Robbie Keane

[micls]

Well any player that constantly ignores managers instructions should be dropped. He could be just doing what the manager wants though. .

True but given who that manager was I'm doubting that there were instructions........

[irishfan86]

I think his contrasting form for club and country are a result of a number of factors, but I don't think the captaincy is one of them; after all, he was the leading scorer in this calendar year and captained Spurs for the majority of those games.

His lack of goalscoring comes down to two key genuine factors (not the presence of an armband):
-the absence of a target man to play with (his most recent successes were alongside Berbatov, and before that, Mido).
-the lack of a creative and dominant midfield to get the ball to him. He has to drop deep with Ireland because he never gets the ball.

[tricky_colour]

As a schoolboy Robbie was paid £1 a goal.
If he had stuck to that contract in the Premiership he would now have £100.
Edit 100th goal for Spurs, 100th Premiership was on 26 Dec 2007.

[SkStu]

As a schoolboy Robbie was paid £1 a goal.
If he had stuck to that contract in the Premiership he would now have £100.

ah yeah, but its sterling over there.

Seriously though, congratulations Robbie. Class player. And your missus is a ride.

[drummerboy]

I think Robbie has struggled for Ireland since Niall Quinn retired. He seems to play better with a big man up front with him

[Dave77]

well done robbie! great player for spurs and Ireland

[tricky_colour]

I think Robbie has struggled for Ireland since Niall Quinn retired. He seems to play better with a big man up front with him

Actually his goal ratio for Ireland 78 (32) is 0.410. goals per game where as for
Spurs 181 (76) it is 0.419. . , so....untill this season it was probably a better ratio
for Ireland because he has scored a hatful this (last) year.

We just like to think he plays shyte for us, truth is he plays shyte for Spurs too

It's a pretty good ratio all in all.

[Stuttgart88]

The truth is our midfield is so poor Robbie has to try and do the work of 2 men and has to drop deeper than he should. Yes, he missed a few in the last campaign but his general playing form has been good enough.

[eirebhoy]

He's already scored as many premiership goals as last season.

[eirebhoy]

Just out of interest, how is Robbie Keane so famous worldwide? I've talked to people of all nationalities and he's the first name they mention. Maybe it was his excellent world cup but Duff was just as impressive in that and Duff was playing regular champions league football for a few seasons.

[Bondvillain]

Dunno, but He gets mentioned a fair bit in Spain, back even before Ramos took over. As well as the odd newspaper mention, His 100th goal for Spurs was noted on the European sports round up on Spanish tv last night.

[niallsparky]

Ronnie Whelan hit it right on the head when talking on the Premiership last night.

[Qwerty]

Just out of interest, how is Robbie Keane so famous worldwide? I've talked to people of all nationalities and he's the first name they mention. Maybe it was his excellent world cup but Duff was just as impressive in that and Duff was playing regular champions league football for a few seasons.

The Premier League on TV. Worldwide.

[Paddy Garcia]

The truth is our midfield is so poor Robbie has to try and do the work of 2 men and has to drop deeper than he should. Yes, he missed a few in the last campaign but his general playing form has been good enough.

Yes but I think he should drop back to win the ball and then play some decent passes to the front guys. And then get up front bloody quick.

"In the Tottenham dressing room I pinned up a motto: “The Team is the Star”. If any player sums up that philosophy, it’s Robbie Keane. Normally it’s not the best combination to have a striker as your skipper. Robbie is different. He’ll do any job a manager asks and seeks togetherness with teammates socially as well as on the pitch. Character-wise, if you had 11 Robbie Keanes on your side, you’d have a chance of winning any game.

