[LFC1892]

From the mailbag at Football365 re Keegan.

Keegan Is A Failure
This is probably the umpteenth email you've had regarding the situation up the road at St James. I'm sorry, I'm going to add to the tide of opinion because I just cannot sit and read F365 without waxing lyrical on the current status of the whole debacle. Lets get the basic underlying problem on the table straight away, Newcastle have appointed a failure, pure and simple. This was a man who could not cope with pressure and collapsed like a house of cards at the first sign things weren't going well for him. Sure he had a good record at Newcastle, last time, but the game has fundamentally changed since then. If he were to revert to type and go more gung ho than an American Marine in Vietnam then his reign will be a short one and end in tears.

Newcastle need to make up their mind whether they want entertainment or success as I feel with the current crop of players this cannot be achieved in tandem. The game is quicker, you even see the likes of Middlesbrough and Wigan using counter attacking football in a game these days, pace is a vitally important and where Newcastle do possess pace in areas but they are sorely lacking in midfield and at the back in my opinion. This means that if they go for all out attack and fail to find some sort of end product they will be on their heels quicker than Owen gets injured and in trouble more often than not. The birdbrains up the road fail to see that. They think the messiah is going to right all the wrongs and that they will be a force once again. To facilitate a quick turn around in their fortunes they would need a partial new midfield and a full new defence. They may be able to raise themselves to a level with the likes of Citeh and Everton but they will never catch the big 3/4. The world class players needed to challenge these teams exist, but the downside is they often play for these teams. This is part of the massive delusion they live under and it seems the Chairman is subscribing to it.

It will be interesting to see how long the honeymoon lasts, the way Ashley and Mort have started has placed them dangerously close to the old Shepherd regime of hiring and firing and dodgy appointments. Keegan could be the man but I fear that the game has progressed drastically from when he was involved and that it will be a step too far. Do the board then admit that first choice Keegan (never on the original Allardyce replacement list) was a mistake and get rid, dashing the fans hopes yet again and falling from the silver charger, or do they persist and risk becoming an even bigger laughing stock languishing at the wrong end of the table where they believe they don't belong. If that happened how much longer would Ashley be welcomed into the bare chested circles of the Geordie faithful? Will the fans finally see through his nauseous shirt wearing and drink buying antics to realise he was the fat kid at school who never got picked for the team and now wants to be a part of a "big" club?

It's going to be an interesting season, it will be interesting to see what the Board have to say if they get their attacking football and if (when) it doesn't succeed and they concede goals faster than a Spurs defence with Kaboul in it.

There is still the spectre of Shearer hanging over the club. Sure Keegan is the Messiah but is Shearer not the God of Newcastle? When will the fans start calling for his appointment again, make no mistake it will happen, all supporters are a fickle bunch, the Geordies more than others, and Shearer is still a revered hero in those parts.

There is one small consolation, at least if Keegan goes for all out attack he isn't going to have to worry about Titus Bramble being the last line of defence against the inevitable counter attacks. That would have been deeply worrying for the Newcastle faithful.

War and Peace II is now finished.
Ian, Carrickfergus.


Keegan Is Not A Failure
Perhaps the hoards of miserable pessimists lining up to mock Newcastles appointment of Kevin Keegan should give the guy a break.

He took Newcastle from a team who were worse than Grimsby, Tranmere, Southend and Cambridge United to a team that won the 1st division and then came 3rd, 6th, 2nd and 2nd in the Premier League.

He then helped Fulham win the 2nd Division in the following season before becoming England manager.

Having failed to win anything with the perenial underachievers of the national side he then became Man City boss and took a side relegated from the Premier League straight back up as Champions. They then finished mid-table, followed by a poor season in which they finished in the bottom half of the table. In his last season at City they finished mid-table again.

As far as I can see, Keegan's been nothing short of sensational at club level and has left every team he's managed in a far better situation than when he took over. His team's also play attacking, attractive football.
At least I can enjoy watching Newcastle again now that Fat Sam the long ball merchant has been ditched.
Dan Whittle, Liverpool FC


They're Just Jealous
So then, for the past week Newcastle United have been massively in ther spotlight. Everybody has passed comment on the situation, even people like Ian Wright who have absolutely nothing to do with us. Some of the opinions offered have just quite simply been dreadfully ill informed and plain wrong. Fans of other clubs have commented and protested that 'Newcastle aren't even a big club they just have a big stadium and lots of fans.'

I just find all this quite funny. If we aren't a big club then why do so many people talk about us and feel the need to pass comment? Maybe it's jealousy that nobody ever talks about their club or cares about what happens there? Or maybe it's to try and deflect the attention from what is currently happening at their club (Liverpool). Either way think that all of the media hype and reaction shows exactly what size of club we are.

And as for Keegan, well I don't think anybody really knows how it'll work. It could be genius or it could be insane but right now I don't care because I know that now I'm going to have a team and manager I can be proud of for the first time since Uncle Bobby and I'm going to be entertained. Allardyce epitomised all that was wrong with modern results driven football I think and here comes the exact opposite and I'm excited. Keegan is just a great man and with the financial backing of Ashley what's to stop us gradually building a team ready to challenge again? If this is blind optimism then so be it but at least we have something to get excited about now. Now bring on Bolton!
Jack Stanley (proud to be a Geordie again)


We Were Laughing Our Arses Off
I wish the media would be a bit more honest. Instead of talking about the 'thrilling news' of Keegan's return, could they not tell us that they laughed till they fell off their chairs, and are now rubbing their hands at the prospect of upcoming car-crash?

