Saturday January 19, 2008
Posted in:
Football
When Kevin Keegan ended his playing career, he left the pitch in a helicopter – a classically Keegan dramatic flourish. A Newcastle-supporting friend of mine told me that for years after, as Newcastle laboured, every time a helicopter was sighted over the ground, people would nod and say ‘it’s Keegan. He’s coming back’.
I admit it. On first hearing about Newcastle’s appointment of Kevin Keegan, I laughed. It seemed like the actions of a desperate board thrashing around for an answer to pacify its fans after failing to appoint Harry Redknapp. It seemed a retrograde move, bound to end in tears and recriminations. But now, I’m not so sure.
As kick-off against Stoke City loomed, I was changing my mind. Listening to Radio 5, and the obvious and genuine sense of anticipation amongst the Newcastle fans, I was reminded once more about the hold that Keegan holds over Newcastle fans.
When I think back about what Keegan stands for, the more I find myself warming to a genuine, sensitive man out of step with the prevailing mood – Simon Barnes sums it up nicely on The Times website:
Keegan steps into his new job as a glorious anachronism, as a man who really hasn
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