Long before Liverpool’s success over the past decade, one failed signing was left wishing he’d worked under a different manager after his treatment left him “baffled”
Failed Liverpool signing Robbie Keane believes his Anfield tenure would have worked out if Rafa Benitez had given him more respect. The Irishman joined the Reds in 2008 but left just six months later after failing to integrate under the Spaniard.
Keane, 45, arrived on Merseyside under big expectations following a prolific tenure at Tottenham. He still managed a decent return of 12 direct goal contributions (seven goals, five assists) in 28 games for the Reds, but was swiftly sold back to Spurs in February 2009.
And according to Keane – whose first senior club, Wolves, travel to Anfield on Saturday – it was his relationship with Benitez that ended up ruining his stay at Anfield. However, he’s assured the stint would have panned out very differently with someone else in charge.
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“Of course I wish it had gone differently, but I have no regrets,” he told Icon magazine in 2009. “I do believe with a different manager it would have worked for me, but different managers have different methods and some have different ideas than those you are used to or believe in.
“People have their own opinions of Benitez. I have nothing against him and will leave people to make their own minds up about him. When you’ve been around for a while as a player, all you want is a bit of respect and to be treated the way you feel you deserve to be.”
There were glimpses of greatness in red for Keane, who was brought in to help fill the attacking void left by Peter Crouch. However, his partnership with the likes of Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt wasn’t quite as fruitful as hoped.
Keane, whose supposed fandom of Liverpool has come under scrutiny, failed to score in his first 11 Premier League outings for Liverpool, though he did set up four goals during that drought. His rut finally ended with a brace against West Brom in November 2008, while he also bagged the equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal the following month.
One could understand the decision to sell an ageing striker who managed to score in only three of his 19 league outings for the club. Typically, his scoring numbers picked back up again at Tottenham, suggesting it was indeed a tactical issue rather than the player simply being subpar.
As for which manager Keane subbed the best of his career, that honour goes to Gordon Strachan. The Scot gave a teenage Keane his chance at Coventry City in 1999, after which the youngster earned another unsuccessful transfer to Inter Milan.
“My time at Coventry was very important,” Keane continued. “I got to work with Gordon Strachan, the best manager I have ever played for. He is a fantastic man-manager who has always known how to get the best out of a player.”
Those comments further hint at the lack of proper man management Keane felt he was subject to at Anfield. And he was hardly the only signing from that late 2000s period at Anfield who failed to work as expected.
Benitez eventually got the boot from Merseyside himself and left Liverpool by mutual consent in the summer of 2010. Keane retired from playing in 2018 and has since made his own moves into management, currently coaching Hungarian powerhouse Ferencvaros.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.
