4 Liverpool Fans Who Flopped As Players On Merseyside

4. Robbie Keane (July 2008 - February 2009)

Like many of his young friends growing up in the Irish capital, Robbie Keane was born a Liverpool fan and jumped at the chance to sign for them in the summer of 2008. Keane made his dream move to Anfield for £19 million (Telegraph), following tense negotiations between Liverpool and Tottenham, with the London club unwilling to let fans favourite Keane leave the club initially. However Tottenham eventually relented and Keane made his transfer, claiming that "I've been a Liverpool fan all my life......to be here now as a Liverpool player is incredible and I couldn't be happier." (Source: Liverpool Echo) Keane's arrival was met with pleasure by the Liverpool faithful, who felt he could offer the ideal foil for pace and directness of Fernando Torres, handed the iconic Liverpool number seven shirt there was no shortage of pressure on Ireland captain Keane ahead of the 2008-09 campaign.

Ultimately, that huge pressure hindered Keane's early months as a Liverpool player. Having to wait until October to register his first two League goals for the club, Keane struggled to adapt to playing as a wide attacker or as a lone front man, in the absence of Torres. Keane's game, based around movement and link up play meant he was frequently frustrated by the amount of game time he had as a direct partner for Torres, having enjoyed an excellent partnership with Dimitar Berbatov the season before. Keane is probably best remembered for his spectacular equaliser away to Arsenal in December, however despite the clear potential he possessed his face never seemed to quite fit with Liverpool, and supporters never warmed to him in the way Tottenham fans had done. In January 2009 Tottenham launched a bid to bring Keane 'back home' to White Hart Lane, and Liverpool accepted the £17 million offer for the Dubliner, Keane returned to London after just six under-whelming months on Merseyside. (Source: BBC Sport)