henrik Larsson
Mark Viduka
Marco Negri
Jorge Cadete
Pierre van Hooijdonk

Hartson got 18 premiership goals in 97/98 yet he has never broke that in the SPL. Sutton also got 18 premiership goals in 97/98 yet hasn't got more in the SPL. A move to the SPL has done nothing but boost the careers of the above players and many more. He doesn't have to stay forever, just a season or two to sort out his goalscoring etc.

To be honest lads I wouldn't recommend a move up here for Robbie.

Outside the Old Firm, theres little to get excited about. Hearts are OK, Hibs and Aberdeen have good young teams, but the rest are pish.

I mean, I'm going to Hibs v Inverness Caledonian Thistle tomorrow. Can you name one Inverness player?

The only reason players dont score 20+ goals a season is because teams put 11 men behind the ball when the Old Firm come to town, and then kick the legs off any players that try to come within 25 yards of their goal.

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

I mean, I'm going to Hibs v Inverness Caledonian Thistle tomorrow. Can you name one Inverness player?

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I know what you mean but a move to Scotland has worked for a lot of players.

Anyway, there's no real point in debating this as nobody has the money to buy him.

...a move to Scotland has worked for a lot of players...

Yeah like you become a bigger goldfish as the bowl becomes smaller, just an illusion really. What Robbie needs is the right manager not so much the right team or league.

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Originally Posted by EamonD

...a move to Scotland has worked for a lot of players...

Yeah like you become a bigger goldfish as the bowl becomes smaller, just an illusion really.

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What I mean when I say "has worked for a lot of players" is that it has got a lot of players careers going or got them back on track (and records at international and club level before and after their move to Scotland proves that). Larsson, van Hooijdonk, Viduka, Burley, van Bronckhorst, di Canio, Tony bloody Cascarino, Tugay, Arteta, Gattuso, etc, etc, etc.

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Originally Posted by EamonD

...a move to Scotland has worked for a lot of players...

Yeah like you become a bigger goldfish as the bowl becomes smaller, just an illusion really. What Robbie needs is the right manager not so much the right team or league.

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Anyone read the reports this week that Robbie is on his way to Everton for €10? I think it would be a good move because he would be first choice striker at a club that is well-managed and on the up. Look at what David Moyes has done for ordinary players like Kilbane and Carsley. Think what he might do for a player with Robbie's ability. As EamonD said, a move to a club with good management might be better than a move to Scotland. Robbie has never reached his full potential because he has never worked under a top manager, with the exception of Marcello Lippi (and Im not sure he would have had what was needed to make Robbie a great player). On the other hand, Moyes might.

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

What I mean when I say "has worked for a lot of players" is that it has got a lot of players careers going or got them back on track (and records at international and club level before and after their move to Scotland proves that). Larsson, van Hooijdonk, Viduka, Burley, van Bronckhorst, di Canio, Tony bloody Cascarino, Tugay, Arteta, Gattuso, etc, etc, etc.

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Dont know whether you payed much attention to Scottish football when Tony Cas was there. You're obviously too young to realise that Cas was a flop at Celtic. He may have been good at international level in the early 1990s. However, the Parkhead faithful became so frustrated by him that they began to give him a hard time.

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Originally Posted by TheJamaicanP.M.

Dont know whether you payed much attention to Scottish football when Tony Cas was there. You're obviously too young to realise that Cas was a flop at Celtic. He may have been good at international level in the early 1990s. However, the Parkhead faithful became so frustrated by him that they began to give him a hard time.

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I'm 22 so I wouldn't have remember Cascarino's time at Celtic but the reason I put him in the list was because he had a better career after his move away from Celtic than he did before his transfer to Celtic. Anyway, you can ignore him in the list anyway. :)

Duff just scored for chelsea, 2 games in a row...

as has clinto which is a great sign,with a bit of luck he might go on a bit of a roll now,there is plenty of goals in him if his confidence is up

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Originally Posted by inexile

as has clinto which is a great sign,with a bit of luck he might go on a bit of a roll now,there is plenty of goals in him if his confidence is up

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Would you believe I was going to put a few quid on Clinton to score first when i saw the team at 10 minutes before kick off. Regretting it now. :( Still, great to see him scoring, hopefully he wins that bet with Brucey.

Robbie Keane: Six years in the green and 24 goals.

I'll leave you to work out the goals per year ratio yourself.

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

What I mean when I say "has worked for a lot of players" is that it has got a lot of players careers going or got them back on track (and records at international and club level before and after their move to Scotland proves that). Larsson, van Hooijdonk, Viduka, Burley, van Bronckhorst, di Canio, Tony bloody Cascarino, Tugay, Arteta, Gattuso, etc, etc, etc.

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An interesting idea the SPL as Recycle Bin or Betty Ford Clinic. If the SPL wasn't located so close to England both physically through the media then it would be treated for what it is; a knackers yard.

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Originally Posted by EamonD

An interesting idea the SPL as Recycle Bin or Betty Ford Clinic. If the SPL wasn't located so close to England both physically through the media then it would be treated for what it is; a knackers yard.

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What rubbish. The SPL receives precious little coverage through the English media, and what there is tends to be pitched at the same disparaging level as your comment above. Still, it's not a bad knacker's yard when three teams record positive results in Europe in the last week. Oh, and that's European competition post-September, lest you forget. Not the qualifying rounds. :eek: :p

:D PP

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Originally Posted by Plastic Paddy

What rubbish. The SPL receives precious little coverage through the English media, and what there is tends to be pitched at the same disparaging level as your comment above. Still, it's not a bad knacker's yard when three teams record positive results in Europe in the last week. Oh, and that's European competition post-September, lest you forget. Not the qualifying rounds. :eek: :p

:D PP

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The knacker's yard is where the SPL is headed according to Tony Higgins who knows a lot more about Scottish Football than you me lad, how many non-Old Firm SPL games have you been to anyhow PP?

I am not disparaging the SPL but the league has decended a long way since the 80s. I lived for a year in Edinburgh 10 years ago I would love to see Scottish fottball thrive and clubs like Hibs & Aberdeen do well - but the game up there is in crisis at many levels.

How could it benefit Robbie Keane to go and play for Celtic against (unfortunately) dross teams? Richie Foran is playing regularly for Motherwell but nobody thinks that he has a snowball's chance in hell of playing for Ireland. Dempsey & Hunt & Byrne play for Dunfermline ( on a plastic pitch!! ) again nobody considers them near international class. You have seen the reaction to Alan Maybury's selection on this board.

Can you name one world class player playing in the SPL?
Name a best 11 from the SPL.
Now name a best 11 excluding the Old Firm.

If the SPL isn't in the knackers yard yet in financial terms or in terms of players it is getting closer every month old bean. To judge the health of a league you need to look at the middle of the table teams and they sadly aren't very impressive in Scotland.