ROBBIE'S
REACTION TO FIRST SPURS GOAL
Robbie Keane was delighted to open his goal account
for Spurs, but insists the short wait was never an issue
for him. It took just six minutes of our encounter with
Blackburn at Ewood Park to banish any fears of a long-term
drought when Keane unleashed a spectacular precision effort
that fizzed past Rovers' keeper Brad Friedel to set us on
our way to a second away win of the season.
Naturally, it was a special moment for the Irish livewire.
"It was," grinned Robbie. "I said before
that I think people were panicking a little bit. I'm not
one of these people that hides from these things and worry
about it. I knew it would come eventually and hopefully
I will now get many more.
I just went through and the first thing in my mind was just
to shoot. Luckily enough for me it went in - a few games
ago it probably would have hit the bar and come back out.
It was my day today but, the most important thing, first
and foremost, was that we got the result and the three points.
In the first half we were the much better side and in the
second half they were. It was to be expected because they
were at home with the crowd behind them, so we are very
happy with the points." Robbie had three notable chances
during the course of the game and was within inches of securing
a more comfortable looking scoreline right at the end."I
think I scored the hardest one. The last one just crept
past the post when I thought it was in. The second one I
had was just a reaction, it just came to me and I had a
shot that hit the keeper's legs."
ROBBIE
SCORES HIS FIRST SPURS GOAL
Jamie Redknapp earned Spurs a valuable away win and
revenge for last season's Worthington Cup final defeat with
a fortunate 89th minute winner at Ewood Park. Robbie Keane's
early strike had been cancelled out by Rovers substitute
Egil Ostenstad, but Redknapp popped up in the right place
just in time to connect off boot and shin with substitute
Steffen Iversen's slide-rule pass from eight yards out to
lift his new club back into the top four. Keane had opened
his Spurs account with a superbly taken goal on six minutes.
Tugay conceded possession and the Irishman set off on a
darting run unimpeded by a dozy Rovers rearguard before
slotting a smart left foot shot into the top right hand
corner from 10 yards. Two minutes earlier the lively Keane
had jinked through but Rovers keeper Brad Friedel was just
there before the new Spurs recruit could poke home.
ROBBIE
NOT ONLY A FINISHER
Robbie Keane insists that his lack of a goal so far
for the club so far will not affect his confidence and feels
it is just a case of the floodgates opening when the first
one goes in. Keane came very close to opening his account
against Cardiff on Tuesday and was encouraged by the performance
and the chances he had. "It's the way it goes in football
sometimes," he reflected. "Sometimes they go in
and sometimes they don't. I'm not worried about it, I know
that eventually it will come. Once one comes hopefully a
lot more will follow. I've been through it before, as has
every striker. It's only been four games or something."
It would be unfair to assess Robbie's value to a team purely
on goal return as there is so much more to his game. He
agrees with the view that his game is based as much on creation
as execution. "I like to create things and make things
happen. I like to vary as, obviously, I'm not the tallest
fella in the world so I'm not an out-and-out striker. I
come deep and try, get involved in the play and try and
create things. Teddy likes to play that way as well, so
it was important against Cardiff to go right up there against
them. That's the way Teddy's game is and it doesn't bother
me whether I play right up or in the hole. I think it worked
well on Tuesday." Next up for the team is a trip to
Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers and Robbie hopes that
the confidence gained from Tuesday's win will stand the
team in good stead for what is always a tricky assignment.
"It's going to be tough and Blackburn are a good side.
They got a good result against West Brom and their confidence
will be high at the moment with Damien being back. "To
lose Yorke at West Brom is a big blow for them and can only
benefit us. They've got some good players, Thompson has
come in now and he's doing absolutely brilliant. People
like Dunn can make a difference and Tugay as well - he's
a real playmaker. It'll be a tough game, but hopefully after
our good result on Tuesday we can go there with confidence
and get a result."
