Oliver Kay: reinstating Kevin Keegan would be the ultimate cop-out

Memo to Chris Nathaniel and the Nigerian consortium who are thinking of buying Newcastle United: if you do, please think carefully before taking the ultimate lazy option and reinstating Kevin Keegan as manager.

That may be heresy to the legions of Geordies who worship the very ground that Keegan walks on, but if Newcastle are ever to be taken seriously by anyone beyond Tyneside (and I have begun to wonder whether they want to be), they need a new start.

If the latest Keegan experience has taught one thing, it is that they need a new Messiah, not to continue to wallow in the misconception that the 57-year-old owner of the Soccer Circus project near Glasgow is the man to lead them to any kind of future success.

I was staggered when Mike Ashley, having dispensed with Sam Allardyce in January, reinstated Keegan. I was even more staggered by the overwhelmingly positive reaction of Newcastle’s supporters to an appointment that was only ever going to end in tears.

But nothing could prepare me for the reaction to his departure three weeks ago and the subsequent demands by many Newcastle supporters for “King Kev” to be reinstated. And now it transpires that not one but both of the groups that have been linked with a take-over – Nathaniel’s Nigerian consortium and Zabeel Investments – are keen on reinstating Keegan. Erm, why?

Let us analyse Keegan’s predictably brief and predictably mediocre second spell in charge at St James Park . Played 21, won six, drawn six, lost nine.

It is the worst record of any Newcastle manager since Osvaldo Ardiles preceded Keegan’s first spell in the job in the early 1990s. It is worse than the record of the maligned Allardyce or Glenn Roeder. In fact, it is the second worst record of any Newcastle manager since the selection committee that presided over the most successful period in the club’s history (in the early 20th century) handed the reins to Andy Cunningham in 1930.

Apparently, this is because he was being undermined in the transfer market by Dennis Wise, Tony Jimenez, Derek Llambias and the rest of Mike Ashley’s bizarre collection of “experts”. Maybe he was. Maybe his judgement was not trusted. And maybe they were right not to back his judgement. Keegan, after all, spent part of the summer imploring them to break the bank to sign players such as David Beckham, Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho rather than supposed “unknowns” such as Fabricio Collocini and Jonas Guttierez, who have been among the few positives for Newcastle in the opening weeks of what is threatening to be a calamitous campaign.

Whether they realise it or not, Newcastle are in serious danger of getting relegated if they do not find a top-class manager with an understanding of modern football and a vision that goes beyond looking at the players who happened to be in the running for the Ballon D’Or four years ago. Who is that manager? It is hard to say. But reinstating Keegan would be the ultimate cop-out, a cynical publicity stunt designed to ingratiate themselves with the supporters. And maybe it would work a while. But if it is success that Newcastle are looking for, they would be well advised to look elsewhere.

***

Thaksin Shinawatra is £50million richer for his turbulent 14-month spell as owner of Manchester City and there will be a part of every football supporter that considers this an outrage.

The real kicks in the teeth are still to come, with the owners of Liverpool and Newcastle United demanding far greater profits when they sell up. But when that day comes, the supporters may find themselves with little choice but to turn a blind eye and wish those owners a very bitter good riddance.

****

Mike Riley has never been my favourite referee, but the criticism of his performance at Stamford Bridge on Sunday has been excessive. Sir Alex Ferguson was livid that Manchester United had seven players booked.

Of those seven, there was Paul Scholes for a typically crass lunge. Rio Ferdinand for dissent, Gary Neville for the second of three bookable challenges, Dimitar Berbatov for persistent foul play, Wayne Rooney for a wild late tackle (which earned a greater punishment when Chelsea equalised from the resulting free kick) and Cristiano Ronaldo for complaining about a challenge on him (harsh, but he should have been booked for an earlier dive when he panicked under pressure from Frank Lampard).

