I know he is a favourite amongst the majority of Irish supporters but I seem to be in the minority. I dont overly rate or like him. The last important goal i remember him scoring for Ireland is the equalizer agianst Germany in Saipan, which was in 2002. The same for Spurs, has he ever scored against Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea or Man United? A goal for Coventry (when he was about 19)agaisnt Arsenal is the only time i recal it. The pro Keane supporters will comeout and tell me "he's our all time top scorer", etc. Fair enough, he is, I can't argue that. He has done some sublime moments for Spurs and acts of individual brilliance at times but are they just purple patches?
You're not on your own mate IMO, he is a very good player but goes missing too much and rarely shows in the big games. Yes he is our top scorer but how many of them have been in meaningless friendles against poor opposition? He does remain one of the few players we have capable of turning a game with a bit of magic but he can be very frustrating and I think has fallen into the comfort zone of no matter how badly he plays for Ireland will automatically be first choice for next game and will play the full 90 minutes
Some valid points made here, but what about the lack of service he gets ? having to drop out of position and come back to far for the ball really does not help ! I agree with alot of what is said and my personal opinion is that he is a very clever footballer ie the dummy for irelands goal last weekend but i also agree about him been very frustrating other times ! however i do firmly belive he suffers playing for ireland due to the quality of the balls and pases he gets at times and like wise kevin doyle suffers the same way ! Ps how bad was mcgeady in the last two games !
its really annoying when we break and there is no one in the box because keane is halfway up the field saying that we havent got anyone better to replace him one thing is for certain, I dont think he should be captain - that should be given or dunne
This all started after the Switzerland game was it? We need to just socre to qualify, Keane didn't have a shot on target. I just feel short changed by him after every Ireland game. I'm a big fan of Doyle. Works his socks off, makes his own challenges etc. I'l be pissed off in Keane scores a brace or something against Cyrpus or someone after it is mathimatically impossible to qualify. It's the games against Slovakia and Czech's we needed him.
True, lack of quality service will hinder any player. Robbie tends to get the ball jog back towards our goal and then turn around to set up our attacks. He's rarely in the box. He slows up our game at times also. Doyle is more direct and maybe a little bit more positive. Yeah agree about Mcgeady, very poor. He has great feet and seems to have pace yet he runs straight into the full back each day and loses the ball.
I'm a fan of Robbie but only in the Premiership. I find International football dull and hard to appreciate and I don't think Robbies game suits it at the moment. The fast pace of the Premiership is where he thrives. I just wish he could score in competative matches against the important teams!
Should make Dunne captain so Keane can focus 100% on scroing goals. At the moment he seems to think been captain means you have spend the game moaning. I dont like him but when on song he's our top striker by a mile.
What's with all the step overs all the time just doesn't seem to grasp play the 5yard pass when on. And supposedly now the pool is lining him up in the summer can't be any truth in this surely!!
I'm not a huge fan of his, I find him very frustrating to watch, he can score some amazing goals yet miss the easy chance. Granted i don't think he has been getting the right type of service for Ireland games recently.
He is another palyer thats allways singled out for unfair criticism imho! Look at him over the last year at spurs at one stage last year he was the top scorer in england for that calendar year , plus the amount of goals he has set up for berbatov too, he is a very clever player and this is plain too see when he is in a decent side regarding his form for ireland i dont think its been great but this has alot to do with the service he gets and how far he has to drop back to collect the ball ! Maybe Dunne would make a better captain but i still think all the keane bashing that goes on is way ott ! He is streets ahead of our other striking options and i include doyle in that too, whilst doyle is a good player he has not got the spark or vision of keane !
I'd agree with most of the Keane comments above as far as playing for Ireland is concerned but I reckon he is a different player at club level and imo he has improved hugely over the last two years - he's playing the best football of his career at club level at the moment and creates nearly as many as he scores. Pity he can't replicate it for Ireland though.
spot on mate, Keane is an excellent player I just love wacthing him with Berbatov, he sets him up for most of his goals and scores some quality ones himself, he's a team player and a hard worker,and I would'nt mind seeing him at Anfield, he's miles better than kuyt and would make a great partner for Torres IMO.
Strange post this one but here goes anyway. "I know he is a favourite amongst the majority of Irish supporters but I seem to be in the minority" David I dont think so , I go the Ireland games and he does my head in , but as charmac says " Keane is an excellent player I just love wacthing him with Berbatov" and I agree with that !!! so work that one out ...........
I tend to disagree to almost everything contained in this post except that he has been fairly poor for ireland for long time. I think for spurs keane has been nothing short of fantastic and i don't know where you got this story about him never scoring against the big teams, i believe he scored a very nice goal against us this year, scored a fantastic one against chelsea only a few weeks ago and if i'm not mistaken he scored against arsenal in the carling cup rout. So if your going to insult him for not scoring against a big team i guess its only utd that he missed out on this year, really should be ashamed of himself i guess!