Big Cheques Don't Hide Keane's Drop Down
Credit:
It’s generally accepted that Robbie Keane is the finest striker this country has ever produced. It’s understandable so that some would have problems with a career decision that now sees a man capable of playing at a prominent level in Europe instead opting for the bright lights and big cheques of the MLS.
To its credit the league in the US has to be recognised for a steady improvement in quality in recent years but it is a competition that is still more about hype and celebrity rather than real sporting drama and quality action. One look at the spectacle that was Galaxy’s game with San Jose Earthquakes demonstrated that Irish fans who chose to follow their captain’s latest adventure are about to be exposed to soccer but not as we perhaps have known it up to now.
Forgive me for being partisan but aside from the tenuous argument that a happy footballer makes a better footballer there are no credible reasons to suggest that Keane’s move to MLS will benefit in any way the Republic’s bid to qualify for the European Championships, or the next World Cup, should he continue lining out in green.
Robbie has nothing left to prove in his career. On the field his goal scoring record cannot be faulted; on paper he has been prolific for most of his career. In the MLS he’ll likely eclipse any goal per game ratio he has built up at his previous clubs, not because of any late surge in the twilight of his career, but solely because the standard against which his ability is being judged is so far below what he would face on this side of the Atlantic.
I had the opportunity to spend some time with Ronnie O’Brien in Toronto for a documentary I made a couple of years ago. A fine footballer who was regularly included in the annual All Star Team, Ronnie revelled in the anonymity that playing in the MLS allowed - the ability to make a good living in a beautiful surrounding devoid of the attention that professional footballers elsewhere attract.
One notable contrast is that O’Brien was able to achieve this in a city where FC Toronto was a major success and a regular sell out. Keane will soon discover that once the initial interest in his arrival dies off he will be going about his business in a city where his chosen franchise makes little dent and attracts little attention beyond its die hard support.
Keane has come with baggage in recent years. As frustrating to watch at times as he can he brilliant, Keane is a confidence player who seems unable to entertain criticism or critical scrutiny and his relationship with the Irish press has become strained due to his increasing reluctance to talk about his apparent career difficulties in the only forum in which his native press has the chance to quiz him.
It’s understandable that despite the profile of the clubs he has played for, some level of frustration may have seeped into his psyche. He clearly has great belief in his ability and at what level he feels he should be competing. He has suffered from some elements beyond his control like being used as a political pawn during his spell at Anfield. But Keane has a case to answer over his apparent reluctance to drop down the Premier League pecking order which would see him take a sizable cut in his wages, and instead opt for the highly paid but less competitive environment of the MLS.
Keane’s LA Galaxy debut came in a week when Declan Kidney demonstrated that in rugby we have a national coach not afraid of making difficult calls. The absence of Tomas O’Leary and Luke Fitzgerald won’t have endeared him to sectors of Irish rugby fans but it demonstrated that when faced with a dilemma, emotion will not overrule the clinical.
One of Steve Staunton’s objectives as Irish manager was to re-instil a Jack Charlton style pride in the Irish team. One of his aims was to replicate the renowned dressing room atmosphere that fuelled our success over Charlton's and later Mick McCarthy’s reigns. Mick Byrne and Tony Hickey were reintroduced to the backroom staff while Staunton chose Keane as his captain, the player who had proven himself capable of leading by his actions on the pitch but also renowned for his ability to generate a collective spirit in either the team’s hotel or dressing room. Giovanni Trapattoni chose consistency and up to now has stayed loyal in picking Keane as his lieutenant on the field.
One has to presume that some level of communication has taken place between international captain and manager ahead of the transfer - after all wasn’t Keane one of the senior players to chastise his younger colleagues for their failure to communicate correctly with the Italian? Trapattoni has publically backed Keane on numerous occasions with some of his edicts being that the Dubliner would play once he was fit and available for selection. Should we be preparing ourselves for Keane to follow the example set by his new club captain in pushing his body to the limit by choosing to spend his US close season on loan in Europe in a bid to stay match fit for the international calendar before inflicting numerous cross-Atlantic flights on himself?
