Ashley Not Interested In 'Dinosaur' Keane?

05 June 2011 11:17
Robbie Keane smashed through the 50-goal barrier to ease the Republic of Ireland to a vital 2-0 victory on Saturday night. The Spurs player is allegedly a target of Alan Pardew, as he looks to bring in a top class striker, but it seems the idea doesn't sit well with Toon owner Mike Ashley. Ashley has laid out a path for success and apparently it doesn't include bringing in "dinosaurs" who are over 30 years of age. Ashley has always said he wants to spend on youth and bring in Europe's best, then bring them through the ranks. Although Keane is still producing the goods on the international stage, and is available for a reasonable figure this summer, he will be 31on 8th July and that doesn't fit into Ashley's plan for the future. Being Irish doesn't make you British ... so reports in some newspapers claiming he is "the first British to complete a half-century of international goals when he went past England's Sir Bobby Charlton (pictured above)" is not officially correct. He doubled his tally for the evening after 37 minutes with a neat finish, and although there was a major scare for the Irish when Ivan Trickovski smashed a penalty against the crossbar three minutes later, Keane's contribution proved decisive. Victory at the Philip II Stadium was imperative after earlier wins for Russia and Armenia, and the trio remain locked together at the top of Group B with 13 points each from six games. Giovanni Trapattoni's side host the Slovakians at the Aviva Stadium in September and then head for Russia in matches which will have a major say in the destiny of the group.

Source: FOOTYMAD