A Hero or Villain’s Return?

Some players are welcomed back to clubs because of what they achieved in their first stint with the club, but often their return never lives up to the expectations created by their past performances.

Perth Glory’s announcement that Andy Keogh is returning is a very strange situation.

Andy Keogh was still on top of his game when he signed for Perth Glory despite numerous loan spells since playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League in 2012. For a start he was only 28 years old. He soon showed that he was a class above the standard of the A-League.

At the start of his first season eyebrows were raised as to how coach Kenny Lowe had managed to snare such a player. We were informed that money had not been an issue as the player wanted to play in Perth because his family had emigrated here. It all seemed plausible, after all he would have made good money at the clubs he had played for in England and if he had been wise with it, could well be in a strong financial position.

Of course it all proved a smokescreen when it was revealed that Keogh was at the centre of payments under the table that saw Perth Glory found guilty of breaching the salary cap, fined and deducted points that saw them miss out on playing in the finals.

To many fans this left a very sour taste in the mouth. They had been lied to.

To rub salt in the wounds and to almost back up claims that he was simply a football mercenary, Keogh opted to leave the club in July of this year when offered a deal with a club in a far more inferior competition in Thailand.

The Irishman had a one year deal remaining with the option of another year, so was in a very enviable position for a player approaching the declining years of his career.

In a statement made by the club in July they said “Upon his return to Perth late last week, Keogh received an offer from an overseas club- which Perth Glory could not compete with. Perth Glory exhausted every avenue to resolve certain terms and conditions relating to Keogh’s contract from last year and offered him a new and transparent deal that did not breach the salary cap.”

Keogh followed the cash, something that never goes down well with fans, despite the reality that players need to make money while they can. Many felt he should have stayed and repaid the fans faith this season, by righting some of the wrongs his illegal payments had caused. To have headed to Thailand was almost inexplicable, the only motivation to play there could be money. The standard of football is so far below the A-League it made no sense.

Now it has been announced that the Perth Glory have saved him from his nightmare where he struggled to score goals. Why? This is a question many fans are asking. This is a player who took all he could from the club and when caught, rather than staying and trying to make good on those wrongs, jumped ship.

What his signing also says is that Perth Glory are desperate. The hierarchy obviously believe that by re-signing Andy Keogh many of the disgruntled fans who have stayed away will come flooding back through the turnstiles. It  also says that the club realise that the strike force it signed to replace Keogh is simply not good enough, which then brings into question the recruiting network. They have obviously struggled to find a player of Keogh’s calibre, so now they have gone back to a man whom many fans feel betrayed the club.

Once again it shows a lack of understanding on how fans feel.

Keogh too must think that the fans are stupid with the comments attributed to him in the Perth Glory’s press release, “I’ve always said that I left Perth with a heavy heart. My stint in Asia didn’t work out the way I intended, however I’m glad to have teamed up yet again with Kenny Lowe and the boys at Perth Glory. I am committed to helping Perth Glory become a powerhouse in the A-League and pledge to do my best to see it return to its glory days.” He said.

He left with a heavy wallet, and now he is back. He may think this is the homecoming he wanted but rest assured he is going to have to perform better than he did in his first stint at the club to win the true fans over. He is possibly lucky that he may not play this season, – although the chances are one current overseas player will be shown the door to accommodate Keogh (The Pressure to Score)  – as he is going to have to get back to A-League standards and will need to perform in his very first outing.

The club wants everyone to believe that this is a fairytale return, yet it appears more of a misguided PR exercise to paper over the cracks, which appear to be widening with each week of the season.

If Keogh does not play this season let us hope that we have no comments from the club’s owner bleating about how much money he has lost. As who in their right mind would sign a player and then not have him registered to play?