On form alone Keane’s position has to be under threat when you consider the early season form of Shane Long. It looks like yet another eventual chapter in the career of Robbie Keane is about to be played out.
To its credit the league in the US has to be recognised for a steady improvement in quality in recent years but it is a competition that is still more about hype and celebrity rather than real sporting drama and quality action. One look at the spectacle that was Galaxy’s game with San Jose Earthquakes demonstrated that Irish fans who chose to follow their captain’s latest adventure are about to be exposed to soccer but not as we perhaps have known it up to now.
Forgive me for being partisan but aside from the tenuous argument that a happy footballer makes a better footballer there are no credible reasons to suggest that Keane’s move to MLS will benefit in any way the Republic’s bid to qualify for the European Championships, or the next World Cup, should he continue lining out in green.
Robbie has nothing left to prove in his career. On the field his goal scoring record cannot be faulted; on paper he has been prolific for most of his career. In the MLS he’ll likely eclipse any goal per game ratio he has built up at his previous clubs, not because of any late surge in the twilight of his career, but solely because the standard against which his ability is being judged is so far below what he would face on this side of the Atlantic.
I had the opportunity to spend some time with Ronnie O’Brien in Toronto for a documentary I made a couple of years ago. A fine footballer who was regularly included in the annual All Star Team, Ronnie revelled in the anonymity that playing in the MLS allowed - the ability to make a good living in a beautiful surrounding devoid of the attention that professional footballers elsewhere attract.
One notable contrast is that O’Brien was able to achieve this in a city where FC Toronto was a major success and a regular sell out. Keane will soon discover that once the initial interest in his arrival dies off he will be going about his business in a city where his chosen franchise makes little dent and attracts little attention beyond its die hard support.
Keane has come with baggage in recent years. As frustrating to watch at times as he can he brilliant, Keane is a confidence player who seems unable to entertain criticism or critical scrutiny and his relationship with the Irish press has become strained due to his increasing reluctance to talk about his apparent career difficulties in the only forum in which his native press has the chance to quiz him.
It’s understandable that despite the profile of the clubs he has played for, some level of frustration may have seeped into his psyche. He clearly has great belief in his ability and at what level he feels he should be competing. He has suffered from some elements beyond his control like being used as a political pawn during his spell at Anfield. But Keane has a case to answer over his apparent reluctance to drop down the Premier League pecking order which would see him take a sizable cut in his wages, and instead opt for the highly paid but less competitive environment of the MLS.
Keane’s LA Galaxy debut came in a week when Declan Kidney demonstrated that in rugby we have a national coach not afraid of making difficult calls. The absence of Tomas O’Leary and Luke Fitzgerald won’t have endeared him to sectors of Irish rugby fans but it demonstrated that when faced with a dilemma, emotion will not overrule the clinical.
One of Steve Staunton’s objectives as Irish manager was to re-instil a Jack Charlton style pride in the Irish team. One of his aims was to replicate the renowned dressing room atmosphere that fuelled our success over Charlton's and later Mick McCarthy’s reigns. Mick Byrne and Tony Hickey were reintroduced to the backroom staff while Staunton chose Keane as his captain, the player who had proven himself capable of leading by his actions on the pitch but also renowned for his ability to generate a collective spirit in either the team’s hotel or dressing room. Giovanni Trapattoni chose consistency and up to now has stayed loyal in picking Keane as his lieutenant on the field.
One has to presume that some level of communication has taken place between international captain and manager ahead of the transfer - after all wasn’t Keane one of the senior players to chastise his younger colleagues for their failure to communicate correctly with the Italian? Trapattoni has publically backed Keane on numerous occasions with some of his edicts being that the Dubliner would play once he was fit and available for selection. Should we be preparing ourselves for Keane to follow the example set by his new club captain in pushing his body to the limit by choosing to spend his US close season on loan in Europe in a bid to stay match fit for the international calendar before inflicting numerous cross-Atlantic flights on himself?
On form alone Keane’s position has to be under threat when you consider the early season form of Shane Long. It looks like yet another eventual chapter in the career of Robbie Keane is about to be played out.