Robbie doesn’t play the game for personal accolades but deserves any which come his way, and yesterday he reached 100 against Sunderland. Only two other players in the past 30 years have reached a century. Their identities, Teddy Sheringham and Glenn Hoddle, show how special it is. At Spurs, Robbie is appreciated, the fans regularly voting him player of the year, but I wonder whether in the country he gets the recognition he deserves. He is only 27 and hardly any other striker in England comes up with the goods so regularly. He’s worth £15m to £20m - at least. Nobody scored more times in the Premier League in the calendar year of 2007 than Robbie. But the statistic which is even more revealing involves his number of goals away from home. It’s about 50%, and it’s a very rare footballer who performs as well in hostile stadiums as on his own ground. In my time as Spurs manager, Dimitar Berbatov didn’t come close to 50%. Robbie’s consistency is a result of his coolness and character. It’s a big reason why after two years of saying “I have three first-choice strikers though only two can play”, I changed my policy and announced “Robbie is my No 1”.

In my first six months it was difficult for Robbie, he was a substitute almost as often as he played from the start. He moaned, like most footballers would, but his effort and performance didn’t drop in training or in games. He scored a number of important goals during that period coming on as a substitute and that reflected well on him. Many strikers you put on the bench sit there with a miserable face and when you send them on, their attitude is: “I’m only involved for 20 minutes, what can I do? If I don’t score nobody will complain.”

Robbie would charge onto the pitch, desperate to get a goal and a win for the team. And when he played from the start and I substituted him, he hated it. He’d rather stay on the pitch and move to left-back than clock off early. This made him a great player to have when you needed to make a tactical change.

You could tell Robbie to move wide and close down the full-backs to stop the opposition starting attacks from the flanks, and he’d do it happily. Similarly, with Berbatov being a real No 9 I needed his partner to be more of a No 10 and Robbie adapted without asking questions. He developed into a good provider of assists.

When I first set eyes on the Tottenham squad, I would not have put Robbie among those who stood out as natural athletes. Then we did the physical tests. Quickest over 10 yards? Robbie. Over 20? Robbie was second only to Ledley King. Stamina? He was near the top in those tests. Later, Aaron Lennon would arrive and take the mantle of the club’s top speed merchant but Robbie (and Ledley) still ran him close.

On top of that, I’d seldom seen a player who could score in such a variety of ways. Robbie gets goals with his right foot, left foot, from volleys, chips and free kicks. The only things he can’t do are tackle and head the ball. He has an ability with penalties which is almost unique - most players decide in advance which side they’ll put the ball but Robbie runs up, watches the keeper and makes his choice in the very last milliseconds.

Off the pitch he can be a funny guy. I’ve always enjoyed having Irishmen in my dressing room. They love companionship. In my experience, they do everything they can to ensure there’s a good atmosphere and spirit, whether it’s organising games on the team bus or sitting down next to a guy who is by himself in the training ground canteen. Andy Reid was similar. I remember on a preseason trip to France, Andy and Robbie leading everyone in a round of singing until 4am. I didn’t want to stop them, I thought: “This is what a football team is all about.”

In Holland we say: “Be a man in the night and a man in the morning.” That means if you want to stay out until the early hours having a drink, don’t be a sissy the next day. Be a man and get on with your work. Irish players are like that.

Robbie is good at making new players welcome. Some fans didn’t agree, but when Ledley was injured he was my automatic choice to be captain. It puzzled me that only once during my time did another club - Everton - try to buy him. I look at some of the strikers being signed by Europe’s top clubs and think Robbie’s better. It would have been nice if goal No 100 had come against Arsenal on Tuesday but I knew Robbie would score yesterday@.

Martin Jol in the Sunday Times

Must say I agree about the Irish lads

[shakermaker1982]

if Martin Jol loves Irish people so much then imagine how much fun he'd have managing our rabble c'mon Martin you know it makes sense.

[Bondvillain]

We should go and sing outside his house every night at 4 a.m. until he agrees to consider it.

[tricky_colour]

And lob a brick through his window if he turns us down.

[gordongekko]

. The only things he can’t do are tackle and head the ball.
Martin Jol in the Sunday Times

feck sake how much is he paid a week surely they could have taught him to head a fecking ball or tackle someone???

[eekers]

feck sake how much is he paid a week surely they could have taught him to head a fecking ball or tackle someone???

considering half the premiership players cant even use their left foot he's doing alright

[tetsujin1979]

feck sake how much is he paid a week surely they could have taught him to head a fecking ball or tackle someone???

Most strikers can't tackle for nuts. Alan Smith, for example