ROBBIE
"WATCH DUFF"
Robbie Keane feels that Blackburn's
principal threat on Sunday is likely come from his Republic
of Ireland team-mate Damien Duff. Duff returned from injury
in Monday's 2-0 victory over West Brom at the Hawthorns
and will have Spurs in his sights as Rovers seek to overhaul
us in the table at Ewood Park. Keane warns to watch out
for Rovers' lethal leftie. "He is the main threat,"
says Robbie. "He got injured in the last Irish game,
but he came back against West Brom in the week and showed
what Blackburn were missing. He got the penalty and scored
the goal. He's a tremendous player and Blackburn did very
well to hold on to him. There were big clubs looking at
him. He is a massive, massive player for them, a great lad
as well and it will be nice to see him. Hopefully he doesn't
play too well on Sunday." International duty looms
for both Keane and Duff as the Republic of Ireland seek
to get their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign back on track
against Switzerland at Lansdowne Road, having suffered a
4-2 reverse against Russia. Keane reasons that, despite
their tender years, himself and Duff are the more experienced
campaigners in the Irish set-up following the retirement
of Niall Quinn and Steve Staunton. "Me and Damien have
been lucky to have been given the chance to play international
football at 17 or 18. We are considered the most experienced
players in the squad rather than youngsters. There are players
involved now who have about ten caps and me and Damien have
around 30 to 40."
HODDLE
" ROBBIE IS MADE FOR SPURS"
Glenn Hoddle believes Irish superstar Robbie Keane
is made for Tottenham Hotspur.
The striker completed his move to the Lane on Saturday in
a deal of up to six years in length, costing up to £7million.
Still just 22, the former Wolves, Coventry City, Inter Milan
and Leeds United hitman was a star of Ireland's memorable
World Cup campaign when he scored three goals in four games.
Delighted to get his man on deadline day, boss Glenn beamed:
"Robbie is made for this club and I think he will do
a great job for the club, I really do. He will give us a
little bit of a different dimension to the strikers we have
already. I think he's got top, top quality. He has some
wonderful skills. He's sharp, he runs at people with the
ball and he makes runs off the ball. We've got some good
passers in the club and some legs as well with Simon Davies
and Matty Etherington and now Robbie Keane. We've a better
balance. Robbie is made for this club and I think he will
do a great job for the club, I really do. He will give us
a little bit of a different dimension to the strikers we
have already".
During pre-season, Hoddle had shot down quotes from the
club's Director of Football, David Pleat, which trumpeted
Tottenham's interest in Keane.But when asked if he had only
turned his attention to Keane at the last minute when bids
for several other strikers failed, Hoddle insisted the 22-year-old
Republic of Ireland star had always been high on his list.
"That was to deflect a lot of things," said Hoddle,
in a bid to explain his previous comments. "Robbie
was always on our list. He has had five clubs in a short
space of time so I feel now it is time for him to bed down
and get a bit of consistency, which is why we have signed
him on a four-year contract with an option for a further
two." Keane revealed: "There was a lot of speculation
in the newspapers, but the first I heard of Tottenham's
interest was when I received a call from Leeds on my way
into training yesterday saying they had agreed a fee for
me.".
ROBBIE
ENTOYS FIRST LONDON DERBY
Robbie Keane relished his first taste of the London
derby atmosphere against West Ham and says he is looking
forward to more of the same. With many Yorkshire teams playing
outside of the top flight, derbies were not often on the
menu during the Irish striker's time at Leeds United. But
there is certainly a derby culture in London - ten during
the course of the season, with three already played. Robbie
feels the highly charged atmosphere at such games will bring
out the best in him. "Yeah, it's good - I enjoyed it,"
he said. "I like a bit of a hostile atmosphere, it
gets you going even more and adds a bit to the game. It
was nice, obviously, to get the win. We made it hard for
ourselves by conceding straight away after scoring but,
all in all, we have to be happy with the three points."
ROBBIE
GETS MAN OF THE MATCH ON DEBUT
The Hammers, reduced to 10 men
after Ian Pearce's 70th minute red card, twice came from
behind in an enthralling second half. But Gardner added
to goals from Simon Davies and Teddy Sheringham, cancelling
out efforts from Freddie Kanoute and Trevor Sinclair. The
three points propel Spurs back up to second in the Premiership
table, while winless West Ham languish at the bottom. The
home side appeared to have failed to learn their lesson
from midweek - when they surrendered a two-goal lead in
the 3-2 defeat to Fulham - as they twice allowed West Ham
to equalise until Gardner's late intervention clinched victory.
West Ham had only themselves to blame as Gardner was allowed
to burst forward unchallenged and unleash a low drive which
hit visiting defender Gary Breen on the leg and flew past
David James. The drama was a fitting finale to an exciting
second half which sprang into life in the 62nd minute courtesy
of the two talented youngsters who arrived at White Hart
Lane together from Peterborough.
