Birth Date: July 8 1980
Birth Place: Dublin
Birth Nation: Republic of Ireland
Height: 176cm
Weight: 72Kg
Nationality: Republic of Ireland
Position: Forward
Full name: Robert David Keane
Robbie Keane Rumours and Transfers
25 10 2007
Under-fire Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol would be "better off without" Dimitar Berbatov, according to Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp.
The Bulgarian striker made a big impact in his debut season at White Hart Lane last season, scoring 23 goals.
But Spurs' poor start to the new campaign has left Jol on the brink of unemployment and, Redknapp says, brought out the worst in Berbatov.
The former Bayer Leverkusen striker appeared reluctant to come on as a substitute in the Londoners' 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Monday, and Redknapp is clear on what he would do.
"The very last thing Martin Jol needs right now is Dimitar Berbatov spitting his dummy out because he's not in Tottenham's starting team every week," Redknapp said in his column in a newspaper.
"You only find out the true character of your players when the chips are down and the pressure is on. And we all saw what Berbatov is made of when he was sat sulking on the bench at Newcastle the other night with a face like a big baby. Everyone knows what a terrific player the Bulgarian can be. But he's not the striker he was a year ago and, from what I've seen, he looks to be disinterested and playing for himself rather than his team. His attitude is terrible and his behaviour at St James' Park sent out all the wrong signals."
The 26-year-old front man had been linked with a move to Old Trafford over the summer, but Redknapp believes Berbatov has blown any chance of that now.
"Maybe he's sulking because he didn't get a move to Manchester United in the summer," Redknapp added.
"But he's done himself absolutely no favours on that account because I know for a fact Alex Ferguson would never stand for any player who behaves the way Berbatov has done this week. When your team is in trouble you need the big characters to stand up. That's just what Robbie Keane has done for Spurs and Berbatov should show the same attitude. I have always believed that when you lose a player's support you get him out as quickly as possible."
Spurs play Getafe in the Uefa Cup on Thursday evening and it will be interesting to see if Jol heeds Redknapp's words.
"No matter how good, you're better off without him."
08 10 2007
Steven Gerrard admits Liverpool are performing way below expectations despite still being unbeaten in the Premier League this term.
But what boss Rafael Benitez is privately concerned about is the form of his skipper as Gerrard heads off for another international break with England.
Ever since Gerrard suffered his foot injury and then played two games in four days for England with the problem, he has not been the driving inspiration Liverpool expect.
Benitez was more than annoyed about that, but knows he can do nothing to prevent the same thing happening again.
It was only last week that Gerrard conceded he was finally playing without pain, underlining the real problem at the heart of Liverpool's recent sequence of two wins in seven games.
It was almost a whole lot worse on Sunday until Fernando Torres headed an injury-time equaliser to rob Tottenham of a deserved win at Anfield.
Two goals from Robbie Keane, answering Andriy Voronin's opener, looked to have set Spurs on the way to a victory that would surely have ended any debate about manager Martin Jol's job.
But Spurs still returned to London more than happy with their efforts, leaving Liverpool and their increasingly demanding fans wondering what has gone wrong.
Ahead of the match, Benitez had described the home Champions League defeat by Marseille last week as "unacceptable". Gerrard agreed that Liverpool had "lost their sparkle".
And after another display riddled with errors that left Benitez stunned, there was certainly no extra glitz around Anfield.
Gerrard said: "We have not been ourselves of late, that's true. The results have not been good and the performances could have been better. We are going through a dip in form which all top teams do at some stage and we just have to make sure we play our way through it. We are not performing to the standards we can do, but that will change. I am asking the fans to trust me when I say there is no crisis here. We have fantastic players and a world-class manager and we will get things right again, there is no doubt about that. We have now got an international break which will give Rafa the chance to look at things and work with the players who are staying behind. For those of us going away, we have to get the jobs done with our countries and then come back ready for a massive match at Everton. If we can turn in a performance in the derby and win that game then things will be looking better again. That is what we will be aiming for."
Benitez looked as angry and bemused as is possible as he sifted through the debris of a third home league draw of the campaign, six points lost that would see them ahead of leaders Arsenal.
The Anfield boss said: "We were good in the first half, creating chances and controlling the game. But after we conceded near the break and then again soon after, it changed everything. We did not control the game and we did not create chances. But we did see character in that second half to get a very late equaliser. The two goals we conceded were very similar, they were not normal, not the sort of goals that we concede, that is why they are so difficult to explain. It is very difficult also to explain why we were much better than Spurs in the first half and then in the second period we could not handle the pressure on us. It was unbelievable that we could not finish the game off. We needed character, experience and leaders. Leaders need to control the situation and manage the pressure."
Despite Jol's problems, he certainly had leadership on the pitch where for a team in the bottom four, Spurs showed commendable courage to attack their hosts.
