Kevin Keegan famously declared that once he had hung up his boots in 1985, that was him done with football as a full-time job. A wise investor of his money, and a footballer who understood his value in marketing terms, there was no need for Keegan to go into coaching or management.
But of course, he did, returning to Newcastle United in February 1992, charged with saving them from relegation to Division Three. By the time he was talking to FourFourTwo for their December 1994 issue, he was driving the Magpies on to challenge Manchester United for the Premier League.
“I knew the supporters. The call of it was too much. I thought, ‘I don’t fancy management but if I’m going to have a go, this is the club.’” The interview with Amy Lawrence covers much of his managerial philosophy – built on Shanklyism – as well as the aspirations for the Toon – “11 Geordies playing for Newcastle and 11 Geordies playing for the reserves.” How times have changed.
You can read the full Kevin Keegan story here.
