Keane: Gets backing from Benitez
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Rafa plays bodyguard to Keane ego
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez insists Robbie Keane "is a better player" than his current form suggests - and believes the goals will soon flow.
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The £20million summer signing was substituted for the 15th time this season as Liverpool were held 0-0 at home by West Ham on Monday night.
They did take over at the top of the Premier League, but it was anything but convincing and yet another occasion when the Reds have wasted a genuine opportunity to put clear water between themselves and their title rivals.
Keane looked a frustrated figure as he trudged off the Anfield pitch, to be replaced by rookie French striker David Ngog as Liverpool were battling to break down a determined West Ham rearguard.
And Keane's latest withdrawal from the fray by Benitez brought to a head an increasingly worrying situation for the Irishman.
Benitez said: "Robbie is a better player than the one we are seeing now."
Keane has managed just four goals this term, and only completed 90 minutes on three occasions in 22 appearances. He has come on as a substitute four times and been substituted 15 times.
Those statistics underline the problem for Benitez, with Keane struggling for form and confidence.
He is also suffering from the scenario that afflicted Craig Bellamy in his one season at Anfield.
With most teams opting to defend deep and in numbers at Anfield, there is little space for a quick striker to utilise his speed, and in that respect, Bellamy and Keane are very similar.
Benitez said: "We know what kind of player Robbie Keane is. He needs people around him to pass the ball well.
"I believe he will be okay, he will score more if we create chances for him.
"But if that does not happen we have to use players with different qualities to open up the game.
"Robbie does get disappointed when things are not going his way. He is a worker, but he can improve.
"It is a question of confidence. If we score first in this type of game then we will grow and win. Some players may be lacking in confidence, but if we keep creating chances we will be okay.
"Robbie, when he came off, was disappointed. But players always want to be out on the pitch for 90 minutes, but we were thinking of different solutions and Ngog did well when he came on, holding the ball up."
Benitez did his best to remain upbeat, but he knew only too well that two more points had been squandered from a winnable home game, just like Liverpool did against Stoke and Fulham.
He said: "It could have been three more points and top of the league. Clearly we are frustrated, but we are one point clear of Chelsea, and that is positive.
"Hopefully we will not be looking back at these three games, Stoke, Fulham and now West Ham, as points that would have counted. I hope we will look at the end of the season as this point being decisive.
"But we have lost two points again. We know that. But we were attacking and we were playing better than before, but we have to be disappointed."
Defender Jamie Carragher did not shy away from the issue. He said: "It is disappointing when you are not winning your home games because that is always what you want to do.
"But the positive thing is we have had three home games on the run and we have been poor in each one of them, but still qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and we are top of the league.
"Normally when you are not playing well things go the other way, but in this case we have actually gone up the league which is a positive for us to take.
"We are probably going through a bit of a bad spell at the moment but we are delighted to be top. The performances are not as good as what we are looking for."
He added: "We didn't quite do enough to win the game, but it is now almost a full year since we were last beaten at home in the league, so it is not that bad.
"Our record at home has been very good over the last 12-18 months but now we have got to start turning these draws into wins."
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Your Comments
DarylL (Liverpool fan)
"mosmo72 obviously u have got ur stats wrong. anelka was NOT sold by Rafa. Houllier did nt sign him when his loan spell was over. Kuyt can score so i believe Rafa noes wad he is doing "
RedInOslo (Liverpool fan)
"No matter what, Liverpool will need another additional striker and replace a winger (nenayoun/pennant). If Torres is out, we have almost nothing in front of goal at the moment. And even if Keane starts finding the net, we will suffer when/if he gets injured. We don't have any backup! Look at the clubs we're chasing...
United has Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez.
Chelsea don't have any more strikers than us actually, but the whole team scores goals!
Hate to be negative, but no way we will get the title with this squad.
Had Torres been fit and found his form from last year, things would've been different, and we would've been several points ahead.
But THAT is the difference between Liverpool and chelski/united, once we get an injury on a key-player, we're done..."
mosmo72 (Liverpool fan)
"To lettraggad- I think you´re right- most of the games are boring to watch- where´s the classy Liverpool style ?? The problem is our managers in the past are relying on warrior types (Mascherano, Kuyt, Lucas, Biscan :-( ) and buys too many second hand players each year.
Here´s some advice from a life-term supporter:
RAFA- START buying a few QUALITY players instead of many second hand players- theese guys are under 30, fit and capable of playing twice a week ! STOP your rotation system- it only makes people confused and remember NEVER CHANGE A WINNING TEAM !!! STOP using silly money on more goalkeeper swaps please. STOP selling players which are capable of winning games and entertains the crowd- (Crouch, Garcia, Anelka etc)- let them get a fair chance, playing 90 mins for just 2 or 4 games in a row !!!!. START substitution of harmless Kuyt and keep the other striker in instead (Keane, Torres)- when you are substituted for the 15 time og 17 you loose confidence. START TO ENTERTAIN AGAIN ITS NOT ONLY THE RESULTS THAT COUNT !!!
mosmo72 DENMARK"
gavmca1982 (Liverpool fan)
"robbie has been a joke since he arrived but it's not all his fault. it's mostly down to the long ball tactics we play. he doesn't want to be trying to get onto the end of bombs pumped up from the back. i hate watching our games because we play such truly awful ball!"
slabbi (Liverpool fan)
"kdelay...that's just the problem ...Keane was never a 20million pound striker! And that article is the first time I have ever seen a reference to keane being quick...looks no quicker than Kuyt to me. And is far from agile! Of course Benitez is going to defend him he has to justify his waste of 20mill pounds! Horrific when you think how much LFC really needed him and how many starving people it could feed!"
kdelay (West Ham United fan)
"Seriously though, Robbie Keane will be fine. Liverpool aren't playing brilliantly but it certianly isn't Keanes fault alone. Liverpool has many goalscorers so why aren't they getting stick? Yes he's not done brilliantly but he will improve. You don't go to sleep a £20m striker and wake up as a pub league player so chill out and let him have time. He needs a holding striker to supply him anyway so until he gets that stop calling for his head. Thats like nicking a postmans bike and whining that your letters are late. Chill peeps! "
kdelay (West Ham United fan)
"Scousers! I do love em! I can't believe mosmo72 is saying Calm down. Legend. "
lettraggad (Arsenal fan)
"I understand why your giving the team and benites support thats what we do as supporters but Im surprised to hear hardcore poolfans defend the way Liverpool play. Yes you have a bunch of warriors and you can defend well and grind out results (most of the time). But you really lack creativity and entertainment value. The only moments of brilliance always come from Torres or your captain (or poor Babel whenever he gets the chance). The liverpool of old played football and won titles in fashionable style all this team is doing is defending in numbers hoofing balls and hoping Gerrard and Torres will produce a piece of magic hardly a tactic that will win you the league.
"
superspurs83 (Tottenham Hotspur fan)
"Its a shame he hasnt fulfield his potential yet. In all honesty he was fantastic for Spurs but he played in a position that suited him. At Liverpool they are trying to use his as a out and out striker and Keane isnt that. He playes the same position as Gerrard kinda but who they going to pick out the two... No Brainer!.......... He will come good but as he is a confidence player it may take a while. "
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