Farewell Keano

He's left England. He's moved to California. He used to get £52,000. Now he gets $86,500. He's also going to play alongside England record-holder David Beckham. Not too bad for a boy from Tallaght. At 31, with his career slowly coming to an end, Keane has opted to swap life in the dour-weather England for the glitz and glamour in the USA. Now some may assume that he's being selfish and that it's his EIGHT (yes eighth) "childhood club", but there are nothing but positives from his perspective. I mean, how often does it occur that you're offered a job in the Golden State?  

I'll miss him being in England. Ever since I was a young 'un I've always kept an eye out for Keane and how he gets on, goal-wise. One of my first memories of Robbie was when he was playing for Leeds back in the early noughties. He'd made a mockery of the opponents offside-trap and was through on goal with just the keeper to beat. Instead of just the typical 'knock it past the keeper' approach, Keane stepped it up a notch and scooped the ball over the on-rushing keeper into an open net. I remember just sitting there, scratching my head in awe. 'How the hell did he do that?' I asked my brothers. No response.

He continued to renew my interest and by the 2002 World Cup he was in full flight. Here's the scenario: Ireland were one-nil down with just seconds to play when Irish right-back Steve Finnan launched a hopeful punt up-field, fingers crossed that somebody would flick it on. Niall Quinn came to the rescue and knocked it down for Robbie Keane who stole in behind the German defence and steered the resulting shot in off the post.

Goals for Ireland and his 'childhood' clubs came and went, but another one of my favourites (and one of the lesser known ones) was during his first spell at White Hart Lane. He had received the ball from a throw-in - the throw-in was deemed to be awarded to the wrong team originally (Spurs) - on the byline and, in the midst of a 180º spin, half-volleyed the ball over the opposing defender, before a fake shot pull-back against the next. He then had the simple task of a one-on-one which he finished in an ice cold manner. Watching it over, I reckon it was one of those 'you had to be there' moments because nobody seems to truly appreciate it when seeing it on Youtube. I still do, mind you.

On the international stage, Keane is and always has been Ireland's go-to-guy for the best part of a decade. When Ireland needed a goal - he was there. When teammates needed a shoulder to cry on after missing out on qualifying for a tournament - he was there. Even dating back to his debut in 1998 - which he capped off with a brace - Keane has always been a first on the team sheet. A lack of options up-front has seen Keane retain his  place year-in, year-out, and he's definitely made the most on what's been on offer, notching up his 50th and 51st international goals against Macedonia back in June. It's an incredible record for an incredible man. Those two goals saw him climb above world-beaters such as Samuel Etoo, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba, and take his place among some of the finest international  goal-scorers we've seen grace the game. Another six goals for Robbie and he'll have overtaken Brazilian legends Zico and Romario, and Gabriel 'Batigol' Batistuta.   

Seeing him struggle to even make the Tottenham match day squad last season killed me. For years he was one of the most prolific strikers inside England and last season, with 'Arry at the helm, Keane began just two games, and made a further 5 appearances as a substitute. He was loaned out to West Ham in order to help them beat the drop, even scoring on his debut away to Blackpool. Constant injuries made sure of the season being one of his worst in England to date, and he returned to Spurs on an even sicker note, with West Ham being relegated with 2 games yet to play. His end-of-season record read played 22, goals 2. That, for a proven, successful Premier League striker with years of experience was fairly woeful.

Then, this summer, a move presented itself to Keane so appealing he couldn't turn it down. Tottenham received a deal from MLS outfit LA Galaxy on August 15. Terms and a fee were agreed in record time as Galaxy were battling against the international deadline day clock. They had to make sure Keane signed by 11:59 EST and with a few hours to go, they had their man. Upon joining, Keane made the foolish mistake of claiming it was a "dream move", leaving himself open to ridicule.

What I'm trying to say is, I'll miss Keane. I'll miss the way he'd celebrate a goal by tumbling in iconic 'robin hood' fashion, or the way he'd bring that dreamy wife of his on holidays with him. Keane was always one of my favourite footballers - due to the fact he was Irish? Perhaps - but seeing him move to America cuts all off ties of me being able to watch him on a regular basis. It'll be hard but I think I can manage, especially as he'll hopefully continue to break records for the Irish international team.

Keane For A Move Away From Tottenham

Keane, centre, has fallen out of favour at White Hart Lane. Photo: Inpho

Robbie Keane has a dilemma on his hands. Having spent the latter part of the season in East London with West Ham, Keane now faces the daunting task of returning to Tottenham and forcing a way back into the Spurs set-up for the upcoming Premier League season.


