Cascarino: Keane seems more like £2million signing than £20m

It looked like the perfect signing, didn’t it? Liverpool seemed an ideal fit for Robbie Keane. A fan of the club, coming off a great season with Spurs, he would be a foil for Fernando Torres and help Liverpool contend for titles at home and in Europe.

Safe to say it’s not been the best of starts for Keane or Liverpool. He seems more like a £2 million signing than a £20 million buy. It’s not like you could say he’s had stinkers, getting great opportunities in front of goal and missing them – it’s worse than that because he hasn’t even had the chances. It looks like he doesn’t know where to run or what to do.

It’s not surprising Keane seems confused and ineffective with the way Liverpool are set up tactically at the moment. He‘s not quite wide enough to be playing down the wing, but he’s not in the centre, either. Robbie’s space is squeezed because Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt, in theory the wide men, don’t have much pace so keep cutting inside into his zone.

And it’s not like Liverpool’s full backs are providing the width instead. They are sitting deep, as if they’re trying to emulate David Beckham’s performances. So Keane doesn’t have the support he enjoyed at White Hart Lane from attack-minded defenders such as Pascal Chimbonda or Gareth Bale. Liverpool are lacking options and ideas.

Then there’s his strike partner, Fernando Torres, the main man. It was a question often asked when Torres was with Atletico Madrid: is he a partnership player or does he prefer to operate alone up front? In contrast with Dimitar Berbatov, a creator as well as a predator who struck up a great understanding with Keane at Spurs, Torres doesn’t provide an array of little flicks or one-twos. If he lays the ball off, it’s usually back to a central midfield player.

What Torres loves to do is slip down the sides of defenders or get on the end of balls played into the box. So does Robbie. But there’s no point him running beyond Torres because the flick-ons won’t come like they did when Keane and Berbatov were together. So he’s not likely to score many one-on-ones (remember his goal at Anfield last season when he ran clear and buried the ball in the net?). He won’t get enough chances to be prolific.

I played with Robbie for Ireland and he can be tricky to play with because he likes to do the unexpected. But the same goes for Torres. Another reason they’re not quite gelling. You get the feeling that both Torres and Keane would be more comfortable alongside a Peter Crouch, someone who’s a different sort of player. At the moment, Keane and Torres as a double-act resemble Keane and Jermain Defoe: too similar.

All I can suggest is that Rafael Benitez ensures his team play with more width so Robbie has support if he runs wide and doesn’t get crowded out if he’s in a central position. That means Ryan Babel and perhaps Jermaine Pennant, because they have the pace to go round defenders on the outside.

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His move back to Manchester City is just what Shaun Wright-Phillips needs to reignite his career. He’s the kind of player who needs to be given confidence, to have an arm round his shoulder, to be told how highly he’s valued. He’ll get that at City. At Chelsea, it’s hard even if you’re a good player, or a very good one – because you’re surrounded by stars, bigger and better players.

Let’s not forget that in patches, two or three games or two or three months, Wright-Phillips was very effective for Chelsea. He had his moments. But at a club of Chelsea’s size, that’s not enough. You can’t afford to be inconsistent. Two or three indifferent performances and you’re out – perhaps of the matchday squad, let alone the first-team. You can’t ride out periods of poor form. You can’t establish yourself if you’re a good player, because very soon a great one will be along to take your place.

Mark Hughes, the City manager, gets the best out of players. Look at how David Bentley and Craig Bellamy flourished at Blackburn Rovers. He identifies what his players can do and lets them know clearly what he wants from them. He produces organised teams that play to their strengths. He should be good for Wright-Phillips, and although they struggled yesterday in the Uefa Cup, this is a decent, creative side that is better than the one he left in 2005.

Wright-Phillips may not have the confident naivety he showed as a kid, fearlessly running direct at defences, but aged only 26, he’s still young enough to recapture his blistering form of past years, as long as he recognises that as he gets older he will need to gain composure as he loses speed.

