Sir Alex Ferguson has started his pre-game mind games ahead of the early kickoff game with Liverpool this Saturday.Robbie Keane sealed a transfer from Tottenham to Liverpool earlier in the offseason, and would have been the Reds' record signing had they not brought in Fernando Torres for US$42 million last season.
It was the first mega-money move of July in an initially slow summer, and the Republic of Ireland striker was hailed as the final piece in Liverpool's quest for the Premier League title.
Even Ian Rush, the Reds' all-time leader in goals, jumped on the Keane bandwagon, stating that the hitman's tactical nous and on the pitch intelligence would bring Liverpool to the level of Premier League champions.
Keane has played five games for Liverpool so far, and has failed to find the form that was with him in Tottenham, failing to open his scoring account this season.
Ferguson added fuel to the fire earlier this week by hinting at the absurdity of Keane's transfer.
"The big surprise was Liverpool paying £20million (US$40 million) for Keane," said the Man United boss when asked his thoughts about the transfer window that just closed.
Sir Alex's comment seemed harmless on its own, but the transfer flurry after Keane's deal opens the manager's words to many other interpretations.
Keane's Anfield move was easily eclipsed by Manchester City's Robinho deal for US$64 million and former teammate Dimitar Berbatov's transfer for US$62 million to the Red Devils in both financial and shock value.
The United boss' view that Keane's move was more of a surprise than Robinho would seem like a thinly-veiled attack on the striker's transfer value or Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez's transfer acumen in bringing in a forward instead of reinforcing the other parts of the Reds' squad.
The recent weeks have seen both the press and the supporters questioning the Spaniard's line of thought in regard to his summer spending spree. The lack of wing options prompted Benitez to play Keane on the left wing against Aston Villa, where the Irish captain struggled for the whole match.
However, a shift to his normal support striker role has yielded disappointing results as well.
The Reds enjoyed a flourish of goals from Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard last season. The pair contributed 51 of the Reds' goals and racked up the assists between as one of Europe's most dangerous one-two punches.
But the arrival of Keane has seemingly disrupted the connection between Stevie-G and El Nino, while Robbie's own partnership with the Spanish sensation has yet to take off.
Whether Keane will make Ferguson eat his words on Saturday remains to be seen, but for the moment it seems that the wily Scotman has hit the nail on its head.
espnstar.com
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