Rafa Benitez has suggested Robbie Keane struggled to cope with
the pressure and expectation of playing for Liverpool.
The Premier League title contenders cut their losses on the
Irish striker on transfer deadline day by allowing Keane to return
to Tottenham Hotspur.
Keane had scored just seven goals in 28 appearances since moving
to Anfield from Spurs six months ago, and was unable to reach the
heights expected of him.
Reds boss Benitez insists the 28-year-old was given the support
to succeed on Merseyside and is disappointed the move did not work
out.
High expectations
“He is Tottenham’s player now, so the manager has to support him,
but he played a lot of games for us,” said Benitez.
“When we signed him, I thought he could be a fantastic partner
for Fernando Torres. And if Torres was injured, we could rely on
Robbie. I thought he could guarantee goals, but that clearly wasn’t
the case.
“Sometimes, even with good players, they don’t settle in at a
new club or they have problems with systems or developing an
understanding with other players.
“Another factor is that Liverpool are a different club from
most. Expectations are really high, people are asking questions
every week and the pressure is on all the time. Maybe that was why
he found it so difficult.
“Do I feel any responsibility for what happened? I supported him
as much as I could and gave him plenty of opportunities to show his
quality. He was not treated badly.
“There is some disappointment it didn’t work out, but we did all
we could to improve things before having to accept that sometimes
you cannot make the improvement you are looking for.”
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my take is we din sign him to fail.
but there are alot of on-goings behind the scene tat we fans din
and may never know! maybe someone will write a book soon….
anyway, keane is now gone….let’s move on!!!