It’s also early in the season, so he should be able to hit the ground running. If he’d moved in January having spent the first half of the campaign in the reserves, lack of match fitness might have been a problem if he was thrown straight into the City side, as it was for Damien Duff when he joined Newcastle United.

Comments

[Peter Frost]

Keane is top class...ask his opponents. The problem is Rafa. His tactics are far too narrow making it easy for great teams like ManU to beat them. Rio and Vidic put Torres, Gerard in their pockets.

To get the best from his players he should play Babel, Pennant wide and bring the full backs up further. Pretty obvious.

Lpool have little chance of top 4 with Rafa's tactics.

[Mike]

Just how did Keane enjoy the support of Gareth Bale last season as Bale was out injured for 95% of it? Also as they've only just played the third league game of the season,and Torres went off injured very early at Villa,I think you should give Robbie a few more games before you jump the gun and criticise the transfer.

[DR]

For a creative player, playing for Rafa Benitez is akin to being sent to jail. Benitez sucks the life out of football and Keane will continue to struggle until Benitez provides a framework for his skills to thrive or Benitez is fired and a coach who encourages skilful players is brought in.

[peter yiannis]

This is my last entry on the subject, unless i am provoked!

After just watching Aston Villa v Liverpool i am absolutely convinced , that this inept , negative, psychotic, bizzare decision making caricuture of a football coach/manager should go back to Spain or some Zen temple , to contemplate the criminal pain he has and is inflicting on hard paying Liverpool supportes and football lovers all over the world !!

Benitez has turned deception into an art form and how on earth he has managed to get away with it for the past 5 seasons , is beyond the comprehension of a healthy cell filled brain !
He is a clueless , dull, boring and after spending over 130ml on players he should do the honourable thing and ....DISAPPEAR from the city of Liverpool ,the U.K and preferably the Football world forever!!!
Keane ? The poor bloke didn,t even look like a 100,000k player never mind 2ml !

[aaron stone]

im a chelsea fan myself and i think robbie keane just needs a few games to settel in. At the moment i dont think any top striker in the primership is playing well!! the likes of adabayor, torres, rooney etc are not playing there best and it seems fans are getting bad feeling all ready. there has only been two or three games! the season is still young and early these players just need to adaped to the new players which have just came in! when drogba first came to the bridge i couldnt stand him like most fan still to this day, giving him a season to get use to the way we play he is one of the best strikers today with big clubs intressed so i think robbie will do fine and when he fines his feet again torres and keane will be a a scarey forces to play against!! the question at the moment i keep hereing about is ROONEY is he stiil a top class striker and for me the work rate he gives 100% every time he put the untied and england shirt on u cant take that away from him!!! rooney for me he should be a a attackin middfilder! the work rate his power his vision and he would be able to be more affective over the last season some of his goals he has scored from out side the box have been amazing so for me a would play him and see how he gets on!!! if you can put ur views across about rooney i would love to here them thanks very much

[Patrick Rennie]

A couple of points. Who thought that Keane would be the perect foil for Torres? Later on the article corrects itself saying that they are too similar, this was always the case and always likely to happen. Keane and Torres are both number 9s who like to play right at the top of the pitch. Keane was always a strange signing, Liverpool should have investigated purchasing Berbatov, or perhaps a winger and playing Crouch with Torres. Keane is a good player, but not a great player and it won';t be long until Benitez starts playing him wide or as back-up to Torres.

Also, how much success did Keane really enjoy from Gareth Bale's performances? 2, maybe 3 matches, at most.

[Josh Dickson]

"So Keane doesn’t have the support he enjoyed at White Hart Lane from attack-minded defenders such as Pascal Chimbonda or Gareth Bale" - Bale an ever present when Keane was at spurs of course

[Ben]

Peter Yiannis is absolutely spot on. How Benitez has managed to stay at Liverpool for so long is a mystery. I can think of few managers that have spent such vast amounts (£150m+?) of money on player after player of mediocre quality who stay for one or two seasons, only to be replaced with similarly expensive yet extremely average players. I know the original debate was about Keane who I think is a good player but £20m for him seems to reinforce the notion that Benitez spanks the cash with hardly a second thought.