To my shame, I can’t actually remember Patrice Evra’s booking, which may or may not suggest it was for something innocuous, but United could not have complained if Neville had been sent off. Some referees might have sent off Rooney for his late tackle on Ashley Cole. Players have begun to complain if they are booked for their first bad tackle of the game. Sorry, but where is the rule that says anything goes until you have been warned by the referee? A yellow card tackle is a yellow card tackle, whether it is in the first minute or the last.

If United could have any complaint, it was that Joe Cole was not booked for a wild tackle on Rio Ferdinand in the second half. But their major gripe was with the number of yellow cards they were shown.

Ferguson made the point that it was not a dirty game and that it was embarrassing to a huge worldwide audience that so many players were booked. No it is not embarrassing. The rules and regulations have changed and now permit minimal contact. Bookings have become an occupational hazard in high-tempo football. Challenges that would once have been permissible are now worth yellow cards. Referees would not be doing their job if they allowed them to go unpunished.

Comments

[James]

I'm not a massive fan of this paper to be frank, however I couldn't agree more with this article :)

I'm a Newcastle fan, I didn't want Keegan in the first place and I certainly don't want him returning under the new owners. Not because he's a poor manager, but because sacking him will result in this situation again.

Sacking Keegan's like shooting Bambi in front of a child. If you imagine Bambi as Keegan and the child as Newcastle "fans".

It never ends well, and we won't win a trophy for many a year to come so we may as well hire in a good young manager and start to build the club up. Under Ashley & Wise we've brought in a lot of younger players, so we should be good for the future. Right now though, we just need to build the foundations for future potential success.

[Terry MacDermott]

Names on Kevin's list of wanted targets included steven Warnock, Michael Dawson and Sol Campbell.

The stories of Kevin wanting Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry etc are fabricated lies by Mike Ashleys team of "rank amateurs".

[marcus tickner]

Keegan was a wonderful player and is a great motivator but, let's be honest, as a manager he is something of a firework - he might shine brightly, but only briefly. He puts in 100% for the first few months, burns himself out, gets disillusioned and then disappears from the scene.

As a Liverpool fan, I was devastated that he walked away; as a Southampton follower I was delighted with his return (in various guises) but he is only ever around long enough to create some mystique and then he turns his back on the club and walks away.

I used to will him to come back to the Kop as a coach but since he left England you could see a pattern emerging: Keegan has no staying power. Newcastle fans may want King Kevin back, but let's be honest how long do you think it'll be before something else gives him an excuse to go? Not long is the answer. To dispassionate fans, Newcastle are a mess and have been for a while. They are run badly, have a defence that for years have been likely to in 4,5, 6 goals and at the beginning of each season gather together a squad of players that you wish you had - but which always manage to flatter to deceive.

I'm just glad they're not my team. Often dour Liverpool feel like an albatross around my neck, but I thank my lucky stars I don't follow the black and whites!

The solution? Who knows. The vague answer is a reliable top man. The expedient answer - get Rafa Benitez in... please.

[Robert Simm]

What a disappointing article, you are completely out of touch and following the general media line. Please take note of the genuine fans and try and speak to them, they will tell you that Keegan did a good job with limited resources but Ashley had a stronger bond with Wise and co who were going in a completely different direction and the current small poor quality squad is evidence of this. All Keegan wanted was a left back but Wise vetoed this, this is what caused the fall out, we have been patient waiting for the squad to be strengthened but it hasnt happened. False promises by a completely out of touch board and the fans are sick of having it stuck up them, they are loyal but not foolish, we are not been taken for mugs any more. We have a right to protest about the current board, as did Liverpool and Man Utd supporters and Keegan didn t deserve to be undermined the way he was and deserves another chance as he is loved by the supporters and players alike. He is the supporters choice and nothing to do with anyone outside the area who would never understand this, the same as Shearers decision to snub trophy's to join the club.

[scott wills]

really need to take the squad into account in all this .
it was poor last season with sams last min cheap buys that didnt work out , ashley didnt give him much room to work with .
keegan comes into a squad that was heading down no doubt about it , we lost far to many points to lesser teams in sams reign and the squad was short of quality and confidence .
and now look what dennis wise and co have sent us into the season with this time ...check our bench out for the past few games .
keegan saw this comming a mile off like every supporter , he like many a fan was only prepared to give wise till the end of the tranfer window before losing faith .
this isnt about keegan , he was just in a better place for a true fan to see what was really happening .

