Hearts Rule Heads As Newcastle United Appoint Keegan Again
Published January 17, 2008
Beleagured Newcastle United fans are rejoicing today after the club announced the return of Kevin Keegan to Tyneside to take over as manager.
Keegan’s sheer presence seemed to have a revelatory effect on his new charges, as he watched his side trounce Stoke City 4-1 at St. James Park last night. It was exactly the kind of assured display predecessor Sam Allardyce struggled to get out of his players, who are undoubtedly talented enough on paper to take Newcastle close to the European places in the Premiership table. Previous bookies’ favourite for the job, former captain and star striker Alan Shearer, has invited Keegan to talk to him about a management or coaching role at the club. It is not yet clear whether Keegan has any plans to talk to Shearer.
Keegan is well known for having a charismatic personality which players can really take to. Similar to Martin O’Neill in this regard, Keegan’s greatest managerial strength is the ability to form close bonds with his players that motivate them to give their all on the pitch. He first managed Newcastle in 1992, when they were a First Division club. Under his control, Newcastle were promoted into the Premiership, and gradually improved until their peak in the 1995-96 season. In January of 96, Newcastle led the Premiership by 12 points, and were renowned for playing quick attacking football, even earning the nickname ‘the Entertainers’. By the end of the season, that lead had been eroded and Newcastle could only finish second behind Manchester United. In January 1997, despite Newcastle continuing to do well, Keegan resigned. He later took control at Second Division Fulham, and won promotion for them, before taking the England job in February 1999. At England he only lasted 18 months and came under fire for tactical naivety. He resigned after losing the final game at Wembley before its demolition, 1-0 to Germany.
In May 2001 Keegan took the reigns at First Division Manchester City, and once again won promotion into the Premiership. He became popular with the fans as he established Manchester City as a dependable side, but by 2004 they seemed to hit a brick wall, and ended up only narrowly avoiding relegation. Keegan resigned in March 2005 and retired from football, preferring the stress-free life of television punditry, and then moving even further out of the spotlight by running a ‘Soccer Circus’ football academy in Glasgow.
However, the memory of that 95/96 season has fuelled Newcastle supporters’ expectations ever since, with the record of every successive manager held up against Keegan’s achievements. In a sense Keegan’s success – and his agonising near-miss – has haunted Newcastle fans, giving them the illusion of being a big club who should be challenging for titles and trophies, when in fact they have not won the top flight for more than 80 years, or the FA Cup for more than 50. What’s more, Keegan’s famously attacking style has persuaded Newcastle fans that this is ‘the Newcastle way’. With hindsight, the appointment of Allardyce - who built a workmanlike Bolton team who were tough to beat but rarely entertained – looks like a decision that was never going to satisfy Newcastle fans, who will only be happy when their team wins in style.
- Hearts Rule Heads As Newcastle United Appoint Keegan Again
- Published: January 17, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Football (English)
- Writer: Ally Brown
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The same sort of things were said and written the first time Newcastle appointed Keegan as manager. He'd been out of the game for years and it was a massive gamble which paid off spectacularly.
The man knows how to get inside the heads and the hearts of players and give them self-belief. Former Newcastle centre-half Robert Lee was in the press today crediting Keegan for turning him from a journeyman player into an England international. One thing King Kev will do, for sure, is pick up the rock-bottom morale at the club - not just among the players, but the fans too.
As for his abilities as a coach, well, you tend to forget that he also turned Fulham and Manchester City from also-rans into strong Premier League outfits. The reason he stagnated at both jobs, in my opinion, was that they were not Newcastle United. You really have to have followed the Toon for years, as I have as a fan, to truly understand the special relationship between Newcastle and Keegan. He understands that this is not just a big city club - United are the city.
I'm thrilled by this and whether we win anything or not, the good times of the 90s, when everyone admired the way we played, are for sure coming back.
Let me just add that I'm seriously considering subscribing to Fox Soccer Channel and/or Setanta Sports, just so I can watch some live games here in California. That's how excited I am about this.
Two of Keegan's best qualities are his openness and honesty, in stark contrast to the majority of people in the public eye these days who robotically mutter boring non-committal PR speak, which is actually deeply offensive to some folk, including me! I'm delighted that he is back in the professional game.