Prior to his Winter loan move, Keane had begun in just a mere two games for his beloved Tottenham and made a further five substitute appearances as Harry was beginning to lose faith in the Irishman. He was left to warm the bench for those other games. One can only wonder where it all went wrong for poor old Robbie?


A few years ago, Robbie was a joy to watch in the Premier League. His best season, 2006/07, saw him net 22 goals in just 31 appearances for the Lilywhites. Now that's a return. Except, that was the best it was going to get for the Irish record holder. He played consistently and maintained his superb goalscoring form scoring 19 times in 41 appearances and the following season he could only manage 12 in 35, slowly deteriorating into what striker we're used to seeing this current day.


During that season where he only scored 12, he had swapped London for Merseyside, donning the famous red of Liverpool whom he said that he's been a fan of all his life, and he was looking forward to carving out a successful career for Liverpool. It took him 10 long matches - 706 minutes - of football before he finally opened his account for the Reds. He went on to score soon after vs Arsenal and a few more times but was left to rue a disappointing season when just six months later he returned to Tottenham, hoping to break the first team like he had done first time round.


He was once again resorted to warm the bench for the 2009/10 Premier League campaign and Celtic lured him to Parkhead in January as he spent the season from January in Scotland. It was there and then he forged a resurgence in form. The Irishman opened his account from the spot during Celtic's 4-2 away win at Kilmarnock and the 30-year-old struck gold as he then went on to score 16 goals in 17 SPL + Scottish Cup games for the Bhoys. It was a fantastic comeback in form from Robbie however, Celtic made a rash decision in choosing against the option of buying him as his loan came to an end, insisting he was "way out of their structure financially."


So he once again returned to Spurs hoping to reestablish a connection with Harry Redknapp but was again left frustrated as Redknapp reorganised his strikers pecking order with Keane last resort. It was harsh on Keane having proved himself just 6 months earlier but obviously Harry failed to see why Keane would merit a place in his first eleven.


Keane was shipped out to Blackpool in January 2011 having only started 2 of Tottenham's 20 League games and scored on his debut for the Hammers against the rapidly faltering Tangerines. He then received an injury blow and was out for several weeks before returning and scoring once more to cap off a miserable season for the Irish captain. He finished the 2010/11 campaign with one of his worst seasons in club football with a total of two goals scored in sixteen fixtures. 


So what's next for Robbie? Well, if his performances for Ireland are anything to go by he's still a quality striker. The Irish skipper has netted seven goals in his last ten appearances for Ireland. Maybe that'll be the form that sees him bounce clubs once more, with the rumour mill churning out that QPR are set to launch a bid for him after sealing a return to the Premier League having been absent for the better part of a decade.

Wherever Rob ends up come the Summer one hopes that he can rediscover that once majestical form and spearhead yet another triumphant goalscoring season, be it for QPR, West Ham or Tottenham.

Ireland vs Macedonia - Thoughts

Don't worry. Its all over. You can now breathe a sigh of relief. Those last 10-15 minutes were unbearable but we did, in the end, get the job done. Just. That first half performance just about did it but we were looking edgy towards the end of the game.

The first half was one of our better performances in recent times. The way we passed the ball about - almost Barcelona-esque at times - made us look invincible and after 21 minutes we had two goals to show for it, partly aided by Macedonia's shaky goalkeeping. We kept the tempo up for much of the first half but we were undone by some slick Macedonian play which saw our own Richy Dunne turned inside-out and they halved the deficit to just 2-1 minutes before the break.

Much of the same was expected of us in the second half but we looked a different team when the Irish came out of the tunnel for the second half and not in a good way. We began to look weary and gave away a lot of unnecessary free-kicks in innocuous parts of the pitch. We became sloppy. We allowed Macedonia to play football and us Irish basically invited them to have a few pops at goal which could have proved costly in the end if Westwood hadn't denied goalscorer Trickovski, we'd have been in real trouble.

Coach Giovanni Trappatoni had named the line-up on Friday afternoon and in it, he included the names of three Irishmen who were to make their first competitive starts in an Irish shirt. Kevin Foley was employed at right-back, Darren O'Dea at centre-back and Kieran Westwood was covering for the injured Shay Given. In my opinion, they all did what was required with Westwood making saves when called upon. Kevin Foley, the Wolverhampton Wanderers right-back came across as an exceptionally comfortable individual on the ball and O'Dea performed solidly making it hard for the Macedonian's to break down the Irish wall of defence.

