i raising my hand and eating my crow...
i really thought Keane was good for a 20 goals this season and remember posting that he would turn liverpool in to genuine title contenders if he and Torres click.
But i think i was blinded by being wrong about Torres the season before. I predicted he would fail under Rafa and i was completely wrong.
the fact is, as kicker alluded to in his post earlier, that Rafa's system is inhospitable to out and out strikers, but is a role player's haven. Torres is a notable exception.
During his time when he brought unprecedented success to Valencia, the one soft area of the team was up front. There were no really outstanding forwards at that club, with all kinda journeymen like Mista, Salva Ballesta, Angulo, Carew and other hounds rotating in the sole forward position and providing barren returns.. Even Aimar, the one standout talismanic player in the team experience a hefty dose of salt under Rafa.
I don't think there was a forward that scored more than 15 goals in any season during that era.. The system however depended on firstly a strong defence (Ayala, Marchena and de wingbacks) a strong central midield (Baraja, Albelda) supported by presssing wingers (Rufete, Kily Gonzalez, Vicente) but no forwards..
i feel sorry for Robbie Keane, but at least he ent rot there for more than half a season.