I'm thrilled by this and whether we win anything or not, the good times of the 90s, when everyone admired the way we played, are for sure coming back.
Today's result: Newcastle 0, Bolton 0.
They may take a while, but they will come back!
Ah yes Doc. You were everyone's second team then, but this is now! (I can't help but think that you weren't a little aided by the magnificently cool sponsorship with the Newcastle Brown Ale blue star on your stripey 'pie shirts - now, everyone's favourite basket case tax-payers' money funnel Northern Rock). I'd like the Pies to do well but to be honest I can't see it happening - not for a long time at least, and does KK (thank God his parents didn't add Keith as a middle name) have the patience for the long haul of building a team? Newcastle threw shedloads of cash around then and have a billionaire owner now so I think it'll be an interesting summer on Tyneside. I had the good fortune to watch the Bolton game, and the Trotters should have won it at the death. I hope he gets rid of that snarling Leeds reject Alan Smith early doors - he's not good enough and far too aggressive/petulant/bad tempered, although strangely for a footballer he's a teetotaller. I think Shearer is best off remaining out of it for now.
The first big test will be this weekend, when we visit The Arse in the Cup.
As soon as I heard the draw I knew that was it for yet another season as far as trophies go... it will be a question of whether the lads can avoid another ploating* à la Old Trafford - the Wengaboys coming off the back of that embarrassing loss to Spurs as they are, they will be eager to reassert their authority.
Only one outcome, I think, but it should be an interesting game.
* Possibly obsolescent Geordie dialect word.
Oh and nice piece Mr Broon - nice to see some fitba here on BC... And I apologise for my appalling scottishisms!
Well, he's pretty much done it Doc. I must admit I never thought he would but The Pies have looked splendid in their last couple of games!
Now he's on about huge summer spending and you lot can actually look forward to a season next time out. Although I hope the hype doesn't go too crazy - challenging for a Wafer Cup place should be the VERY VERY most that can be hoped for next season.
It's been a lovely couple of weeks, Colin - especially the away win at Spurs. We seem to have hit on the magic formula of Viduka and Martins up front with Owen in support just behind them. Not only that, but the defence has stopped leaking too!
King Kev is known for his ability to instil self-belief in his players - I think it was Rob Lee who said that Keegan made him feel ten feet tall; I know that Lee credited him for his transformation from a journeyman Division One player into an England international.
The key to next season is whether KK can keep that belief going even for the biggest matches. We have to go up against Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool believing we can win - and not just approach those games as an exercise in damage limitation.
Otherwise, you're right - best we can hope for is fifth.
Viduka's an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in some pies and stuffed into a stripey shirt. He was very hit and miss with Leeds, sometimes out of this world, sometimes looking far too much like he wasn't bothered really.
KK's on about some big money in the summer and, hey, if Man City can chase Ronaldinho then why not the Toon? I think your squad is pretty thin outside your first XI.
Top five is a bit much so soon I think - typical Geordie euphoria! Still, you never know with Keegan, that's the joy of the man I guess. Uncharacteristically for a Leeds fan, I'm happy for you - although I generally and schaudenfraudenly (sic) enjoy it when big clubs go down, but it's hard to look beyond the current bottom three at the moment, in fact I'd say the same at the top of the table too - things will stay as they are.
I think fifth is a distinct possibility if Keegan can build some consistency into the team, and if we can break our seasons-long curse whereby any and every major signing Newcastle make instantly gets injured and has to sit on the sidelines for months.
The signs are there that someone is going to break the stranglehold of the Big Four fairly soon. The gap between second and third, and between fourth and fifth, isn't going to be anything like as absurdly big as it was last season.
Frankly I don't see that someone being Newcastle, although as you say, Keegan has surprised us before. I remember our debut season in the Premier League. We lost our first two games, home to Spurs and away to Coventry, and everyone was chalking us up for an instant return to the Football League. Then we drew at Old Trafford and suddenly we were a force to be reckoned with. We finished third that season, with the second-best goal difference in the division.
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I think Keegan's going to have to clean house if he wants to make progress here. With guys like Alan Smith and Nicky Butts, with 8 and 9 yellows respectively, in your side, there are bound to be some personnel issues. More often than not Newcastle looks like a kick 'n run pub team than anything else. They've a long way to go before than can start playing attractive football again.