QuoteRobbie's Dad was the Leeds fan, Robbie always liked Leeds but Liverpool was who he supported.Originally Posted by SunderlandBohs
And he wasn't from any of the 4 home nations last time I checked..........
I can't see Keane leaving them for Liverpool ,He's the club captain AFAIK and he'd probably be looking to see how things go with Ramos in his first full season
Robbie's Dad was the Leeds fan, Robbie always liked Leeds but Liverpool was who he supported.
And he wasn't from any of the 4 home nations last time I checked..........
Jaysis I stand corrected then. A good move if he goes. Sounds bad, but great to see an Irish player with ambition. (eg Shay not moving to Arsenal)
'Fascists dress in black and go round telling people what to do, where as priests.....'
<P>Massive buzz in Liverpool about this and loads of positive calls on LFCTV phone in last night. I am genuinely surprised by how highly rated Keane is by neutrals. I half suspected my admiration for his talents was based purely on his nationality. The way the issue was presented on LFCTV last night and the comments by David Fairclough stongly suggests that this is not just paper talk. If Liverpool want Keane he will be off to Anfield for no other reason than the chance to play Champions League.</P>
Considering torres was less than 25m (or 28?) and was much younger than keane i really doubt benitez is about to spend 25m + crouch to land keane
In the real world his 5 year contract is as relevant as Gareth Barry's. Robbie will go if he wants and there is a half decent offer. I do think Spurs would be loath to let him go if Berbatov is going as well unless Ramos is going to put together a new strike force (prob from Spain).
The figure I've seen quoted is £5m stg, plus Crouch, which would equal around £15m stg(?), which I would say would be about right.
I can see why Benitez would want him. As someone said, he might not be the best finisher around (though he does OK), but as an all-round forward, he's one of the best in the premiership (imo). In particular, he brings the best out in the players round him e.g. look at the way Berbatov settled in to English football immediately. Before that, he and Defoe were OK, despite the similarity of styles. Therefore, I think he'd be excellent with the prolific Torres, as well as meaning Gerrard wouldn't have to deputise as the second striker occasionally.
As for the number of games he'd get, he might not play every one, but I can't see Benitez paying that sort of money for him, and risking unsettling his current strikers, unless Keane was earmarked to play in the big games - which should satisfy Keane. On top of which, Liverpool are bigger payers than Spurs, which never does any harm in tempting a player to move!
That said, I'm not sure Spurs will sell him, at least not soon. For one thing, sorting out Berbatov's likely transfer has to be first priority. And I can't see Bent staying. Plus with Defoe having left last season, Spurs could be very short of strikers. Therefore, Ramos will need to know how much he has to spend and whether he can guarantee to secure replacements, before he can think of releasing Robbie.
On top of which, Ramos seems to rate Robbie highly enough and the player is hugely popular at WHL, which means the Board will be reluctant to sell both him AND Berba.
As a Spurs fan, I'd still be reasonably hopeful of keeping him, though I'll be glad when the end of August arrives with RK still in a white shirt!
surely if spurs are serious about breaking into the top four then they cannot let either berba or robbie go ?
I belive in his book robbie says he is allowed contractually to speak to the "big four" , can anyone confirm ?
Was he crazy!! Yeah , in a very special way , an Irishman.
I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
EG...
Have you heard or read anything about him handing in a Transfer Request???
Just seen it there on F365 and wondering if it's just idle speculation.
Like EG says it will be Crouch + £5m. If I were Spurs I'd tell Liverpool to stop taking the mick. They'd be better off with a straight cash deal and then bring in a class replacement.
It would be a good move for Keane......then again Bellamy thought the same and was quickly moved on after 12 months.
According to THIS report Keane is keen to move
Tottenham striker Robbie Keane has told the club's management that he wants to leave after hearing of Liverpool's interest in signing him.
Believe me, the Board at Spurs is very serious about breaking into the Top Four - though not for the usual reasons.
Basically, Levy and the club's main investor (Joe Lewis) have seen the huge amounts other English clubs have gone for and want to sell and make a huge profit. But the key to achieving the optimum price is Champions League football.
Without it, Spurs might be worth £200-£250m (in a good market), but with CL football, they might command as much as twice that.
