The burning of Robert Keane

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Liverpool's blank meant there were plenty of disappointed souls insideAnfield, and right at the front of the queue was Robbie Keane.


The£20.3m striker has had extra responsibilty thrust upon him in theabsence of injured Fernando Torres and it did not sit easily on hisshoulders against West Ham.

Keane's march to the touchline -with a trademark pained expression accompanied by the familiar strainsof sympathetic applause - has almost become an Anfield ritual.

And so it was again on Monday as he saw his number go up for the 15th time this season.

Keanecannot be faulted for effort, but he barely scratched the surface ofthis game, and he will not have felt any better when it was theyouthful and virtually untried figure of David Ngog who was preferredas Liverpool went in search of the crucial breakthrough with 24 minutesleft.

Ryan Babel was the more obvious choice of substitute, butBenitez probably compounded Keane's misery with his choice ofreplacement.

He is finding it a grim struggle to justify hisover-inflated price tag - not his fault it should be stressed - and theexpectations that come with wearing Liverpool's number seven shirt.

Keane'sclass is proven, but he is just the latest to discover that playing forLiverpool carries a unique burden and for some it is almost too much.

Andif Keane needed confirmation, he only had to look to West Ham's CraigBellamy, another who appeared to find the baggage that comes withplaying for Liverpool too heavy for him.

Bellamy was at hisvibrant, busy best against his old club and came closest to breakingthe deadlock with a 25-yard drive in the first half that clattered apost and rebounded to safety.

Keane can still come good atAnfield - even Peter Beardsley took time to get into his stride - butthere was some tell-tale frustration and impatience amid the supportinside Anfield and he needs a change of fortune desperately.

Hehas not been helped by being played in an unfamiliar role in hispartnership with Torres, and his continuity has been broken by constantsubstitutions, but he will know the time is coming to justify hisexpensive fee.

One man who will not arrive to threaten Keane isMichael Owen, with Benitez delivering an emphatic and almost unpromptedrejection of suggestions he would return to Anfield in January.

But is it actually such a bad idea when a predator in the Owen mould might have poached a goal against Fulham or West Ham?