[hugh macknight]

Oliver, the bad run of results on Keegan's appointment were not "because he was being undermined in the transfer market by Dennis Wise, Tony Jimenez, Derek Llambias and the rest of Mike Ashley’s bizarre collection of 'experts'", but because he'd inherited an injury-ravaged squad of disillusioned, dispirited players.
He turned that around, lifted the crowd, and had us playing decent football again.

[Tom]

Rita Cocking and Ronald Bowman, he [the chairman] sold James Milner because he handed in a transfer request. What is the point of keeping a player who is unhappy enough at the club to see it fit to request a transfer?

And I believe Mike Ashley had/has about as much say as Kevin Keegan on which players came in and out of the club. He employed people such as Dennis Wise and Tony Jimenez to do that job.

Why would he [Mike Ashley] trust Kevin Keegan to sign players anyway? When he rejoined the club back in January he said that he hadn't watched a live game of football for over 3 years. How would he know who the top players are, or who the good youngsters in the game are? And more to point, how would he know who to attempt to sign? This summer he was reportedly after players such as David Beckham and Ronaldinho, that clearly demonstrates his lack of knowlege of football now and that he was purely trying to sign players on past reputation. Either that, he was just mad in thinking that those players would want to sign for Newcastle.

Good article Mr.Kay.

[Ronald Bowman]

Kev needed time to adjust his limited squad into a winning team. He was not backed by the owner and board. He had no say in the arrival and departure of players. Milner left because the owner prefered to cash in at the expence of weakening the team. That reflects his love and commitment to the club.

Man Utd players were booked for protesting. Why were'nt Chelsea players booked for the same offence? How many late challenges by Chelsea players got off lightly without bookings?

[Rita Cocking]

Apart from Kevin Keegan,who else has got Newcastle to the topof the EPL? The only reason that he left was that he felt his authority was being undermined by Ashley,and the board selling players behind his back.If Ashley was so keen on developing the young talent at Newcastle,why on earth did he sell James Milner at the soonest opportunity?

[David Matthews]

I am not a Newcastle fan but this article is totally wrong about Keegan. After his appointment I started to watch Newcastle games again and sure enough the style of football improved and he managed to save them from relegation without compromising his attacking principles. The start this year was excellent and I believe it would have continued without this upheaval. Give the guy a break. He improved the defence, midfield and attack leading to some assured football.

[Andy]

Oliver, if Keegan is so average as you put it, why is it that he has gained the respect of the first team squad who all say they miss him around the place.

Tactically he clearly is no mastermind, but if players like Owen (who you all wrote would leave newcastle when KK rejoined) think he did the job OK, then who are you to be the best judge.

I would take Premiership players opinions over yours any day I am afraid.

I don't know who will come in with the new owners, but I can rest assured that the press wont like them anyway.

[Roger]

Newcastle started the season very brightly, anyone who saw them play ManU could only be impressed. They looked like they could go places.

Keegan may not be the best coach, but he's an inspirational figure for the players and all around him.

I'm sad to say it but Newcastle are losing out big time while they have the current self-gratifying fools in charge.

A. Villan

[Chris]

Lazy, lazy journalism.

If you want to play the stats game, here's one for you. In his last 13 games in charge Keegan lost only 3. Home to Chelsea and away to Everton and Arsenal.

23% is less games than any manager has lost in the entire history of the club.

It just took him 8 games to get Sam Allardyce out of the teams system.

[Leon]

Spot on article about Keegan, the ebst I've read so far amongst the dross that has been written so far. I was gutted when we got him back, he's a lovely fella but completely out of touch. I felt sorry for him when he was persuaded to come back because of the obvious inevitability of the end that was to come. NUFC 'need' a manager who understands Geordies... utter rubbish, we need a manager who understands today's footballing environment first. Move on people or we fast become everyone's favourite to face relegation.