Which for me explains three things. A few years ago, after years of talking big and acting small, the Board at last seemed to have settled on a long-term strategy which could see them eventually break into the Top Four, namely, buying the best young English/British talent (Robinson, Carrick, Defoe, Lennon, Huddleston, Dawson, Bale, even Bent! etc) and giving them a chance which they wouldn't get at a Top Four club, to develop into top players over 3-4 years by playing regularly in the Prem.
I now realise that all they were doing was getting the Balance sheet into top shape to impress prospective buyers i.e. such players have tremendous sell-on value.
Further, the real reason why Jol was sacked (imo) was because after two fifth place finishes, the Board demanded CL qualification the next season, and Jol was too honest to promise it - he knows that you don't build a team to compete consistently with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and MU etc in the course of three seasons: unless you've got "Abramovitch money", it takes at least 5 years (10, more like, imo).
Finally, Spurs have been dithering between either expanding WHL (£100 m?)or moving elsewhere (£300m?) for years now, yet nothing has happened. This can only be because any prospective buyer seeing either liability will reduce his bid accordingly.
Where does this leave RK and Berba? Basically, since Berba seems determined to go, there's not a damned thing Spurs can do, other than hold out for a top fee (£25m?). RK might be different, since he's on a longer contract, is more settled at Spurs, and wouldn't command either the same Transfer Fee or wages.
My guess is that the key factor will be if Ramos believes he can use whatever portion of the proceed he is allowed to keep to make Spurs a stronger team, then the Board will back him. Therefore, if he has already two or three affordable strikers lined up (probably Spanish?), then Berba (definitely) and RK (possibly) will be allowed to go.
Very possible. Ostensibly, such an arrangement is for the benefit of two parties. Firstly, it means the player isn't forced into putting in a transfer request, thereby losing out on bonuses, loyalty rewards etc. Secondly, the Top Four club doesn't have to worry about "tapping up" etc.
But Spurs won't have granted this for nothing. At the very least, they'll likely have stipulated that it can only be triggered by a minimum transfer fee.
Also, it will likely have been a factor in persuading Robbie to sign a longer contract than he might otherwise have considered.
In which case, having him tied up for another 4 years(?) actually gives Spurs at least as much protection, should they not wish to sell, as they forfeit by the granting of the Big Four clause.
Fair enough, but assuming he has a clause in his contract permitting him to speak to any Top Four club which enquired, then it costs him nothing to say this. However, if he could also be persuaded to see out his contract at Spurs, this gives his Agent tremendous bargaining power towards renegotiating a new, enhanced wage deal.
I still think the key to his going or staying will be whether Ramos can secure affordable replacements first.
For what it's worth, I was informed that Robbie was on his way to Liverpool and it was a done deal back in late May, the week of the Serbia game.
I can back up the above statement but thought there was nothing in it
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"It's time for the FAI to grow up." John O'Donoghue, Minister for Sport, RTE , Sunday 7 Nov 2004
??????
well i think it would be great for robbie and for ireland -think he will do very well at anfield
rumours that benitez is lookin to play a 4-2-3-1 formation - which if true - would see robbie play a large percentage of games imo
tucked in behind torres - good for ireland , as trapp wants him to play a similar role (i.e totti role)
C.L footie can only improve him i think
I'd like to see it happen but only at a price. £20 is totally OTT. I would genuinely rate Robbie in the £10-£12m bracket personally.
Could see him being a modern day Dalglish at Anfield
Top Breeders recommend drinkfeckarse....
Jaysus, I know he gets a lot of stick here, but surely Robbie's worth more than the jersey on his back.
You can't spell failure without FAI
It wil be interesting to see how this pans out .Maybe its just a diversion so that if they sell berbatov and then keep keane it wont seem so bad to spurs supporters.I think it would be a good move for keane playing with torres and with a team that regularly qualifies for the champions league.Spurs flatter only to decieve
was listening to ON THE BALL last nite on sportstalk - they had journalist Graham Hunter on - he was saying , that jamie carragher was/is involved in the whole thing - (i didnt realise they are mates) - and hunter came across as that it was going to happen
Hunter is normally in the right with stuff like that - wait and c i guess
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