KEANE HANDS IN TRANSFER REQUEST - REPORTS

[earl]

Tottenham have been plunged into disarray after Robbie Keane reportedly handed in a transfer request after learning of Liverpool's interest in him.

Keane's reputed desire to leave White Hart Lane this summer is a nightmare scenario for Juande Ramos, who is now in jeopardy of losing three of the four strikers at the club on his arrival. Jermain Defoe departed for Portsmouth in January, the want-away Dimitar Berbatov is expected to join either Barcelona or Manchester United, so Keane's exit could leave just Darren Bent as the only recognised striker at the club.

The Daily Mail reports that Keane handed in a transfer request three days after Liverpool lodged a player-plus-cash offer in a meeting with Spurs officials on Monday afternoon. Liverpool are described as Keane's 'boyhood idols', while 'Anfield manager Rafa Benitez sees Keane as the ideal strike partner for Euro 2008 match-winner Fernando Torres and is prepared to part with Peter Crouch and around £5million to make it happen.

'As with his pursuit of Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, though, Benitez is going to have to dig deeper after Tottenham rejected his initial offer and placed a £20m valuation on Keane.'

In a further twist, the Mail claims that Ramos is 'exploring ways of offloading Bent' - with Sunderland said to be interested. However, those plans will surely have to be put on hold as Spurs attempt to keep Keane.

[Harry]

He was left out last night!! I really hope we get him.

He's a fantastic wee player

[earl]

23 goals last season and as many assists. Not to be sneezed at in the modern prem. Out of all the rumours being thrown out, this was the one that sounded most promising and could work.

[earl]

Liverpool are expected to complete the signing of Robbie Keane within the next 24 hours.

The Tottenham Hostpur forward is undergoing a medical at Anfield today after he agreed terms on an £18 million deal. If the 28-year-old comes through the fitness check he could fly to Spain to join up with the Liverpool squad ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Villarreal.

Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, completed the final stages of negotiations with Keane over the weekend, with the fee likely to rise to £20 million with add-ons. Keane is expected to sign a five-year deal worth around £80,000 per week.

The Republic of Ireland striker has become Benitez's No 1 summer target over recent weeks, after he prioritised the need to replace Peter Crouch above his protracted move for Gareth Barry.
With Xabi Alonso likely to remain at Anfield, it remains unclear where Liverpool will go with their chase for the Aston Villa midfielder. Benitez has had four bids turned down so far and seems unwilling to meet Villa's £18 million valuation for the England international.

[earl]

10 Things you need to know about Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane is in Liverpool and expected to complete his dream transfer to Anfield in the next 24 hours, a move that will take the total amount of transfer money spent on him past the £55m mark.

Here’s all you need to know about one of Britain’s most expensive ever players…

1) Robert David Keane was born on 5 July 1980 in Tallaght, Dublin. He first made a name for himself as a schoolboy playing for North Dublin side Crumlin United, and actually turned down one of his boyhood clubs Liverpool to join Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, on the grounds that he would have a better chance of playing for their first team.

2) He made his debut, aged just 17, on 9 August 1997, scoring both goals in a 2-0 league victory at Norwich. Keane went on to score nine more goals that term, but cemented his reputation the year after by finishing the 1998/99 season as Wolves’ top score with 16.

3) In August 2000 he became the then most expensive British teenager ever when Premier League side Coventry shelled out £6m for his services. And 12 goals in 34 appearances later, Keane was being courted not just by the best teams in England, but also Europe's glitterati.

4) He eventually signed for Marcello Lippi’s Inter Milan in a staggering £13m deal, joining a forward line that included Brazilian legend Ronaldo and Italian ace Christian Vieri. Unfortunately Lippi was sacked soon after and Keane made just six appearances before new boss Marco Tardelli loaned him to Leeds United in December 2000.

5) Nine goals in 14 starts for Leeds saw manager David O’Leary make the move permanent in May 2001, splashing out £12m. But Keane failed to live up to the fee in his first full season and after only scoring a disappointing 10 goals in all competitions next time out, he was one of the victims of Elland Road's financial difficulties and was offloaded to Spurs for a relatively cut-price £7m.

6) Glenn Hoddle, the manager who signed him for Spurs, predicted Keane would make White Hart Lane his “spiritual home”, and for once he was right: Keane scored an impressive 107 goals in 254 appearances, was made Ledley King’s vice-captain in 2005 and is the only player in the club’s history to win their Player of the Year award three times (in 2003, 2006 and 2008). This compilation shows just why the Spurs fans love him so much:



7) That video showcases his famous goal celebration, involving a cartwheel and a forward roll, topped off by a salvo fired into the crowd from imaginary guns. Former Spurs boss Martin Jol banned him from performing it in case he injured himself, but Keane brought it out of retirement to celebrate his 100th Spurs goal, scored against Sunderland on 19 January 2008.

8) He was part of Ireland’s own ‘golden generation’ of young talent that won the Uefa U18 European Championships in 1998. He made his senior debut against the Czech Republic in March 1998, scoring his first goal six months later against Malta. He has gone on to play for his country 81 times, scored 33 goals – 12 more than second placed Niall Quinn - and was made captain by manager Steve Staunton in 2006.

9) He married former Miss Ireland contestant Claudine Palmer last month. Here’s a picture of the happy couple starting out on their relationship back in 2004.