[bob]

Almost as perceptive as your article on Italian football...

[Dave]

I'm a Liverpool man and have a dislike of United sewn into my DNA, and yet I agree with every word Rezwan wrote. Do you ever play football Mr Kay? As any player knows you will sometimes mistime and challenge just like you will sometimes mistime a shot. Even the perverse set amoung us that want football to be non-contact can never get their way as the nature of game makes that impossible. The choice therefore is between accepting non-malicious mistimed tackles and having half our matches decided more by which team luck would have to remain with 11 players any given week.

While the clampdown on eye-ctaching fouls (those with the legs where missing the ball will often become a trip) means that accidental innocuous challanges are punished, we are seeing more and more cynical upper body fouls such as shirt holding and barging in the penalty area on corners and free kicks. The reaction and subsequent recinding of Terry's red for an intentional foul of this sort show how we deem them to be more acceptable.

[Mark P]

"Keegan, after all, spent part of the summer imploring them to break the bank to sign players such as David Beckham, Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho"

I can't understand why members of the media keep repeating this stuff and don't see it for what it is: The Ashley regime desperately attempting to discredit Keegan and stave off the inevitable protests by the Newcastle fans. It's ludicrous, yet people like yourself print it over and over again as if it were gospel. In fact the only person to talk about "Wow" signings over the summer was Mike Ashley himself in an effort to gouge cash from corporate ticket holders. The man is a liar, plain and simple.

Now, that said, reinstating Keegan would indeed be a huge mistake. It's time to turn the page and get on with rebuilding the club with new owners, a new manager, and with an eye to the future, not the past.

[GW]

Once again the press look for a scapegoat and that man is keegan. Alright he may not be considered the best manager in the world but Newcastle in their current climate cannot attract the best. Keegan is the best man for the job, alright you can say that his record was worse than previous managers but he was only here 8 months in his current stint. In that 8 months the style of football had changed and things were moving in the right direction, if he was able to buy his own players we would have better cover for injuries, and we are seeing that lack of ambition now. Dont believe a word that Ashley and his gang put out, they continue to bend the truth, and the satement about keegan wanting the likes of henry et al was a joke. This is backed up by keegan saying we could not compete with the top 4 after the chelsea game as we could not attract players of that caliibre.

I would like to know if the journalists had seen the football played under Allardyce and when compared to the football played under Keegan, you would recognise a considerable imoprovement, yet there was no critism of Allardyce and his brand of football during his reign.

[Andy]

Once again a load of patronising drivel. People haven't exactly been queing up to manage the Club and Keegan came to the Town because I presume he was the best Ashley could get at the time. The fans welcomed Keegan back because of his history with the club and because in his previous spell as manager he had provided some of the finest football that most of us will see in a lifetime.
However the main reason he was welcomed with open arms was that it gave the Club a chance of some stability to build for the future and provide some sadly lacking entertainment. If you had watched Newcastle prior to Keegan taking over then you would know what an excellent job he did to turn the Club around and avoid relegation.
The "have a dig" at Newcastle fans is getting very boring as you will find we are the same as any other football fans around the country who are passionate about their town and their football club.
If a Club can only be taken seriously outside of the region if regularly winning trophies then you have just written off 95% of the football clubs in this country.
Do a bit of research, stick to facts and at least make some attempt to hide your jealousy.

[Lauren]

Manc fans criticising Mike Riley have short memories. They should remember not so long ago when all one of their players had to do at home was to fall over and Riley would automatically give a penalty - 7 in one season from him alone, if I remember correctly, and none to the away team.

[Mark]

I'd like to see a new owner call Keegan's bluff and re-instate him with a one hundred million pound budget. It's a cert that he'd waste it but many Newcastle fans won't twig that he's useless until he has had a chance to bankrupt the club.

[Neil]

Couple of points on Keegan:

His record last season reflected a squad with zero confidence and a harsh fixture list.