Jol said: "We should have won the game. We had a couple of very good breaks, but the final ball was never 100%. Liverpool always put you under pressure. I felt, though, that with all the attacking players they had on the field they would cause us a lot more problems. We fight for every yard, we create chances, we score goals so I'm pretty optimistic, but the only thing now is we have to start winning in the league."
06 10 2007
Robbie Keane is determined to get Tottenham out of the bottom three and prove against Liverpool they can mix with the top four of the Premier League.
Spurs were expected to compete for Champions League qualification but have just one win in their eight league games so far, with boss Martin Jol in the spotlight after the club invested more than £30million in the summer.
Jol defends his record against the 'big four' - he has only defeated Chelsea - but there is a perception of the Dutchman struggling against the elite.
It is something Republic of Ireland striker Keane wants to put right at Anfield on Sunday.
"That's what we want to achieve, to beat the top-four sides," said Keane, Jol's skipper in the absence of injured Ledley King.
"We've always done well up there but we've never got over the hurdle to actually win the game. But we go there with confidence after playing well against Bolton away, we lost it a bit against Villa but in the last half-hour we did very well. If we cut out the goals and not concede we have every chance. Liverpool are a good side but I look at Liverpool and look at our squad and feel it is very similar."
After losing to Arsenal three weeks ago it was suggested Jol would have until the next international break to save his job, and Spurs are unbeaten since without being totally convincing.
Keane's own form has been fine, with four in his last five appearances, but his strike against Anorthosis Famagusta on Thursday saved Spurs from defeat on the night against the Cypriot minnows.
The 27-year-old's penalty against Aston Villa last Monday was part of the crazy comeback where Spurs snatched a point from the jaws of defeat.
Keane added on Spurs TV Online: "We've played well in a lot of the games, we just haven't been able to hold on to games and that's what we need to do. With the players we have we're capable of doing it and it's only a matter of time."
Jol has identified set-piece defending as a major worry, with the organisational skills of King sorely missed.
"The test is for us not to concede and that wasn't easy for us over the last two months," said Jol.
"If you keep a clean sheet you are always in with a chance and we have to get a result."
He added: "Everyone said it was a turning point against Villa but it wasn't - three days before we beat Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup. We always did well after European trips so hopefully we can have a result."
Goalkeeper Paul Robinson was not happy with his blunders against Villa and went on the trip to Cyprus to get the performance out of his system immediately.
He feels it is within Tottenham's grasp to recover as they did last season when they eventually finished fifth.
"We've had a poor start to the season, there is no shying away from it," said the England goalkeeper.
"We have not played particularly badly but results have not gone our way. We've had a couple of reasonable performances without taking anything, but the table doesn't lie and we are down there. We've got a couple of tough away games coming up at Liverpool and Newcastle, so it is up to us to get out of it. We got back up there last season, we need to do the same again and we will do."
04 10 2007
Robbie Keane saved Martin Jol from an embarrassing defeat against Anorthosis Famagusta as Tottenham booked their place in the UEFA Cup group stages in unconvincing fashion in Cyprus with a 1-1 draw, meaning Spurs go through 7-2 on aggregate..
Fabio De Matos Pereira, known as Fabinho, had given the hosts the lead at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium.
But Keane came off the bench to level on the night after the Premier League side had established a 6-1 lead from the first leg two weeks ago.
02 10 2007
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill hopes his side can learn from their dramatic capitulation at Tottenham on Monday evening.
Villa looked to be coasting towards the points when Craig Gardner fired them into a 4-1 lead in the 59th minute at White Hart Lane.
But strikes from Pascal Chimbonda, Robbie Keane and Younes Kaboul in the second half salvaged a crucial point for the home side and left O'Neill in reflective mood.
"Hopefully we can learn from that," he said. "We have a very young side here at the moment. We've contributed here to a largely entertaining game and we have, for the most part, played terrifically. They dropped a little bit deep, which is understandable and obviously Tottenham were going to throw everything at us."
However, O'Neill felt his players weren't helped by a below-par display from the officials.
He added: "We should have had a penalty just after half-time. Then the final goal was obviously offside. It's not been the best day for the linesmen and the referee."
02 10 2007
Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane insists under-fire manager Martin Jol has the full support of his players.
Speaking after Younes Kaboul netted a dramatic injury-time equaliser as Spurs hit back from 4-1 down to snatch an astonishing 4-4 draw with Aston Villa on Monday, the Republic of Ireland international hailed the resilience of the Dutchman.
Jol has been linked with a White Hart Lane exit since the opening few weeks of the season, but Keane, who joined in the celebrations for the equaliser with the under-fire manager, hopes he remains at the helm.
"You should have seen him at the end when we scored the goal," said Keane.
"He had the support from everyone. He's shown what a good manager he is over the past couple of years. We're going through a bit of sticky patch at the moment. To come back from 4-1 down is unbelievable. You talk about dead and buried but we showed lots of character. That's what we have in this team. When you're 4-1 down, you go hell for leather. It does feel like a sort of victory to us in many ways."
