English Premiership
'Keane didn't work out'
2009-02-03 18:05
London - Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez admitted on Tuesday that Robbie Keane didn't fit in at Liverpool, and Harry Redknapp said he was glad the Ireland striker was back at Tottenham to help the team avoid relegation.
After an unhappy six months in Liverpool, Keane returned to Spurs on Monday, the final day of the transfer window. He moved to Liverpool in the off season but failed to make an impact at the club he supported as a boy.
"Sometimes you have good players like Robbie and they are not settling down or the understanding with the other players or systems (isn't working)," Benitez said. "There are a lot of things you cannot control so the best thing for me, if you know it's not working, is you find a solution."
The solution was to sell him back to Spurs, for whom he scored 80 league goals in six seasons.
"It's just a situation where we have a good player and he cannot perform in a different team. Clearly the player was not doing as well as he could do," Benitez said. "We knew when we signed him that he's a good player. We needed to decide and think about what is the best for the club and the best for him and we had to do it right now.
"Tottenham was very interested because they are in a bad position and Keane was a fantastic player for them."
Liverpool paid 20 million pounds for Keane and is reported to have sold him back to Spurs for 12 million. Formerly with Coventry, Wolves, Inter Milan and Leeds, the 28-year-old striker has now changed hands for a total of 73 million pounds.
Instead of chasing the title with the second-place Reds, however, he could wind up dropping into the second tier League Championship. Tottenham is 14th in the Premier League standings, only one point above the relegation zone.
"It was a difficult time for me at Liverpool, but there's no point in dwelling on it," Keane said. "I am extremely excited about this new chapter in my career, even though it doesn't feel as if the previous chapter really ended.
"Coming back to Spurs was an easy decision to make because this is my home. It's funny how football works sometimes and situations turn around very quickly, but I can assure fans I will be giving my all to make sure this club stays in the Premier League."
With Jermain Defoe ruled out for up to 10 weeks with a stress fracture in his right foot, Spurs needed a quick replacement for a player also bought during the monthlong transfer window.
"Jermain is a blow to us. He started well and got three goals," said Redknapp, who took over as manager of Tottenham in October. "He was sure to score plenty more before the end of the season so we needed to get someone in and in Robbie we couldn't have got anyone better.
"People make decisions in their life and his move to Liverpool didn't work out. But we're pleased to have him back," Redknapp added. "It was difficult for Robbie. Liverpool are such a strong side going well in the league it was hard for him to break in regularly."