Robbie Keane went out in style last night in an emotional farewell friendly against Oman, scoring the second goal in a 4-0 win. It was his 68th international goal - a joint record with German legend Gerd Muller - on his 146th appearance for the Republic of Ireland. He made his international debut all the way back in 1998 and appeared for ROI at two World Cups, most memorably in 2002 (when he scored three goals).
As well as being an Irish legend, he'd be close to being a Spurs legend too. He left us in rather acrimonious circumstances in 2008, to join his "boyhood" club Liverpool. While we were very much mid-table under Ramos, that Keane/Berba partnership was something to behold and lifted us above mediocrity, helping us to a memorable Carling Cup win and some memorable wins (and draws) at the Lane.
His spell at Liverpool was brief and unspectacular, other than a brilliant goal against Arsenal, and he was soon back the Lane - just 7 or 8 months after leaving - as Harry Redknapp swooped in the January transfer window to sign him back. It wasn't quite the same, and he wasn't quite the same player, but he still made some vital contributions as we batted off any fears of a relegation battle and finished the season strongly, while making the Carling Cup final for the second season in a row. At the start of the next season, he scored a number of goals and made a number of key contributions before being loaned to Celtic in the January of that year.
Tottenham fans had never quite been sure how to receive him, to welcome him back with open arms or give him the cold shoulder for his eagerness to leave when Liverpool came sniffing. In the end, he was largely received well, with enough credit in the bank from his first spell to make sure he was soon forgiven.
And what a first spell it was. His signature was quite a coup at the time, with us taking advantage of Leeds' financial problems to nab him for just £7 million. There was a bit of a worry about his inability to stay anywhere for very long, given he'd played for Wolves, Coventry, Inter and Leeds by the age of 22. But his potential and ability was not in question. He'd fallen down the pecking order at Leeds, behind the likes of Viduka, Smith and Michael Bridges, but he'd shown regular glimpses of his precocious talent at all the clubs he'd been at.
And, as Glenn Hoddle said when he signed, he seemed perfectly suited to the way Tottenham played. At that time, we had a team full of small, good on the ball, neat and tidy players, plus the flair and elegance of Poyet, Redknapp and Sheringham. What we lacked, though, was character, consistency and physicality. We were flaky beyond belief, no backbone, no ability to handle pressure, no ability to turn up from week to the next. Keane wasn't going to change that on his own, but he was a move in the right direction. A top-quality signing coming to what was then a mid-table side. It was, at the very least, a statement of intent.
In that first season he built a nice little partnership with Sheringham, and worked well with the likes of Redknapp, Davies, Ziege, Anderton, Etherington, Rohan Ricketts, etc. We finished a disappointing 10th - although that was par for the course back then - with Keane comfortably our best attacking player with 13 goals.
The 2003/4 season was utterly forgettable, for so many reasons. Treading water after Hoddle had been sacked, shocking exits from the cups, going nowhere, just mired in mid-table mediocrity and even flirting with relegation for much of it. Keane, though, once again brightened things slightly with some fantastic individual performances and 16 goals (14 in the league).
The season after that, Jol's first season in charge (once the Santini experiment hit the buffers), Keane managed 17 goals but found himself struggling for game time with Kanoute, Defoe and Mido all competing for places.
His future at the club was in doubt, but he was superb in the 2005-6 season, once he'd ousted Defoe from the side. He built a good partnership with Mido as we came so painfully close to 4th. He scored 16 goals, the biggest return for a Spurs striker for a number of years.
2006/7 and 2007/8 saw the flourishing of the dynamic, brilliant Keane and Berba parternship. He scored 22 goals in all competitions in 06/7 and 23 goals in all competitions in 07/8, becoming the first Spurs player to score double figures the Premier League in 6 successive seasons. In 2007 alone he scored 31 goals, including 19 league goals, and provided 13 assists.
So I'm going to put it out there. Favourite Keano moment. Mine would be split between him leaving Khalid Boulahrouz on his a@se before setting up Lennon's memorable winner against Chelsea in late 2006, his own late equaliser against Chelsea in 2008, his superb solo goal against Blackburn in 2006 or his lovely finish in a 1-1 draw with Villa in 2005.