[peter yiannis]

To Paul and Andrew Harris:

So good to see you both supporting your opinions so strongly and in such a civil manner ,however, i stand firmly by what i have written about Benitez and what he has achieved in the past 5 seasons in charge of Liverpool .
Paul you are absolutely right though. Only time will tell,.... if he is given that luxury !
This season could be a very interesting one!
Chelsea ( Have money to burn ) FC, look strong and rejuvenated under Scolari , but they struggled against Wigan.
Man Utd have a lot of injuries,no recognised striker as yet, ( Berbatov could yet be on his way there in the next few days) and could lose a few points till Ronaldo returns.Last night against Zenit they were played off the park! They will definitely miss C. Queiroz,s tactical nous .
Wenger and Arsenal have lost a lot of key players and have no strength in depth .
So it,s all there for Benitez and Liverpool to do well.
My opinion is that he is not capable enough as a coach/ manager to do so. I hope i,m wrong

[M Smith]

I never thought i would ever type this but Tony has totally hit the nail on the head regarding Keane. Very insightful and for once it makes sense. Keane will be a success at Liverpool next season when Liverpool get a new manager.

[mike bell]

keane's best position is right at the front when he goes into midfield he messes about dribbles a bit and usually achieves nothing he's not the best finisher but will score his fair share
his partnership with torres will upset the torres/gerrard combination
no wonder spurs took the money
it was berbatov who made keane look good

[michael campbell]

I agree with Vinny,Spurs where very good to Robbie and there type of football suited him,but I have no sympathy what so ever for him now,as he has not been loyal to Spurs,may be it is called greed or bad advice.

[Leigh Vernier]

OK. Spurs would love Keane back and refund the fee.. Keane does things that lead to goals that only the very best can do. His close control, at times, is remarkable.
Benitez is making the same team selection errors as Capello. trying to fit players in.
Play Keane - no room for Kuyt. Gerrard, Keane, Torres could be absolute tops. Build round them.

[Mike G]

I think that it was a strange signing for Benitez to spend so much money on a support striker, when what we needed first was a top quality winger. We have almost signed Rieira, and i hope he works out but i have my doubts. He improved as a player after going back to spain from Man City but i think he will struggle again in the league. We played so well last season 4-3-3 with Gerrard supporting Torres but it seems that he will not be playing there as much this season to accomodate Keane. Torres also seems to play more effective by himself up front rather than with a parter, even seen from when he partnered Villa in the Euros. I hope im wrong and Rieira settles and Keane finds a place in the team without disruping the others. Only time will tell...

[Giordano Bennetti]

It's all very well defending Rafa's buys as successful because the likes of Bellamy were sold at a profit - but the cost is the wasted time in trying to build a team. It's not Rafa's job to make money for the club, it's his job to win trophies - particularly the Premiership and the Champions League.

To me, he seems a very slow learner. To overtake United, Chelsea and Arsenal, Liverpool really need to win (as opposed to not lose) as many games as possible. Rafa is far too safety-first. He needs to get his team being far more aggressive in winning games - but at the moment, his team lack craft in central midfield and flair and pace on the flanks.

[reuben anderson]

Looks to me as though Benitez has instructed Keane in no uncertain terms to be the guy who creates goals for Torres.

He's a demanding player for his teammates, so creative that most of the time his teammates can't keep up either. Occasionally it does click, often it just goes awfully wrong. At spurs I thought he looked best playing in the hole as part of a 4-3-3.

But I agree with Tony, he does look a bit lost so far, and the centre midfield is quite congested.

Much as I admire Gareth Barry, I can't see how he'd have solved any of Liverpool's current problems, particularly the lack of width. Surely there are a number of quality players in Spain who'd fit the bill. Why not Joaquin?

[Paul]

Peter Yiannis...please, Rafa's managerial record is - 2 x spainish league titles, 2 x major European titles (and CL finalist), 1 x FA Cup, highest points total in the history of Liverpool (even converting 2pts for a win to 3pts for a win). His record as a manager over the past decade puts him as one of the top (current) managers in club football.

