Fans furious as Keegan 'quits'
Angry fans gathered outside Newcastle United’s ground to protest at manager Kevin Keegan’s apparent second departure from the club after less than eight months in charge.
The Geordie folk-hero, once dubbed The Messiah by adoring fans, was said to have parted company with the club after a rift developed between him and the billionaire owner Mike Ashley.
Supporters believed the Magpies’ managerial structure – with Keegan possibly powerless to act in the transfer market – led to rows behind the scenes.
Keegan also attracted criticism from some quarters for the way he has handled the return of soccer bad boy Joey Barton, who was recently released from prison.
As rumours spread that Keegan was leaving the club, around 100 fans gathered outside St James’s Park.
They sang “There’s only one Kevin Keegan”, “Sack the board!” and “Ashley out”.
Frank Gilmour, of the Independent Newcastle United Supporters Association, said: “It’s an absolute farce, you cannot run a football club like this.”
Keegan appeared to have been undermined by having Dennis Wise and other directors appointed after he took over from former Toon boss Sam Allerdyce in January.
Keegan walked out on the club in January 1997 when he was manager, citing off-pitch interference when his first spell as a manager ended in disappointment.
Mr Gilmour said: “This is on a par with what happened 12 years ago. I wouldn’t blame Keegan for going whatsoever.”
The Rev Glyn Evans whose St Andrew’s Church is just 200 yards from St James’s Park, said: “I love Keegan and if ’The Messiah’ has walked then, as a Christian, I am really upset. Someone is calling him elsewhere.
“There has been so much going on at the club, and he has been trying to keep it together, it has been hell for us.
“There are some people in the North East who always felt he was a bottler when things get tough. I don’t think so, he just goes when he thinks it is the right thing to do.
“We put up a sign outside the church saying ’Season’s Greetings – We Hope It Will Be a Good One’. Well, it hasn’t been so far.”
John Thompson, a spokesman for the Yorkshire Mags who has held a season ticket for 40 years, called for another Geordie hero to take the managerial chair:
“I think Alan Shearer is the right man for the job,” he said.
The 58-year-old from Leeds said: “It needs someone of about his age. With Keegan, the players coming in now think he is a like an old man.”
Mr Thompson felt Dennis Wise would be a bad appointment for the club as manager if he swapped his role as Executive Director (football).
“He has no connection or history with the club. He would be a disaster.”