The only negative of the night was the injury to current FAI Player of the Year Kevin Doyle, who took a knock on his knee meaning he was subbed inside the 20 minute mark. Tony O'Donoghue reported pitch side that Doyle would be missing the match against Uruguay on Tuesday and the injury is sure to upset Wolves boss Mick McCarthy who has depended heavily on Doyle this season to make sure Wolves maintain their Premier League status.

We also saw the end to the on-going fiasco that surrounded James McCarthy as he FINALLY made the competitive appearance that see's him officially become an Irish player. McCarthy came on as an 86th minute substitute for Robbie Keane and he put the bed those rumours of his club coach Roberto Martinez claiming that he still hadn't made up his mind of who to play for when he came on late in the game. McCarthy stated both this week and last week that he had his mind set on becoming an Irish - and not Scottish - player and when he came on he was met with an enormously gracious response as the Irish showed they welcomed him into the clan with open arms and we're glad he's here to stay.

I'd also like to commend Robbie Keane on his record-equaling 40th match as captain. That in itself is an achievement and he now draws level with Andy Townsend for most times captaining Ireland. Even though he may be past his prime he showed tonight that he still possesses that strikers instinct with an ever-instinctive finish that saw Ireland match Russia and Slovakia's table topping 10 points from 5 games.

Here's to more of the same from Keane and hopefully he can surpass Townsend's record and with it, bring Ireland into the Euro Championships in 2012.

The Curious Case Of Darron Gibson

This was supposed to be Gibson’s year. The year that Gibson starts to challenge regularly for a United shirt. The year he becomes a hero. In the past he’s only been known for his memorable long-range efforts. This season he wanted to prove his doubters wrong and deliver a message that would immediately signal Sir Alex’s attention and get him to insert the Irishman into the first team. But that plan has failed and as a result he finds himself wandering aimlessly in the reserve side, constantly waiting for a call-up to the first team which is usually for a game of a ‘dead rubber’ standard. He was given the green light by Ferguson to reassert his presence in the first team when United played Crawley Town in the FA Cup, a team which has beaten the likes of Derby and Torquay on their way to a memorable draw against the Premier League leaders.

Gibson only ever plays dead rubbers/non important matches now for United as I've previously stated. Don’t you deny it. When he plays there’s a constant need to give the ball away on his behalf. It’s what gets him thrown back to the reserve side. However, on this occasion, Gibson seemed to have matured as a footballer and was one of the better United players on the pitch on Saturday, but let’s keep in mind, it was Crawley Town United were up against, a non-league side for pete’s sake.

Gibson had been picked up by United when he was just 14 years of age. He gracefully advanced through the United setup with considerable ease and was playing regularly in the reserve side at 19. Spells at Royal Antwerp and Wolverhampton Wanderers aided his first team aspirations and by the age of 21 he was given his debut by Sir Alex in a Premier League match vs Stoke City. Gibson continued his progress on his way into the United squad and made several more appearances over the next couple of seasons, making a total of 14 apps in 2008/09, 23 in 2009/10 and 13 so far in the current campaign.

He’s undoubtedly made his mark with the finesse in which he scores his goals. Usually long efforts, Sir Alex has praised Gibson in the past claiming that Gibson could be the new Paul Scholes and also stated that “Who is to say if Gibson had been playing all the time where he would be in terms of goals?” Sir Alex seems confident in the young star and let’s remember, he’s only 23 so there’s still plenty of time to improve and its fair to say he’s come on leaps and bounds since his introduction to the squad of Manchester United.

This season Gibson has been involved in quite a few games for the Red Devils and although he doesn’t always start, there’s a sense of when he shoots, he’ll probably score. But then there’s the problem that he’s “no Paul Scholes” as the Guardian’s Daniel Taylor stated earlier this week after his lacklustre performance against Marseille. Gibson was shockingly chosen ahead of Paul Scholes to start the Marseille encounter but his lack of creativity once again brought up questions of why he continues to play. There’s no doubt Gibson can pass the ball but he lacks inventiveness – the kind that Xavi possesses. The only quality United fans have ever seen is his shooting range. Never, has he impressed the United faithful with his ‘passing’ or ‘overall commitment’.

We can’t forget Gibson’s Irish dilemma. Gibson is keen to play for Ireland as we all know but on several occasions Giovanni Trappatoni has expressed a desire for the young lad to gain football with a move away stating that “He can do more. He has a big potential. If I was Gibson I would go to another group where I always play.” Gibson, having reacted to a similar comment from his elder back in November, was reluctant to speak out this time.

For me personally, Gibson is a player to keep an eye on. I’d always thought that Gibson would become an indispensable player of the squad sooner or later and although you may all deny it, I’m backing Gibbo all the way to the end.