Matt Etherington got the better of Trevor Sinclair down
the left and curled in a low cross for Welsh international
Simon Davies to slide in ahead of Christian Dailly for his
second goal of the season.
Spurs had been hoping that new signing Robbie Keane would
become an instant hero on his debut and he did just that
after 69 minutes when he won a crucial penalty. Keane showed
great skill to get past Ian Pearce in the box and was about
to side-foot the ball past James when the defender took
his legs from behind. Referee Uriah Rennie awarded the spot-kick
and showed Pearce the red card. It was left to Sheringham
to show a cool head for the second home game running as
he swept home a great penalty to restore Spurs' advantage.
Keane was eager to impress and did well after 23 minutes
to feed Ziege down the left. His delivery into the box was
much better and Sheringham was just denied at the near post
by Breen, who conceded a corner. MAN OF THE MATCH: ROBBIE
KEANE (SPURS)
Keane showed many signs of what's to come at White Hart
Lane. Some sublime touches and a significant contribution
for Sheringham's penalty. A top debut for the Irishman.
ROBBIE
HOPING TO MAKE DEBUT
Robbie Keane is hoping to feature for the first time
in a Spurs shirt against West Ham on Sunday after a combination
of travel and unfortunately timed injuries prevented him
taking his bow against Fulham at Loftus Road on Wednesday.
Our new striking recruit returned from Russia on Sunday,
where he played for the Republic of Ireland in a Euro 2004
qualifier, and only took part in one full training session
before the Fulham encounter. He was named as a substitute,
but injuries to Chris Perry and Matthew Etherington denied
Glenn the opportunity handing Robbie his debut. So Robbie
watched the surprising second-half reverse from the bench
and is now eager to get going against West Ham. "It's
a shame we didn't get a result against Fulham, but that's
the way football goes sometimes," he reflected. "Hopefully
I'll get a run-out on Sunday. I played for Ireland last
week and there was a lot of travelling - it takes it out
of you. It's very exciting for me now and I'm looking forward
to it. I'm very happy. Spurs pass the ball well and play
good football - it suits my game. I've been impressed, a
few of the lads have been saying that they are not playing
as well as they can do, but they are still getting results.
That is a good factor." The livewire striker is not
too alarmed that Spurs have dropped off the top of the Premiership
and insists that the club are more long-term in their outlook.
"Teams don't happen overnight, there is a building
process here. It won't take a year, it might take two -
it is a building thing. I believe Spurs are going places."
ROBBIE
WANTS TO PLAY MORE OFTEN
Robbie Keane explained that playing in the World Cup
reinforced his belief that he needs regular first team action.
The 22-year-old starred for the Republic of Ireland in the
Far East and earned rave reviews from commentators. This
convinced Keane that he needed to 'kick on' and play more
frequently at club level. "It's very important,"
said Keane. "No player wants to be sitting on the bench
- I want to play in every game possible. I believe that
to get the best out of players you need to play them regularly.
It is certainly that way in my case. I need to be playing
now after the World Cup and need to kick on from that, hopefully
I'll get the opportunity now to play a lot more than I have
been. It's a good club and I'm looking forward to the challenge
ahead." Keane watched our victory over Southampton
from the Directors' Box and afterwards confirmed his admiration
for Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand. "It was a great
penalty by Teddy and, up to that, we'd have probably been
happy with a point, but lucky enough we got the three. Southampton
played very well and made it hard for us. Luckily we nicked
it in the end. I've got a lot of respect for Teddy Sheringham
and Les Ferdinand. I'm looking forward to maybe playing
with both of them, or whatever."
ROBBIE
GETS PARADED TO SPURS FANS
Robbie Keane was certainly impressed with the reception
he received from the White Hart Lane crowd on Saturday.
He was paraded before his new public ahead of the Southampton
game and fans were chanting his name from the second they
caught a glance of him down the tunnel on the Jumbotron.
"No matter what club you're at you try and please the
fans, to do your best," insisted Robbie. "It is
going to be no different here. I got a great reception and
it was nice for me out there. Hopefully I can return the
favour now." Keane added that, from talking to Glenn,
he can see the direction the club will be taking in the
next few years. "I spoke to Glenn for a couple of days
on football matters - I was happy with what he had to say.
It is nice that everything is sorted out. It's a massive
club that is looking to go places and, as you know, things
don't happen overnight when you're looking for success.
I'm sure with Glenn Hoddle here, he is going to try his
best to bring success over the next few years."
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