Yes there have been mistakes, yes there's been questionable rotation and yes he plays players out of position. He isn't a flawless manager (no manager is) and some of the flaws are frustrating - his seemingly foolish stubbornness being his biggest in my eyes.

Is he good enough to win the title? Time will tell. Perhaps Rafa has taken the squad as far as he can take it, but very few people will look at the team he inherited and the team he has now and say it isn't significantly better in all departments. The problem for Rafa is that the same is true for Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea - and perhaps those clubs have improved quicker and better?

Either way you are unfair in your ruthless assessment of Rafa, and it isn't about football-knowledge (under Rafa the club almost created a new club record for consecutive wins too) it's about where you focus your attention on assessing Rafa as a manager.

[andrew harris]

RE; P Yiannis

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, an opinion cant be wrong...however..

Agger was not signed for big money, he was £5-5.5m, not exactly massive in todays market. Crouch, Sissoko and Bellamy were sold for profits, so Benitez must have done something right, Morientes was a great player, who just didnt do the business, and who was never 100% fit, as for Garcia, he was a reserve at Barca, joined LFC and scored some of the most important goals in their recent history! The argument about players improving because they are young, directly contradicts what you say about Sissoko, he is young? yet its Rafas fault he didnt improve , yet not Rafa's doing that the aforementioned, have improved?! I do agree with your opinion that 20m is too much for Keane, but the market is silly at the moment ( 8m for Anton Ferdinand!? )
Also, your argument that young players improve simply because " they are young and talented and have adapted fairly well to the demands of premiership footbal" then surely by that notion, fergie and wenger shouldnt get credit for the excellent youngsters they have developed?
You also make the point that he took torres off vs chelsea, a) torres was injured b) his replacement , babel, scored and c) LFC were denied a clear pen in extra time - foul on hyypia, which if converted , would have seen them through...fine margins. Finally, if you check facts, benitezs net spend is slightly higher than Fergies, a lot less than chelseas, and larger than wengers ( whose isnt!?) what you dont mention is, man utd needed a lot less improving, chelsea were already better than lfc, then blew 200m more, and wenger has had 12 years to develop arsenals style and youth policy, something benitez has improved at lfc.. Yes Liverpool are not as good as chelsea, and man utd, but they spend as much if not more, and before beni was in charge, were already at a higher level than liverpool

[peter yiannis]

To Richard Marquis:

Torres , Mascherano , Agger etc are very good YOUNG players in their EARLY TWENTIES who can and will improve, simply because, they are young and talented and have adapted fairly well to the demands of premiership football , not because Benitez is a tactical genius!!
He also paid big bucks to aquire them, they are played in position ( how novel and ingenious of Benitez) , they get paid very bucks, so they feel obligated to defend and support him.
If Benitez was that good , with your way of thinking, how come he didn,t improve and keep, Crouch, Morientes, Garcia, Bellamy, Sissoko, Carson and so many others i can,t think of right now !!
As i wrote in my previous entry Keane , good and tricky that he is, at 28 ,is not a 20 mil. player and he will definitely not improve under Benitez and the confused system that he plays.
He has played in the PL for many years and under better managers, who managed to get the best out of his honest and hardworking but not so exceptional talent.
As for your comment that ' you find laughable that he makes bad decisions on the pitch ', i will remind you of last seasons semi against Chelsea and AVRAAM GRANT ( remember him ?) in the C L. He took Torres off , exactly at a point in the game when he needed a goalscorer ! He also never used Crouch and he put Babel on, far too late!
Now, Mr Richard 'I admire genious Benitez ' Marquis, what i find hilarious and sad at the same time , is your failure to see and understand failure ,when it is staring at you straight in the eye !
Your grasp and understanding of football is obviously very limited and blinkered , otherwise, you would never have written ' Liverpool are so succesful in Europe because coaches are able to influence the game with.....tactics but in the prem. because it is too fast they rely on their best players to do the extraordinary ' !!
Are you sure it,s football you,re watching and not Ping-Pong ?
It is people like you who will find a million excuses for glaring failures like Benitez , who gets paid extraordinary money to do an extraordinary bad job !!
He has spent over 130 ml and still does not have a settled team to challenge for both the PL and CL !
Not so long ago, Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley , may they RIP , built a football club and teams that won Championships both domestic and European , and they did it on a shoestring and gave millions of football lovers all over the world great pleasure, by playing fantastic football. They graced the world of football with their humble and great personalities.
I hope that you do not place Benitez in the same league because if you did , then you are a right lunatic !
And please don,t answer back, that things have changed, because they clearly have.
People are bereft of excellence and are very happy to accept mediocrity...... as you clearly are!!

