Kevin Keegan
This rant came as Newcastle's previous 12 point lead at the top of the Premiership had been eroded. By then their destiny was out of their own hands, Manchester United duly collecting the Title once again.
Fulham
On leaving Newcastle, Keegan was appointed as chief operating officer at
Second Division club
Fulham, with
Ray Wilkins as manager. When Wilkins was sacked as manager in
1998, Keegan took over his coaching role. He won the Second Division in
1999 in a record-breaking season, but left to manage England in an unpopular move amongst Fulham fans. Significantly, however, he signed
Chris Coleman, who went on to be their manager.
English International team
Keegan was named new England coach in February
1999 succeeding
Glenn Hoddle. He led the team for a winning start with 3-1 win over
Poland to reignite England's
Euro 2000 qualifying campaign.
After an initial popular period as manager, he began to come under fire for his perceived tactical naivety. This came to a head during the unsuccessful Euro 2000 campaign.
Keegan resigned as England coach on
October 7,
2000, after England were eliminated from Euro 2000 at the group stage and lost to
Germany in their first World Cup qualifier in the last game to be played at
Wembley Stadium before its demolition and reconstruction.
Manchester City
He was appointed manager of first division
Manchester City on
May 24,
2001. He took them back to the Premiership in his first season as Division One champions, and they made an impressive comeback in the 2002-03 Premiership by finishing in ninth place. But in 2003-04, the club's first season at the new City of Manchester Stadium, City struggled and were in danger of relegation until the beginning of May. They finished 16th and Keegan was rumoured to be on the verge of being sacked for most of that frustrating campaign after being criticised for bringing in a clutch of expensive older players that were perceived as being past their prime, including Keegan's personal favourite player,
Steve McManaman. When the 2004-05 campaign began, he was many people's number one candidate to be the first managerial casualty of the season. City's Premiership form improved that season, but Keegan quit as manager of
10 March 2005 and decided to retire from football. The club went on to finish eighth under his successor
Stuart Pearce.
Keegan was made an Inaugural Inductee of the
English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as both a player and manager.
Honours as player
Liverpool
Winner* 1972/73
League Championship (Level 1)
* 1972/73
UEFA Cup* 1973/74
FA Cup* 1974/75
Charity Shield* 1975/76
League Championship (Level 1)
* 1975/76
UEFA Cup* 1976/77
Charity Shield* 1976/77
League Championship (Level 1)
* 1976/77
European CupRunner Up* 1973/74
League Championship (Level 1)
* 1974/75
League Championship (Level 1)
* 1976/77
FA Cup Hamburger SV
Winner* 1978/79
German BundesligaRunner Up* 1979/80
German Bundesliga* 1979/80
European Cup Newcastle United
Winner* 1983/84
Football League Second Division (Level 2) Promotion
Honours as manager
Newcastle United
Winner* 1992/93
Football League First Division (Level 2)
Runner Up* 1995/96
FA Premier League (Level 1)
* 1996/97
Charity Shield* 1996/97
FA Premier League (Level 1)
Fulham
Winner* 1998/99
Football League Second Division (Level 3)
Manchester City
Winner* 2001/02
Football League First Division (Level 2)
Despite announcing his retirement from football on quitting Manchester City in 2004-05, the 54-year-old Keegan was linked with the manager of Scottish Premier League leaders Hearts in October 2005 following the sudden resignation of manager George Burley. Keegan's name resurfaced on
1 January 2006, when he was linked with a shock return to management with English Premier League strugglers Sunderland. In May 2006, Keegan was set to join Israeli club
Beitar Jerusalem for a reported £1.5 million a year, but he pulled out following the news being leaked to the press.[
1]
*Keegan infamously advertised Brut
aftershave alongside
boxing legend
Henry Cooper in the late 1970s. During his career he has also advertised Dentyne
chewing gum and Sugar Puffs
cereal.
*One of the first real celebrities of the game, Keegan has famously never refused an
autograph request from a
fan.
*Sang
Head over heels in love, a song written by
Chris Norman and
Pete Spencer released on
9 June 1979. A non-football song, it peaked as high as 31st in the charts.
1 *Keegan is married to Jean and has two daughters. Both girls were born in Hamburg.
*He was awarded the OBE in 1982.
*He speaks fluent
German and
Spanish.
*Keegan was famous for having a
mullet haircut.
*Keegan is remembered for crashing his bicycle in a European
Superstars race. Despite scraping himself up badly, he insisted on re-racing and secured second place in the event, before going on to win that edition of the programme.
*After his transfer from Southampton to Newcastle in 1983, a helicopter that was transferred from
HMS Newcastle to
HMS Southampton was named Kev in his honour.
*Keegan was also known as "Mighty Mouse" when playing in Germany.
*On his playing days: "The only thing I fear is missing an open goal in front of the
Kop. I would die if that were to happen. When they start singing '
You'll Never Walk Alone' my eyes start to water. There have been times when I've actually been crying while I've been playing." (
Source)
*"In some ways, cramp is worse than having a broken leg."
*Referring to
Emile Heskey: "He's using his strength and that is his strength, his strength." (
Source)
*"I came to Nantes two years ago and it's much the same today, except that it's completely different." (
Source)
*Referring to
Liverpool Players: "They compare
Steve McManaman to
Steve Heighway and he's nothing like him, but I can see why - it's because he's a bit different." (
Source)
**See more at
Keegan's World.
**
Even more Keegan quotes**
The Kevin Keegan Quote Machine
*
English Football Hall of Fame Profile*
Kevin Keegan managerial statistics at soccerbase.com