Keano!
posted on 1/9/16
comment by messiah 750k legend (U1399)
posted 40 minutes ago
A legend for his country but still under appreciated by a lot of fans in IrelandKeano
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Not sure if agree with that, I'm a season ticket holder for over a decade and barley missed a home game in that time, he has always been given a great reception and his name is sang more than any player bar Garry Breen
posted on 1/9/16
comment by kneerash-23 Cara Gold (U6876)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by messiah 750k legend (U1399)
posted 40 minutes ago
A legend for his country but still under appreciated by a lot of fans in IrelandKeano
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Not sure if agree with that, I'm a season ticket holder for over a decade and barley missed a home game in that time, he has always been given a great reception and his name is sang more than any player bar Garry Breen
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Well probably shouldn't have used the word fans but there's a LOT of people don't rate him highly enough. What he's achieved is phenomenal
posted on 1/9/16
My first footballing hero, feel like people still feel bitter over the Liverpool move but the service he provided for the club can never be in question
posted on 1/9/16
He soured it for me by facking off to Liverpool months after declaring he was here as long as we wanted him after winning the league cup. Left us properly in the sheet too after Berbatov also left, and we started horribly.
Good player, great on his day.
posted on 1/9/16
comment by HRH King Ledley (U20095)
posted 44 minutes ago
He soured it for me by facking off to Liverpool months after declaring he was here as long as we wanted him after winning the league cup. Left us properly in the sheet too after Berbatov also left, and we started horribly.
Good player, great on his day.
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I was annoyed by that too, but he clearly had his head turned by Liverpool and, at that point, they were well ahead of us. They nearly won the league the season he was there for a half a year. So I can understand why he wanted to go - it was a definite step up at that point, while we were going backwards under Ramos. Declaring his undying love for us probably wasn't the best idea, but I think he was caught up in the emotion of it all and I do genuinely believe that the League Cup win meant a lot to him.
In fairness, too, he left before Berba, if my memory serves me right. It was Berba's sale that really left us in the sheet. It's one of those times when Levy's stubbornness and tough negotiating stance really got on my wick - it was clear that Keane and Berba both wanted to go, but he wanted to drag out the transfers for as long as possible and eke out every last penny from Liverpool and Utd. While he was wasting his time doing this, he had no time for adequate replacements - Pav, as good as he could be at times, was no Berba, and Frazier Campbell was no Keane. We had the surreal situation of Bent going from 4th choice to 1st choice striker almost overnight. No wonder, as you say, we started so poorly the next season. It was a complete mess, and Levy should take a fair bit of blame for that. I think he gets it right more than he gets it wrong, and he's a fine chairman, but moments like that really push the patience.
posted on 1/9/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 1/9/16
comment by lanespurs3 (U11398)
posted 1 hour, 54 minutes ago
comment by HRH King Ledley (U20095)
posted 44 minutes ago
He soured it for me by facking off to Liverpool months after declaring he was here as long as we wanted him after winning the league cup. Left us properly in the sheet too after Berbatov also left, and we started horribly.
Good player, great on his day.
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I was annoyed by that too, but he clearly had his head turned by Liverpool and, at that point, they were well ahead of us. They nearly won the league the season he was there for a half a year. So I can understand why he wanted to go - it was a definite step up at that point, while we were going backwards under Ramos. Declaring his undying love for us probably wasn't the best idea, but I think he was caught up in the emotion of it all and I do genuinely believe that the League Cup win meant a lot to him.
In fairness, too, he left before Berba, if my memory serves me right. It was Berba's sale that really left us in the sheet. It's one of those times when Levy's stubbornness and tough negotiating stance really got on my wick - it was clear that Keane and Berba both wanted to go, but he wanted to drag out the transfers for as long as possible and eke out every last penny from Liverpool and Utd. While he was wasting his time doing this, he had no time for adequate replacements - Pav, as good as he could be at times, was no Berba, and Frazier Campbell was no Keane. We had the surreal situation of Bent going from 4th choice to 1st choice striker almost overnight. No wonder, as you say, we started so poorly the next season. It was a complete mess, and Levy should take a fair bit of blame for that. I think he gets it right more than he gets it wrong, and he's a fine chairman, but moments like that really push the patience.
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Berba was always going, was expected. I actually respect him because he made no secret of it.
Keane made his bed, he has to lie in it. Could have been a club legend. I remember him more for his awful second spell where his legs had gone, and I was wishing him gone every window, far more than his first spell now.
posted on 1/9/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 1/9/16
Being Irish I loved the man regardless of his departure for Liverpool
Great to see him score last night would love to see that cartwheel one more time.
posted on 1/9/16
Being Irish I also have fond memories of him. The goal against Kahn stands out the most in 2002 for Ireland. At the time I was annoyed he left us for the Scousers. Although looking back I can see why he done it. Great servant for both club and country. Legend in my eyes the pointy man was . Probably best memory for us was the game in 09 when he knocked in 4 against Burnley. He was unplayable that day. Think Crouch was benched to, and if memory serves me right he scored a hat trick the week before.