The Curse of the Keano

Robbie Keane seems to be a bit like the mythical Mothman: appearances foretell doom. There is a remarkable curse that seems to follow him around, and befall clubs that dare sell him. Robbie Keane’s professional career and the Curse of the Keano:

Who, me?

• Robbie Keane came through the youth ranks at Wolves, and after a few years in the first team, left for Coventry City in 1999. Wolves nearly got relegated from the Championship (compared to an expected promotion challenge). When they did go up in 2003, they failed to win a single away game and were relegated in last place.

• Keane spent only one season at Coventry City before leaving for Inter Milan in 2000. Coventry were relegated at the end of the 2000-2001 season (by losing a game 3-2 after leading 2-0 at halftime), ending 34 years in the top flight. This unexpected relegation also sent Coventry into a downward financial spiral, which immediately scuppered plans for a new, state-of-the-art, 45,000 seat stadium. Instead, they ended up with a new but spartan 21,000 seat arena that the club do not even own. In 2007, the club filed for administration but was saved with only an hour to spare.

• Keane’s big-money move to Inter Milan went south rapidly when Marcelo Lippi, the manager who brought him to Italy, is replaced and Keane is no longer wanted at the club. He was loaned back to England, this time with Leeds United.

• Leeds bought Keane in 2001. He left for Tottenham in 2002, and Leeds promptly went down in flames: relegation avoided with one game to play in 2003, the club’s assets sold to avoid bankruptcy, and relegation the following season. They failed to achieve promotion and were relegated to League One when they went into administration in 2007. The club had to sell its training ground and stadium to stave off bankruptcy, but the fall into administration was inevitable due to the club’s shocking financial mismanagement.

• Tottenham sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool this summer, and are currently doing their level best to get relegated: at the time of this writing, bottom of the table with two points from eight matches.

We’ll see how this pans out for Tottenham, but it isn’t looking good. Liverpool, you’ve been warned.