Whilst Geordies change their tune form, 'We are a big club,' to, 'We just wanna have fun,' (missing the point that this was the man that had them sobbing openly 'Time after time') any pundit worth his salt knows that Keegan's previous failures were the last hurrah for clueless management.

With the money clubs spend on players, the prevalence of pro-zone, and the increasing presence of top (foreign) management in the Premier League, Newcastle's decision shows that their board-room is as inept as ever. When I stop laughing, I will be sad for my Geordie mates.
Darren Baker


Success Is Here
Haway man, the good times are back at Newcastle! I cannae wait to see us lift the African Cup of Nations next month followed by the League , FA Cup and then round of the season with the Euro's in Austria & Switzerland although it will pain us to leave our beloved Newcastle! It doesn't matter if the likes of Man U score 6 now as our Kev's toon army will score seven cuz we play beautiful, attacking, flowing football. We'll make those southern softies Arsenal look like Bolton. When Kee'an first took over like we woz not even in the top flight and he took us to 2nd now he's starting from mid-table it's more of a certainty than pulling some lass in a short skirt in New'astle town centre and getting your end away in an alleyway on a Friday night!

Oh to be a daft Geordie!!!
Sean 'Still not stopped laughing since 4pm yesterday' Duffy


Let's Look At The Evidence
Haha. Adam Ant reckons Newcastle put up 'a decent challenge' to Arsenal during the Keegan days? How about 'absolutely dominated them in the league.' Lets compare the facts:

93/94. Arsenal 4th, 6 points behind 3rd place Newcastle.
94/95. Arsenal 12th, 21 points behind 6th place Newcastle.
95/96. Arsenal 5th, 15 points behind 2nd place Newcastle.
96/97. Arsenal 3rd, level on points but behind on goal difference to 2nd place Newcastle.

Imagine that! With Seaman at his best, the classic defence intact, Wright banging them in and Bergkamp and Viera having injury free seasons, Newcastle had a superior goal difference, even with their rubbish/comedy/non-existent defence.

Of course, the teams went in opposite directions, and Newcastle are now rubbish whilst Arsenal are up there with the very best in Europe. But lets not pretend he fluked it, or that he had a lucky season or two against the big boys. Newcastle were seriously good, never finishing below Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs or Villa, and getting the better of Liverpool three times out of four under Keegan.

Can he do it again? Almost certainly not. But can Newcastle get any worse? No. It'll be enjoyable to watch, he'll sign a million strikers, we'll lose a few close games but score a lot and now and then hammer a few sides through simple massive attacking pressure. The pressure's off to win anything, so I for one will be sitting back and enjoying it.
Dave Amos. Leeds.


Bitchy
Just a quick response to Pete (can't wait for Saturday) Lockey. Yes the whole country is laughing at your club. You are the laughing stock of European football, not just the Premiership but saying the Toon Army "don't care" is absolute rubbish! You're only kidding yourself. If you didn't care Fat Sam would still be in the job as we speak! Let's see you care if/when "King" Kev guides you to The Championship. At least if you were there you might have a slim chance of winning a trophy!!
Sam Keefe


Sensible? Two Fingers Sir
I would just like to say b£$%£x to all those who have criticised the madness in Appointing Kevin Keegan. Stephen Scott got it spot on.

Football is so dull nowadays it's really refreshing to see a decision made with the heart. It's been ages since we've had any genuine surprises in football. It's all so dull and predictable. So businesslike and all planned out like surprises and unpredictability are terrible things that should be left in the past.

Those are the things that used to make football so much fun. Ringing your mates in disbelief the day your heard Andy Cole was going to Man U. Wondering will Newcastle and Liverpool not even bother with defenders next time they meet. Norwich embarrassing Bayern in their own back yard.

Yes there are plenty of sensible reasons why Keegan might not be the man to solve Newcastle's problems but sod it. He's a decent bloke, likes to play entertaining football and fills a void left by Mourinho for great headlines and genuine passion.

Good luck to him and Newcastle and two fingers to the sensible option.

I thought Robbie Fowler coming back to Anfield was special but I wonder if King Kenny would be interested!!!
Mikey Foley - Hertfordshire


Great News
Can I point out that Keegan's return is great news for every neutral football fan. Let's face it, it'll go one of two ways:

1) Newcastle start playing good, attacking football a la 1995, the Premiership becomes more interesting and we all get to hear a few more "I would love it" rants.

or

2) It all goes tits up, Keegan reverts to Man City type and spends millions on sh*t players (John Macken, etc), Newcastle are even more of a laughing stock than before with an even worse defence, the Premiership still becomes more interesting and we all get to hear even more "I would love it" rants.

Win-win. Odds on Keith Gillespie being the first signing anyone?
Phil, Italy


A Different World
I'm glad that Andy Gray picked up on Kevin Keegan's interview from Inside Sport where he said that he hadnt watched a live football match since he left Man City, around 3 years ago.

Three bloody years! And these disillusioned Geordies think that he's going to bring them success. At the start of the 2004/05, the season that Keegan left, Portsmouth were being managed by Velimir Zajec, Boumsong was judged to be worth £8million and Jermain Defoe was the 4th highest scorer in the league! The game, Mr Keegan, has changed a lot since then, but i for one look forward to watching Newcastle bring in a string of strikers when their new defensive signings are clearly not up to standard.
Adam (Can't wait for Watford to be above Newcastle next season) Franklin

Some good stuff in there!