was / is keane worth 20 million?

[kris90210]

Surely its been a bit hard for him to build up a partnership with Torres since he has been out injured so much? Partnerships dont form in a couple of matches they take time.
I would be more annoyed if he was going of happy, why you want a player happy to be taken off is beyond me. Maybe part of his unhappyness is due to him knowing he didnt do enough?

As I said, fair enough on that point. Its a personal thing that annoys me when he comes off and looks like he thinks he should have stayed on when he blatently shouldnt.

My problem with him is that in the majority of games he's played in where he has been taken off, he SHOULD have been taken off (the match where he was on his hat-trick apart). Not what you want from a 20 million pound player playing in that position.

Fair enough on the partnership not being given enough time to develop. I agree with that, and thats why Im not writing him off. Just saying that at the moment he's not doing nearly enough to justify his place in the team for 90 mins week in week out.

[SB]

STEVEN GERRARD saluted strike partner Fernando Torres after Liverpool guaranteed their passage to the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Marseille at Anfield.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez chose to play Gerrard in an advanced position just behind Torres and the move paid off as the England midfielder scored the Reds’ winner after 23 minutes.

After the game, Gerrard said he hoped Benitez would continue with the tactic in the future.

‘‘He (Torres) is the key.

Playing behind him is great for me,’’ Gerrard said. ‘‘His runs are great. Tonight I scored the goal but I’m sure if the manager keeps playing us together I will provide him with a few.’’ Despite dominating the first half, Liverpool had to endure a nervy second period before they sealed the win.

Gerrard said he was disappointed with the second-half performance, but was glad the Reds had ensured their passage to the knockout stages of the competition.

‘‘It was a nervy match but still a job well done. We wanted all three points and a clean sheet and we got both of those,’’ he said.


Robbie could be set for a spell on the bench if the captain gets his way

[Roboklopp]

Very disappointed not to see him yesterday TBH. Some of the stuff written on here is ridiculous. HE clearly needs game time to improve his form & link-up play with those around him & I'm sure h'll play a very important role for us by the end of the season.

What does worry me tho is that he seems to occupy the same position as Stevie- ie just behind torres. When you have Kuyt at RW, that makes us very very narrow. Not sure how Rafa plans to deal with that one TBH & I think Keane is too good aplyer to have on the bench with our resources. We cant afford 3 £30m striker like Scum.

[dww]

Very disappointed not to see him yesterday TBH. Some of the stuff written on here is ridiculous. HE clearly needs game time to improve his form & link-up play with those around him & I'm sure h'll play a very important role for us by the end of the season.

What does worry me tho is that he seems to occupy the same position as Stevie- ie just behind torres. When you have Kuyt at RW, that makes us very very narrow. Not sure how Rafa plans to deal with that one TBH & I think Keane is too good aplyer to have on the bench with our resources. We cant afford 3 £30m striker like Scum.

I don't think it is much of a problem when Riera sticks to his wing as Kuyt is actually very intelligent in his movement and is good at making space for himself and the fullback. It was pointed out to me in the pub watching the game last night how much Riera has been coming inside of late and it is true. When he started he kept to his wing and gave us an outlet all the time and stretched the opposition - too often of late he has been the cause of the narrowing or our play.

I think we should be at the point where we do have players of Keane's quality on the bench. There are some games where we should be able to play a Gerrard - Alonso or Gerrard - Mascherano central partnership to allow Torres and Keane up front. A position in the team should be earned by performances.

I really think we need to give Babel more sub appearances as Benayoun is never going to push Riera for a starting place and at the minute without competition his performances are getting worse.

[Sarb]

No and no

[Dhav]

The more I think about it the more I lament this £20m spent. Gerrard has been talking in the last few days about how much he owes his goal scoring feats to his partnership with Torres and that he hopes they will play together regularly as last season. Now is that a tacit/implied criticism of Keane? Is he implying there is no place in the team for Keane? Or may be I'm reading too much into it.

[barnes10]

i think thats exactly what he's saying.

what bemuses me is that he never seems happy. last season he was doing a job for the team but preferred CM. now he's CM but wants to play off torres.

wtf?!?

[Neil Young]

It seems he's one of those people who just doesn't know what he wants. That's why he twice nearly signed for Chelsea.

Great player though and nobody's perfect.

[SB]

This sort of garbage can't be helping his confidence IMO




Robbie Keane is in danger of becoming another Anfield flop according to Kop legend Ian Rush. The Welshman believes Keane did not realise just how different and difficult playing for the red half of Merseyside is.

Rush wrote in the Liverpool Echo: "Robbie Keane is finding out the hard way just how different it is to play for Liverpool.

"Playing up front for a club like Liverpool is totally different to playing for Tottenham, and I don’t mean any disrespect when I say that. The pressure is completely different.

"At a club like Tottenham you can get away with playing well in three of every six games. At Liverpool you have to perform five in every six. That’s the kind of pressure Robbie Keane is discovering for the first time, and he has to learn to live with it.

"The number of chances he is missing is now starting to be commented upon and that will only add to the pressure he is feeling. Some players have been unable to live with those unique pressures.

"I’m thinking of strikers like Craig Bellamy, who was a great player for Blackburn but struggled at Anfield, Fernando Morientes who couldn’t reproduce his Real Madrid form in the Premier League and Emile Heskey, who is still England’s first choice centre-forward, but couldn’t live up to what was expected of him at Anfield."

Another former kop legend Alans Hansen believes Keane has all the ingredients to succeed at Liverpool, however the Scot does admit that if the Irishman cannot find the back of the net, he may be ushered towards the exit door.

Hansen told the BBC: “A £20million striker needs to be scoring goals because if Liverpool do fail to win the Premier League this season and he’s only scored 4-5 League goals then questions will be asked. However, hopefully for him this will be the start of many.”

[Kenneth]

I think Rush is 100% spot on.

Until we signed him, I didn't like Robbie Keane. From his Leeds days on I just didn't take to him at all. Maybe that's why I'm less patient with him than others (mainly the Irish lads).

[rage]

rush is spot on as is hansen.

start scoring robbie else you're out at the end of the season. still think we should have saved the pennies and bought villa instead.

[Skillz]

rush is spot on as is hansen.

start scoring robbie else you're out at the end of the season. still think we should have saved the pennies and bought villa instead.

Considering the **** that has gone down in the markets since we signed Robbie Keane I doubt that we would see much of the 19M in January.

[rage]

Considering the **** that has gone down in the markets since we signed Robbie Keane I doubt that we would see much of the 19M in January.

i know

still think keane can deliver, just needs to do what he's good at. easier said then done but the pressure is getting to him

[Kenneth]

Considering the **** that has gone down in the markets since we signed Robbie Keane I doubt that we would see much of the 19M in January.

Seeing as he wasn't worth it even when we paid it, his value was a lost less than the money we paid for him before he'd even posed with his scalf.

[Sarb]

Hansen and Rush are spot on. £20m strikers need to score goals. Quite simple really