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]Robbie's supporters point to the goal he scored in Paris and say Ireland's all-time leading scorer has never really been given the praise he deserves. They say we won't really miss his contribution until he's gone. Fine. It's true we don't have forwards who can manufacture penalties out of nothing, as Keane did against Russia and Georgia.
Let's face facts, though. Ireland's captain is a 30-year-old journeyman essentially relegated to Carling Cup duty with his club. Perhaps benching him is too harsh, but I think it's certainly time we begin to plan for life after Robbie. Maybe a lack of sharpness is to blame for his desperate finishing as opposed to a complete decay in form. If that's the case, Keane needs to get himself a transfer to a lower-tier club. Keane was utterly anonymous versus Russia as well, bar the penalty, don't forget. A Doyle-Long partnership is certainly our future strikeforce and what is there to lose by slowly breaking them in? Time is not on Robbie's side.
