The Man Who Almost Changed Football Forever
Last updated : 18 April 2007 By Footy Mad - Editor
Everybody loved Newcastle United in those heady days, because KK went out with one thing in mind ... "We'll score more goals than you!"
That title would have made it a winning formula, but sadly, Sir Alex Ferguson nipped it in the bud.
Kevin Keegan talked to the Evening Chronicle about the best period in Newcastle's history since the FA Cup winning sides of the 1950s.
1982/84 J.K.Keegan 85/0 49
Do we need to say anything about Kevin Keegan that you don't know already? Started with Scunthorpe, became a superstar with Liverpool, moved abroad to Hamburg, back to Southampton and in 1982 became one of the greatest signings Newcastle ever made. World class star, and we haven't had many of those. Retired in 1984 but came back to manage the side in 1992. Won promotion, and came so close to winning the Premiership 1n 1996.
THOSE DAYS
Keegan: "Even now, up here in Glasgow, people approach me to say they loved that Newcastle team.
"They became besotted with the way we played. So many folk from all over the place tell me they used to travel to St James' Park to watch us or sat glued in front of the box.
"You never see that sort of football now, with the possible exception of Manchester United. Football today is not my type of football.
"I was new to management at the beginning of the 90s and I thought all football should be played our way. I built a side to play the way I liked the game to be played.
"We didn't go for a team of defenders. We went out to entertain a Geordie public who crave entertainment, and that required players of flair and imagination who dared to perform in a certain way. My side and the Geordie fans were a marriage made in heaven.
"Teams are usually all about defence. All the coaching manuals tell you to build from the back, that if you don't concede a goal you can't lose. I preferred to believe that if you didn't score you couldn't win.
"We were in the entertainment business and I had a simple philosophy. I had no preconceived ideas, no fear of failure. I bought some wonderful players who were adored by the Geordies - Philippe Albert, David Ginola, Peter Beardsley, Rob Lee, Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand, Alan Shearer and, yes, Tino Asprilla. They were priceless, every one of them a wonderful asset.
"We almost achieved the impossible, winning the championship with a squad built on pure football. We should have won it and if we had it would not only have changed Newcastle United for good but all of football. Coaches would have been encouraged to go down our path, to rid us of a negativity that is stifling our game.
"Instead coaches nowadays produce clones of themselves. Cautious players with a negative attitude.
"It's like when you were at school. If the professor said something you accepted it at face value because he was a professor. You didn't query it. But that doesn't mean he was right every time.
"Imagination is your limitation. If someone tells you you can't do that you should ask `why?'
"I had no coaching badges. All I had done since I had finished kicking a football was play golf in Spain, but when Newcastle came for me in 1992 we sparked something special that will never be repeated.
"That team we put together is one of the major success stories of the last 20 years. Nothing like it will ever happen again - a newly promoted team like Sunderland this season will not threaten to win the championship because the gulf is too big now. It's all about money.
"I don't believe coaching badges are necessary. They stereotype people. All I ever did was go into things with great enthusiasm and belief and allow it to rub off on others."
FOOTBALL NOW TOO PREDICTABLE
Keegan: "When Newcastle came calling for me it was very exciting. John Hall phoned and said `Only two people can save Newcastle United and they are talking to each other right now.' That was a powerful message.
"We went on a rollercoaster ride, all of us together. Douglas Hall and Freddy Shepherd were great when I was there. John was the figurehead but they drove the club forward. And chief executive Freddie Fletcher - we called him the Jockweiler - was also vital in our era.
"We might not have won the ultimate prize, though we should have done, but perhaps you Geordies haven't to look so far back in history because of us. When I arrived everyone talked about Jackie Milburn and the 50s. Perhaps now it's The Entertainers.
"I left Toon as it wasn't the same club any more
"I left as a matter of principle. The club I had been put in charge of was changing direction and I didn't like that.
"If you remember we were going to become the new Barcelona. We bought into ice hockey, rugby, basketball, the lot. We were to become a huge sporting club. We sold them a dream and then dashed it because it didn't look good on a balance sheet with the club becoming a plc.
"I was part of that trust when these other sports came aboard and then they were suddenly jettisoned. It was morally wrong.
"What else was going to happen on the football side? This wasn't the club I had been managing."
EVEN CANTONA WAS A FAN
Keegan: "Beating Manchester United 5-0 was my favourite game of the lot. We absolutely slaughtered them - and remember Man U were the current champions. We played them off the park.
"I always remember on the final whistle I went down the tunnel and was standing at the top of the stairs when the players trooped in.
"As he passed, Cantona growled `You've got an effing good side' and walked on.
"His English was supposed to be not so good but he knew what we were about.
"Some ask if the 4-3 defeat at Liverpool was the worst moment. Not really. Because for all but the last few minutes we had played so well. We weren't outclassed, as Man U were on the day against us. We were the better team right until near the end.
"Of course it killed us, but for the neutral it was a pulsating spectacle. It was voted the Game of the Decade in the Premiership, wasn't it?"
PETER BEARDSLEY THE BEST OF THE LOT
Keegan: "When you have a goalscorer in the team you're blessed - and you're equally blessed by the presence of a creator. So when you have both in one player then you have the complete deal.
"Peter could do both equally well. He was a giver not a taker by nature. He enjoyed making a goal for Andy Cole as much as scoring one himself. Indeed, I had to rollick him a couple of times for passing to Andy who missed when Pedro could have scored himself.
"He was very special to the club, a Geordie who understood his own folk and was on the same wavelength as myself.
"But I was lucky I had so many truly wonderful players at Newcastle and I appreciate every one of them to this day. Not just the ones I bought but the home grown lads who responded to those I put around them. Players who perhaps didn't realise the standard they could attain.
"Not many people might expect me to talk about Brian Kilcline, for example, considering the big-name players who followed him, but he was absolutely crucial to me at the time. He settled us down and got us going.
"Philippe Albert was immense for his finesse while Rob Lee, at £700,000, was superb value for money, the signing who glued the jigsaw together.
"Then there was Andy Cole for his goals alongside Peter, Sir Les who followed him, David Ginola with all his Gallic flair, and of course, Alan Shearer, at the end of it all.
"Having said all that let's not forget the likes of Darren Peacock, who often stood on the bridge by himself because Bez and Albert loved to get forward."
WAS TINO TO BLAME FOR LOSS OF TITLE?
"A lot of Press from outside the North East needed a scapegoat when we failed to win the Premier League title and they settled on Tino," Keegan told me.
"That was totally wrong, totally unfair. I honestly think that Asprilla only had two poor games for us all the time he was there.
"I wanted him because he was world class and all the rubbish about his wild ways never bothered me a bit. Some of it was scandalous, but I never wavered and I got top-class backing from the board.
"I had seen Tino play for Colombia against England at Wembley and was struck by his enthusiasm and workrate as well as his obvious ability.
"No, we didn't lose the championship because of Asprilla but because too many people around the club, off and on the field, didn't know how to win something.
"Beardsley apart, I don't think there was anyone else who had achieved the ultimate prize."
THE FUN HAS GONE
Keegan: "Football is no longer about romance but finances. The fun has gone.
"I never watch a game now and I don't miss it. I follow the news about my old clubs but that's all. I knew about Newcastle v Man City and Chris Coleman getting the sack at Fulham, but if I was questioned in depth over what was happening generally I would no doubt fail.
"I just got stale. If you don't enjoy it, don't look forward to working with your players, then you have to get out. It got to the stage where I thought: `Hold on, is this what I want to do with the rest of my life?' Some people are happy to stay where they are for ever but if I'm not enjoying something I move on."