The reaction to his return was due mainly to a mindset which had fallen out of love with football thanks to dreary years - most fans knew that Keegan wasn't an ideal appointment but just giving the fans a bit of hope and love for the game back was his legacy (and avoiding relegation which would have happened with Allardyce).

I think most fans who use their head would like a fresh start - myself among them - but the emotional tie is still a hard one to break.

[Brainwashed]

It is a lie to say Keegan pleaded for the signing of Henry, Beckham and Ronaldhino so why should anyone trust your opinion. Base your case on fact if you want to be believed.

[Rezwan]

United's gripe is not with the fact that we recieved seven yellow cards. Our gripe is with the fact that the refereeing was alarmingly inconsistent. Chelsea and United both committed the same type of fouls but one team received six more yellow cards. That in itself is outrageous. This does not mean that Riley should have dished out more cards to Chelsea, but rather he should have kept his head and avoided dishing out cards to every United player who made a tackle. To make matters worse other games that weekend had identical tackles go unpunished and chances are similar tackles by all teams, even United, will go unpunished next weekend. Rio got carded for protesting a frankly ludicrous decision, Berbatov was invisible throughout the match so I fail to see what he could have done to earn a yellow and yellow carding Ronaldo because he complained about a challenge is just bewildering. All players complain, loudly and continously, what made Ronaldo's complaint so offensive? Even if he deserved a card for an appalling dive, that is hardly relevant.

If football has indeed suddenly become less tolerant of the tackles which got United players booked, then I shall expect to 9 or 10 yellow cards every game next weekend and if not I would very much like to read Oliver Kay's explanation of this refereeing. As for Scholes and Neville, i thought their challenges were mistimed and not at all malicious and from my understanding of Premiership football, a lot of these are simply punished by having free kicks awarded against you. I would refer you to all the matches between the big four clubs over the last few years if you want confirmation.

Riley ruined a perfectly good game with his nitpicking and did neither team any favours. What particularly riles us is that having seven of our players booked suggests that they are ill-disciplined thugs who resorted to kicking Chelsea, when it was nothing of that sort. Most of these blinkered referees and pundits fail to understand that fair but hard challenges is part of the attraction of the game and if you remove them then you lose much of what makes it so exciting and attractive. We don't want to see exhibition football, give me a United-Arsenal game like the one at Highbury in 2005 any day over your sterile, dull game any day of the week.

[iain]

your spot on about reappointing keegan and 99% of nufc fans would agree with you there. considering you would of struggled to find many that wanted him back in the first place.

we would love a good foreign coach the impression i got from fellow nufc fans b4 keegan was appointed was that van gaal, hiddink, advocaat, deschamps were the kind of names fans hoped for.

how can mike ashley say he listens to the fans when he never speaks to them. a very clever trick is that, often employed by people trying to impress rather than lead.

as for us reacting in joy upon KKs return, wouldn't you ? we all knew his shortcomings and openly and often talked about them amongst ourselves. but surely the whole point of appointing keegan was to then find a way to make it work. its not like we had a choice after his appointment is it.

we wanted him reinstated after the latest fallout on the basis we thought ashley would have more balls and common sense then he has shown. he only had to run his investment a bit more better and allow keegan the freedom he wanted by removing wise/jiminez and lambias who between them have done nothing for nufc. and dont say wise signed jonas etc, jeff vetere is the former real madrid scout responsible for finding those players and funnily enough no where has it reported that keegan asked for him to be removed.

if ashley couldnt find 3 people other than his best mates to get along with KK on a day to day basis it just shows what an arrogant fool he is. and from what the local press have reported its not just KK that couldnt get along with them.

keegan might of wanted beckham etc if your stupid enough to believe unoficial club press leaks from the nufc mole aka tony jiminez, yes we all now its him the local press have got him sussed for that. but KK also wanted defoe, swp and crouch none of which have done too bad have they.

KK also wanted warnock but the club couldnt even land him, great work from the backroom team especially as our only other lb is injured and his stand in nozgbia being responsible for a lot of our goals this season simply because he isnt a left back.

personally i think roberto martinez would be an excellent choice to replace KK.