Robbie Keane - let's remember the good times
There are many Spurs fans who regret the fact that Robbie Keane was re-signed by Spurs in January 2009 at the end of the transfer window, when the club was still at the wrong end of the Premier League table. Robbie had been a Carling Cup winner one minute, declaring his abiding love for the club the next, before being whisked away to Liverpool for an astounding "money Spurs could not refuse" deal.
Of course, Keane's time at Liverpool was on the fraught side, with the goals already drying up for the one-time prolific scorer. Along with Jermain Defoe and Younes Kaboul, Keane was one of those players re-signed by the club. Harry Redknapp had clearly identified that Spurs needed these players back, and in the case of Defoe and Kaboul, his old club Portsmouth were having to hold a fire sale.
I appeared on Setanta TV on transfer deadline day which was actually February 1st 2009, when Robbie Keane's return was the main story as the hours ticked away. I said then that Keane would have an influence on the relagation battle, and I maintain that he did that, playing a full part in a vital 6-match unbeaten run by Spurs which included wins at Hull and Villa Park, and a home win over Chelsea. Keane scored 5 goals in our run-in (2 penalties), but his time at Spurs thereafter on his second spell was to just deteriorate.
It wasn't Robbie's fault that the club gave him a lucrative 4 1/2 year deal that would only expire in January 2013. He spent the second half of the 2009-10 season on loan at Celtic, where he scored freely, and a less successful loan period at relegated West Ham late last season.
No, let's remember Robbie for the good times. he has reached number 9 in the all-time list of Spurs goal-scorers at all levels with 122 goals:-
Greaves, Jimmy 266
Smith, Bobby 208
Chivers, Martin 174
Jones, Cliff 159
Hunt, George 138
Duquemin, Len 134
Gilzean, Alan 133
Sheringham, Teddy 124
Keane, Robbie 122
91 of those goals were scored in league matches. Robbie was first signed from Leeds in 2002, scoring his debut goal in a 2-1 win at Blackburn in October. One of his finest moments for Spurs was in that season, when he scored a hat-trick at home to Everton in January 2003 in an exciting 4-3 win. One of his cockiest moments came in the same season at home to Birmingham, when he crept from behind a rookie keeper to nick the ball as it was rolled in front of his feet to score. Thereafter, goal-keepers always kept a special eye on Keane, who became Spurs' top scorer in his first season and held that title more than once in his Spurs career.
Keane enjoyed scoring two goals at The Hawthorns in his first Spurs season, but would not have enjoyed his hat-trick against his boyhood club, Wolves, when we beat them 5-2 in December 2003. Spurs' overall league performances were moderate, but Robbie scored with regularity.
Jermain Defoe arrived, and he and Keane would joust for top-scoring honours, but the important thing was that both would score frequently. In the year of "Lasagne-gate" Robbie again topped the list with 16 league goals, which included one of his best at home to Blackburn in March 2006. That was a week in which Robbie captained his country, and signed a new deal with Spurs. He was everybody's hero.
Berbatov arrived, and now it was a triumvirate of scorers for Spurs, who under Martin Jol finished fifth for the second successive season, and only lost in Europe against Sevilla in the quarter-finals. We had good domestic cup runs that season too, with Robbie and Berbatov both scoring two at Craven Cottage in a great 4-0 win. Keane and Berbatov were still doing it for Spurs the following season, during which Defoe was tempted away to Portsmouth, because he wasn't getting enough football. Keane was part of the successful Carling Cup side that beat Chelsea in February, 2008, and perhaps Robbie's last great moment for Spurs was the sensational last gasp equaliser against the same team in a 4-4 home draw, as Spurs' season fizzled out under Juande Ramos.
Between Ramos and the board, Tottenham Hotspur somehow irresponsibly off-loaded their strikers, with Berbatov following Keane out of the door, and Spurs failing to fill the gap sufficiently.
Even now, Spurs fans still crave a 20 goal a season striker, and perhaps with the departure of Keane, and the expense of his wages, Spurs will make something like a marquee signing.
Robbie did score many great goals for Spurs, but there were times when he frustrated, especially with failure in one-on-one situations. despite his prolific record, he was often known as a scorer of great goals, but not a great scorer of goals. However, he has been a Spurs captain, and has captained his country, for whom he has now scored 52 goals. Keane will now join David Beckham at Galaxy, and no doubt continue to be a high earner.
Let's hope it's a win-win situation for us fans, and for Robbie. I prefer to remember his good times; wish him well in the remainder of his career; but primarily hope for a star replacement before August 31st!