[Paul]

Tony, once again some great insight. Far better than the 'professional writers' here. You have summed up Keane's challenge completely.

While I am not on the anti-Benitez bandwagon and feel it is too early to tell yet, the season is young, Liverpool are challenged with width and I think Keane not Kuyt, is the person who should be on the right up front. Not a winger but a right sided forward. That would allow more freedom for a Babel, when back, or one of the other players, such as Riera if he comes in.

But it is clear Gerrard has been struggling with injury, Alonso is still off colour and without Mascherano to act as an anchor, the midfield has been underperforming. As Kuyt can't hold the ball, this has severely restricted attacking options beyond simply the lack of width and, as Tony has pointed out, by not fitting Keane in properly, it is limiting Liverpool's attacking options.

A couple of small changes right now would free up the team completely. So all is not lost and Benitez has been working within what is available at the moment. Olympics and CL qualifying over, International break coming, he has time to sort things out. With 2 league wins under the table, not a bad position to start the season.

[andrew harris]

With all these arguments about Liverpool having no width etc, is anyone going to point out that babel has been away, dossena ( who was bought to supply the left side width a 4-2-3-1 system needs) is settling in a foreign country, and is looking ordinary at the moment, much like Evra did. Why are people jumping on a bandwagon after 4 games? 3 of which Liverpool have won?! whats the problem? surely wait and see if Riera, babel, dossena, etc deliver width, then make judgements. Also , Benitez's net spend is less than 100m, yes its a lot, but Man city, sunderland, spurs , pompey etc all spend...should they win the league? Benitez was given an awful squad, biscan, traore, dudek, smicer etc..enough said

[Simon]

last season Keane didn't score his first goal until late Sep. It's too early to say anyhting has gone wrong.

[mick]

Duff signed for newcastle in the summer, not january transfer window.

[ted]

James, putting the transfers of Gareth Barry and James Milner really does put the signing of Keane into perspective. 20 mill for Keane, Barry and Milner would cost approx £35. If signing both of those, they could offload Kuyt (honest worker but let's face it-a top level player?) and/or Alonso (great player but needs to go to raise the money) to help finance the deal. Play Pennant on the right hand side, strong midfield-fantastic. Instead, Benitez has shown his weakness in the transfer market once again. Keane is a great player but he's overpriced, but more importantly-does he fit what Liverpool need right now? Answer-no. With the amount of players bought and sold you would expect there to be a more coherent vision of what Liverpool should be, and how they should play. Instead, we still have a team that seems to rely on Gerrard-it will be interesting to see how they fare without him.

[Richard Marquis]

To Peter Yiannis:

Benitez may have his faults but if you think he cannot improve players then i suggest you go and chat with Torres, Mascherano, Agger etc and see what they have to say. He has a very very clear opinion on how he wants them to play and makes huge demands on them to improve as players. Thus why they credit him with their improvements as players (Torres especially).

In addition, your comments on 'his decision making on the pitch' are laughable. Liverpool have been so successful in europe because coaches are able to influence the game much more with their tactics.....something which doesn't really happen in the prem where the game is too fast and you rely on your best players to do the extraordinary.

To pass judgement on Keane right now is hilarious.