Robbie Keane

I wonder if the best thing Robbie should do would be to get out of England full stop. Fresh start and all that; a competitive team in Spain / Italy / Holland / Russia / somewhere might make far more sense than shipping off to A.N. Other club in England where all his baggage will come with him. Some new horizons might be a better idea than slogging it out.

Originally Posted by amaccann

I wonder if the best thing Robbie should do would be to get out of England full stop. Fresh start and all that; a competitive team in Spain / Italy / Holland / Russia / somewhere might make far more sense than shipping off to A.N. Other club in England where all his baggage will come with him. Some new horizons might be a better idea than slogging it out.

Ideally for us yes. But there's a reason he wants to stay in London. I don't think those reasons will disappear if he signed for De Graafschap or Levante etc.
I do think its too late for him to do an "Aiden".

Can't see Robbie learning Russian. Though I'd love to hear him try to speak it...

I hope he doesn't mess around now all summer. He needs to first accept a few truths and commit to a club to get a decent pre season in..

Originally Posted by Fixer82

Can't see Robbie learning Russian. Though I'd love to hear him try to speak it...

If it does happen, those kind people at Google Translate offer this handy phrase for his first press conference:
Я поддерживается Спартак / Зенит / ЦСКА, так как я был мальчиком (YA podderzhivaet·sya Spartak / Zenit / TSSKA , tak kak ya byl malʹchikom).

I've supported Spartak/Zenit/CSKA since I was a boy.

Back to Celtic?

Originally Posted by BonnieShels

Ideally for us yes. But there's a reason he wants to stay in London. I don't think those reasons will disappear if he signed for De Graafschap or Levante etc.
I do think its too late for him to do an "Aiden".

Didn't Phil Babb head to Sporting Lisbon when he was around the same age as Robbie is now and win the Portuguese league's 'defender of the year' award or something? In saying that, Babb was, more or less, in the international wilderness by that point and his eventual two-for-one comeback-swansong ended in embarrassment.

Originally Posted by Fixer82

Can't see Robbie learning Russian. Though I'd love to hear him try to speak it...

Needs to learn how to speak English first...

No premiership club will want anything to do with him now. He needs to face reality. He is not a premiership footballer anymore. A huge pay cut and a move down a division or back to Scotland is all he has left. Celtic or Cardiff maybe.
Robbie is no longer rated in England. Thats just a fact.
He should never have left Tottenham the first time.

There's no reason why Robbie can't establish himself as a player in the Premier League, though he'll certainly have to accept not having top clubs come after him. It could depend on his desire at this stage - if Celtic come back for him, the idea of adulation, easy goals and flopping around a tiny pond might appeal to him. But I hope he still has the desire to get back to scoring Premiership goals because an early move, decent pre-season and a run of games could be all he needs.

But what premiership club is gonna wanna pay those wages for a fella who hasnt kicked a ball for Spurs in 2 years and was TERRIBLE for West Ham
His time at West Ham will do him terminal damage
Couldnt get a game for the worst team in the league and missed an open goal from 4 yards to keep the up. It was embarrassing.
Celtic has to be his best option now (for shame)

Cant see any premiership club wanting him, can you? He is not offering any value for money (wages)

i reckon someone like leicester. i don't think QPR will go for him, maybe reading would if they go up. or norwich - that might be a good fit.

i wouldn't rule out a move stateside.

Norwich is a good shout but again, they might be lookiing for someone younger. Robbie's premiership days are gone I would fear. Celtic, or the Galaxy maybe

Originally Posted by an_ceannaire

But what premiership club is gonna wanna pay those wages for a fella who hasnt kicked a ball for Spurs in 2 years and was TERRIBLE for West Ham
His time at West Ham will do him terminal damage
Couldnt get a game for the worst team in the league and missed an open goal from 4 yards to keep the up. It was embarrassing.
Celtic has to be his best option now (for shame)

Cant see any premiership club wanting him, can you? He is not offering any value for money (wages)

I think you're overstating it. Wages would be a big issue, admittedly, but Robbie was injured for a long spell and one embarrassing miss is hardly terminal. I think he's got enough reputation clocked up that's he got one more shot at it - there's enough duff strikers rolling round the Prem who've had more than a couple of chance but have never had nearly the level of success Robbie's had.

His attitude to a move is key. Realistically he should be looking at someone like Wolves (if Mick could sign him, I'd sure he'd be interested) but Keane may still believe he's worth more, to a bigger club, than he actually is. MLS talk is well premature.

There are about 14 Premier League clubs at any given time that would give an arm for Robbie's services. The only issues are his wage demands and not wanting to leave London, both of which can be worked around.

He's destined to go to Wolves.

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

The only issues are his wage demands and not wanting to leave London, both of which can be worked around.

You mean if he decides he will play somewhere other than London and take less money?

- High wages
- Poor performances for the past 2 and a half years
- Questionable dedication and attitude
- He's 31

I just don't see anyone in a top league bar the most desperate club willing to take a risk on this guy. Celtic is a possibility but most likely I could see him taking a lucrative offer to the MLS or Saudi Arabia. Could see him seeing out his last year on his spurs contract either on the bench or on loan someplace else before that.

Robbie can return to his best at a top team but ultimately he doesn't look to have the fight anymore, the fact that he was dropped in West Hams most desperate of desperate times says it all about how up for the challenge he was.

Originally Posted by Murfinator

- High wages
- Poor performances for the past 2 and a half years
- Questionable dedication and attitude
- He's 31

I just don't see anyone in a top league bar the most desperate club willing to take a risk on this guy. Celtic is a possibility but most likely I could see him taking a lucrative offer to the MLS or Saudi Arabia. Could see him seeing out his last year on his spurs contract either on the bench or on loan someplace else before that.

Robbie can return to his best at a top team but ultimately he doesn't look to have the fight anymore, the fact that he was dropped in West Hams most desperate of desperate times says it all about how up for the challenge he was.

He played, scored, got injured and then was rotated in a team which had 4-5 strikers. He was as much a victim of a dreadful team in terrible form and a manager's selection indecision as anything else - albeit his dreadful miss didn't help matters. Either way a striker struggling in that dross team isn't particularly surprising.

I don't think it's a question of fight so much as Robbie accepting he can't dictate the terms any more - if he accepts that he could go to any number of Premiership clubs and succeed.

Fulham, Wolves, Blackburn, Birmingham, Stoke, maybe even Everton or Villa would be interested if the price was right. Not top teams but hardly time to put out to pasture and get a big US/Middle East pay day. He's only 31 and this isn't Logan's Run.

Not the player he was though, he needs a decent new challenge.

Maybe he should move to Reading when Long inevitably moves on to the PL?