(Courtesy of Wikipedia)When things go wrong, and rather hastily, the separation, when it inevitably happens, does so in similar fashion. Robbie Keane was at Liverpool for a total of 189 days and if you thought that the Irishman’s return to White Hart Lane for £15million on transfer deadline day would be the end of his somewhat bitter sweet stay at Liverpool, you were largely mistaken.
Lack of Support?
Earlier in the week the Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez expressed his disappointment of Keane’s unsuccessful spell at the club, and insisted it was never down to a lack of support from the manager.
"When we signed him, I thought he could be a fantastic partner for Fernando Torres. I thought he could guarantee goals, but that clearly wasn't the case.
"Another factor is that Liverpool are a different club from most. Expectations are really high, people are asking questions every week and the pressure is on all the time. Maybe that was why he found it so difficult.
"Do I feel any responsibility for what happened? I supported him as much as I could and gave him plenty of opportunities to show his quality. He was not treated badly.
No Respect
Although not wanting to get “into a feud with anybody” suggesting he has “too much respect for that,” the Irishman spoke of being “baffled” about his swift return to Tottenham, and even admitted receiving a medal (if Liverpool win the league) come May “would not mean anything at all.”
Keane, who was largely frustrated at being deployed out of position and consistently substituted, claims his professionalism and respect for the Merseyside club was never reciprocated by Benitez.
"I never had one bad word to say about anybody there, I didn't have a problem with the manager, I never had a fall-out with the manager ... I was never late for training, I trained every day and I worked my socks off. It's as simple as that. You're probably as baffled as I am."
The Last Straw
Keane is strong-minded and has experienced something similar previously – at the age of 19 a gifted yet inexperienced Keane moved to the Italian giants Inter Milan only to be used sparingly – and so it is unsurprising to hear him speak of his short-lived career at Anfield philosophically;
Lack of Support?
Earlier in the week the Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez expressed his disappointment of Keane’s unsuccessful spell at the club, and insisted it was never down to a lack of support from the manager.
"When we signed him, I thought he could be a fantastic partner for Fernando Torres. I thought he could guarantee goals, but that clearly wasn't the case.
"Another factor is that Liverpool are a different club from most. Expectations are really high, people are asking questions every week and the pressure is on all the time. Maybe that was why he found it so difficult.
"Do I feel any responsibility for what happened? I supported him as much as I could and gave him plenty of opportunities to show his quality. He was not treated badly.
No Respect
Although not wanting to get “into a feud with anybody” suggesting he has “too much respect for that,” the Irishman spoke of being “baffled” about his swift return to Tottenham, and even admitted receiving a medal (if Liverpool win the league) come May “would not mean anything at all.”
Keane, who was largely frustrated at being deployed out of position and consistently substituted, claims his professionalism and respect for the Merseyside club was never reciprocated by Benitez.
"I never had one bad word to say about anybody there, I didn't have a problem with the manager, I never had a fall-out with the manager ... I was never late for training, I trained every day and I worked my socks off. It's as simple as that. You're probably as baffled as I am."
The Last Straw
Keane is strong-minded and has experienced something similar previously – at the age of 19 a gifted yet inexperienced Keane moved to the Italian giants Inter Milan only to be used sparingly – and so it is unsurprising to hear him speak of his short-lived career at Anfield philosophically;
“It wasn't a mistake for me to go there, it just didn't work out for whatever reason. I didn't fit into the way that rafa plays football. With a different manager there, maybe it could have worked."
It has been reported he knew his time was up when the unproven teenager David Ngog was a preferred choice in the squad ahead of him against Everton; yet, Keane is looking forward to his new position as club captain ahead of Tottenham's derby game against Arsenal, "I am a Spurs player now and Liverpool is gone."
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