Robbie Keane is a legend in Irish sporting circles and has written himself into the history books as an international goalscorer
With the transfer monster showing its large claws already this summer with Liverpool and Manchester United being amongst the main movers and the new season on the horizon, Republic of Ireland fans will be hoping Robbie Keane gets his club situation sorted and fast.
Robbie Keane is a legend in Irish sporting circles and has written himself into the history books as the most successful international goal scorer from Ireland and the British Isles. However with September's crucial Euro qualifiers with Slovakia and Russia fast approaching, the Irish skipper must find a club that will give him regular football and one would argue that he now must strongly consider dropping a division if needs be to source a regular starting berth.
At a glance Keane has really done the rounds in terms of clubs and is no stranger to the ins and outs of changing club and the situations that entails. Wolves, Coventry, Inter, Leeds, Tottenham, Liverpool, Tottenham again, Celtic (loan) and West Ham (loan). Stability and regular football must now be Keane’s priority and he must deal with the reality that he will no longer be a big star at a big club but a big star at a smaller club. I say smaller mainly referring to economic circumstances rather than stature due to the fact that the clubs coming up from the championship this season have a rich history and a massive following themselves.
And it is likely that it is with one of those clubs that Keane will find his road to Damascus. There are some indications that a betting man would throw a few bob on Loftus Road being Keane’s new home turf. Its history, great manager and the fact that it’s in London where Keane and his family currently live are not small issues to consider.
Warnock would benefit hugely from a character like Robbie Keane coming into his squad with his wealth of experience and his fantastic attitude to the game. Harry Redknapp is a huge fan of Keane’s work ethic and the way he can gel everyone together. He is a natural leader and a proven goal scorer and perhaps he maybe joined by Peter Crouch as well.
One may argue that had another manager been at the helm at Liverpool when Keane was brought there that he could have been a huge success. Five goals in a broken run of 19 appearances was not a bad return considering that Fernando Torres, his main partner at Liverpool scored only once in fourteen games for Chelsea last season. The common denominator being that neither manager wanted the strikers at those clubs. But that is all history and what only ever matters in football is the now.
Keane has to be selfish in the coming weeks, but in the right way. He has only a few more seasons left at the top and he must choose carefully which club he goes to. In the times we live in, a wage cut should not be too far from the top of his career survival list. Although premier league footballers are recession proof, money can often be the main sticking point in deciding on a club that will give you regular football or not. Michael Owen being a prime example of this - he again has chosen another year with the champion’s rather than regular football at a what he calls ‘lesser’ club.
The Republic of Ireland needs Robbie Keane to be on fire going into the remaining Euro 2012 qualifiers and more so should they qualify. For the Republic’s sake and for his own, I hope Keane gets selfish in the positive sense.