Rafael Benitez has revealed why Robbie Keane had to leave Anfield this week, although quite whether the majority of Liverpool fans will agree with his decision is another matter. The Irishman’s exit to Spurs appears to leave the Reds painstakingly short of firepower, a situation that will be exacerbated if Fernando Torres picks up any further knocks or injuries.
The Liverpool Echo have it from the horse’s mouth so to speak. In Rafa’s view, Keane had problems settling into the team, although that does sort of happen when a player lives in fear of being subbed every match.
“Sometimes good players cannot settle down in the team and when this happens you have to consider the situation and try to react quickly,” he said.
“If it is not good for the team then it is better for everyone to make a decision and because of the situation in the transfer market and for the opportunity for the player we had to do it now.
“I have to analyse things and try to look at the bigger picture and this means thinking of the club and the team and what is best for them.
“We decided to think about the club by reducing the damage.”
Reducing what damage? It’s hard to imagine that Keane was similar to El Hadji Diouf and causing mayhem in the dressing room. After all, the Tottenham striker wanted to make a positive impact at Liverpool and will personally feel gutted that this opportunity to step up his career has fallen through. Do Reds fans think that this is a gamble which will end up backfiring?