(She looks like a complete 'Howya')

10) He is the 13th player to score 100 goals in the Premier League. Despite all that, he has only won one major honour: the 2008 Carling Cup with Spurs.

KEANE STATS
Robbie Keane's transfer to Liverpool from Tottenham will make him the most expensive ever British or Irish player. This move will mean his total career transfer fees are £58m - ahead of the likes of Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham.

PLAYER AND TOTAL FEES
Robbie Keane £58m
Jonathan Woodgate £37.4m
Wayne Rooney £27m
Michael Owen £24m
Emile Heskey £22.7m
Rio Ferdinand £47.1m
Craig Bellamy £31m
Peter Crouch £26.5m
David Beckhm £23.3m
David Platt £22.1m

Keane's Transfers
Tottenham to Liverpool - £20m.
Leeds to Tottenham - £7m.
Inter Milan to Leeds - £12m.
Coventry to Inter Milan - £13m.
Wolves to Coventry - £6m.
Total - £58m

Keane has reached double figures in terms of goals in each of the last six league seasons with Spurs, the longest current run in the Premier League

[Jim]

He wanted to move for a while. Tottenham have got Arshavin though, bastards

[Harry]

I was at Anfield this monday, met Jan Molby. He wasn't so sure about the Keane signing. He was annoyed that we didn't go for Deco.

Just off the subject...... Just a few streets away from Anfield all the lamposts have Union Flags, OO flags, Ulster Flags, England flags etc!!!!

Driving in the taxi i felt at home!!! ;D ;D There is an OO hall up there and it must be celebrtions for the 12th. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool has been up recently to open a plaque at the hall.

Liverpool is just a fantastic all round place. We all seem to get on over there ;D ;D

[earl]

Deco?? WTF? We've enough midfielders, and he's in his 30's. About us all getting along over there, probably most of the time, yes. the rest of the time......it's business as usual. There are some very tribal areas in Liverpool.

Brawl during parade
Jul 14 2008 by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo

A BRAWL erupted in an Irish pub in Liverpool city centre during the annual Orange Lodge parade.

Police were called to Ned Kelly’s bar on Victoria Street on Saturday evening after the fight began at the bar.

The trouble broke out at about 7pm when members of a Lodge band entered the bar and clashed violently with customers, many of them Liverpool FC fans.

There are unconfirmed reports that abuse and objects had been hurled at members of the march by people standing outside the bar.

Police were called and a number of arrests were made to quell the large-scale disturbance.

Some of the disorder has been caught on CCTV and officers are set to view the footage as part of their investigation.

Police say they cannot rule out further arrests.

A large crowd of Reds had congregated in the bar for Liverpool’s pre-season friendly game against Tranmere that afternoon.

Ned Kelly’s was temporarily shut down and drinkers were escorted out of the bar.

Inspector Damian Walsh said: “We are investigating an incident at Ned Kelly’s on Saturday. The premises was shut down using our powers of closure.”

A total of 1,500 Orange Lodge members took part in the traditional parade to celebrate the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.

Police say there were a total of 27 arrests for offences including drunk and disorderly, but this is not thought to include arrests from the brawl.

[Harry]

Aug 1, 2008 13:44:16 GMT earl said:

Deco?? WTF? We've enough midfielders, and he's in his 30's. About us all getting along over there, probably most of the time, yes. the rest of the time......it's business as usual. There are some very tribal areas in Liverpool.

Brawl during parade
Jul 14 2008 by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo

A BRAWL erupted in an Irish pub in Liverpool city centre during the annual Orange Lodge parade.

Police were called to Ned Kelly’s bar on Victoria Street on Saturday evening after the fight began at the bar.

The trouble broke out at about 7pm when members of a Lodge band entered the bar and clashed violently with customers, many of them Liverpool FC fans.

There are unconfirmed reports that abuse and objects had been hurled at members of the march by people standing outside the bar.

Police were called and a number of arrests were made to quell the large-scale disturbance.

Some of the disorder has been caught on CCTV and officers are set to view the footage as part of their investigation.

Police say they cannot rule out further arrests.

A large crowd of Reds had congregated in the bar for Liverpool’s pre-season friendly game against Tranmere that afternoon.

Ned Kelly’s was temporarily shut down and drinkers were escorted out of the bar.

Inspector Damian Walsh said: “We are investigating an incident at Ned Kelly’s on Saturday. The premises was shut down using our powers of closure.”

A total of 1,500 Orange Lodge members took part in the traditional parade to celebrate the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.

Police say there were a total of 27 arrests for offences including drunk and disorderly, but this is not thought to include arrests from the brawl.

Didn't know about that

Ah well there goes that glimmer of hope ;D ;D

His idea was that Deco was a great playmaker and we don't have anything like it. For 8m he reckoned it would of been worth it for at least 2 good seasons!!

[earl]

I dunno. Keane now free's Stevie up to be the playmaker. Lucas Levia is going to back him up this season, and has been given the task of getting forward more this season than he did last. This was seen during his pre-season games where he was linking up well with the strikers.

[Jim]

Keane's going to be exactly what you need to kick Arse up the... arse. Before signing Keane you were likely to be taken over by the blue scouse, spuds, city or portsmouth!

Will be a very stupid move to sell Alonso if you do, though. We'll take him off your hands we need a replacement for Hamann! He's only got a season left in him.