IN the summer I must admit I had my doubts about Robbie Keane. When he signed from Spurs for £20million I described him as a streaky scorer – one who will get you 10 in 10 but then might go 10 games without getting a sniff of a goal.
I still think that’s a fair description of Keane, because that’s just the way some players – Wayne Rooney included – are and it’s very difficult for them to break that pattern.
However, I honestly feels that doesn’t matter in this current Liverpool team. As long as Keane gets his fair share over the course of the campaign, his overall contribution will make it look like money well spent.
Of course, as a striker, it’s all about goals and I don’t buy any of this nonsense forwards sometimes come out with about not caring if they score or not, as long as the team wins.
Because no matter how many chances you create for others, how high your work-rate is or how slick your link-up play with your with team-mates might be, scoring goals is your job. And you can’t be happy if you’re not doing it.
While Keane can’t be expected to net as many as Fernando Torres, he is at last starting to show that he can give the Spaniard some competition for his place.
And you can only do that by scoring goals. And even if Keane does continue his habit of getting a load all at once before another lean spell, that kind of form usually bags him 20 goals anyway.
And would be an ideal total for a man who will largely used as a supporting act to the main event, especially as Torres is now back in the fold.
I’m not sure if I would have been saying that with as much conviction had he not bagged those two against the Baggies at the weekend, however.
The fact that Keane hadn’t managed a league goal for Liverpool before Saturday and had struggled to complete a full 90 minutes hardly affected his team’s results.
But it doesn’t alter the fact that, despite what he says, he has been a little bit distracted by the burden of trying to get off the mark. He has been under pressure and sometimes it has shown.
One goal, however, and he becomes a different player. Look at his second – he had a similar chance against Atletico Madrid last week but looked a bit ponderous and hesitant. On Saturday he just swept past Scott Carson and fired it into the net without messing about.
That’s what happens when you have confidence – you do it without thinking.
And that’s the key thing. I know Robbie and he is a great lad to have in the dressing room with great leadership qualities.
And now he has his first league goals under his belt, I’m sure his true character will start to emerge.
I still think that’s a fair description of Keane, because that’s just the way some players – Wayne Rooney included – are and it’s very difficult for them to break that pattern.
However, I honestly feels that doesn’t matter in this current Liverpool team. As long as Keane gets his fair share over the course of the campaign, his overall contribution will make it look like money well spent.
Of course, as a striker, it’s all about goals and I don’t buy any of this nonsense forwards sometimes come out with about not caring if they score or not, as long as the team wins.
Because no matter how many chances you create for others, how high your work-rate is or how slick your link-up play with your with team-mates might be, scoring goals is your job. And you can’t be happy if you’re not doing it.
While Keane can’t be expected to net as many as Fernando Torres, he is at last starting to show that he can give the Spaniard some competition for his place.
And you can only do that by scoring goals. And even if Keane does continue his habit of getting a load all at once before another lean spell, that kind of form usually bags him 20 goals anyway.
And would be an ideal total for a man who will largely used as a supporting act to the main event, especially as Torres is now back in the fold.
I’m not sure if I would have been saying that with as much conviction had he not bagged those two against the Baggies at the weekend, however.
The fact that Keane hadn’t managed a league goal for Liverpool before Saturday and had struggled to complete a full 90 minutes hardly affected his team’s results.
But it doesn’t alter the fact that, despite what he says, he has been a little bit distracted by the burden of trying to get off the mark. He has been under pressure and sometimes it has shown.
One goal, however, and he becomes a different player. Look at his second – he had a similar chance against Atletico Madrid last week but looked a bit ponderous and hesitant. On Saturday he just swept past Scott Carson and fired it into the net without messing about.
That’s what happens when you have confidence – you do it without thinking.
And that’s the key thing. I know Robbie and he is a great lad to have in the dressing room with great leadership qualities.
And now he has his first league goals under his belt, I’m sure his true character will start to emerge.
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