Kevin Keegan

At Hamburg he was crowned Footballer of the Year in both 1978 and 1979, won the Bundesliga title in 1978-79, and reached the European Cup final the following year. Keegan moved to Southampton that summer, and spent two seasons at the club before a transfer to second-tier Newcastle United in 1982. He helped Newcastle to promotion in his debut season, and retired from football in 1984, having been capped 63 times for England, scoring 21 goals.

He moved into management at Newcastle United in 1992, again returning the club to the top-flight, as champions. After promotion, Keegan's Newcastle finished in second in the First Division in 1995-96, before leaving the club in 1997. After a spell at Fulham he took charge of the England team in 1999 but resigned in the autumn of 2000, following a loss against Germany in World Cup qualification (this was also the last game at the old Wembley Stadium). He then became manager of Manchester City in 2001 and spent four years at the club before resigning in 2005. He had been out of football for almost three years when he returned to Newcastle United for a second spell as manager in January 2008.

Early years

Born in Armthorpe near Doncaster to English parents of Irish ancestry, as a schoolboy Keegan had a trial for league side Coventry City, under manager Jimmy Hill. Despite being one of two players kept on for an extra six-week period, the club did not offer Keegan a contract. At the age of 16, Keegan was spotted playing at amateur level for his employers at the time, and signed by Division 4's Scunthorpe United - one of just two professional sides in the division.^[2]^[1]

Playing career

Scunthorpe United (1966-1971)

Making his debut against Peterborough United at the age of 17, he made 29 league starts in his first season. Keegan became a regular in the first team by the 1969-70 season, playing all 48 league games for the club. Although in a side who consistently finished in the bottom four of the division, this season also saw the team reach the fifth-round of the FA Cup, beating Football League First Division side Sheffield Wednesday along the way. Keegan played regularly in a creative right midfield role for the Scunthorpe United first team despite his age - he scored 18 goals in 124 games for the club before a £35,000 transfer fee took him north to Bill Shankly's Liverpool in 1971, at the age of 20.^[2]^[3]

Liverpool (1971-1977)

On 14 August 1971 Keegan made his Liverpool debut against Nottingham Forest at Anfield, scoring after 12 minutes.^[4] Keegan was also being tracked by England, making his debut at under-23 level later in 1971. His full debut came in a World Cup qualifier against Wales at Ninian Park the following year. The game finished in a 1–0 victory for the English. Keegan's first goal for his country also came in a game against Wales at Ninian Park. This time it was a British Home Championship match that England won 2–0 on 11 May 1974.^[5]^[6]

In 1973, Keegan won his first domestic honours, partnering new signing John Toshack up front which helped Liverpool win their first League championship in seven years as well as the UEFA Cup.^[7] Keegan scored twice in the first leg of the final as Liverpool overcame Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–2 on aggregate. ^[8]

The following year Keegan was again a frequent scorer but Liverpool lost the League title to a Leeds United team who had gone unbeaten for a then-record 29 games at the start of the season. However, Liverpool progressed to the FA Cup final. Their campaign in the competition had started with a tie against the club which had rejected Keegan, Doncaster Rovers, and it was Keegan who scored both Liverpool goals in a 2–2 draw. Liverpool won the replay. Keegan scored twice more on the way to Wembley, including a lob-volley over the head of England colleague Peter Shilton in the semi-final against Leicester City at Villa Park. In the final, Keegan scored two as Liverpool beat Newcastle United 3–0 - his first a chest-down and volley from 25 yards after Brian Hall had fooled the Newcastle defence by diving under the ball; his second a far-post stretch and tap-in after work down the flank between Tommy Smith and Steve Heighway. It was the first brace in an FA Cup final since Mike Trebilcock scored twice for Everton in 1966.

Keegan's next visit to Wembley was three months later in the Charity Shield game, the traditional curtain-raiser to a new season between the League champions and the FA Cup winners. However, Keegan was sent off, along with Leeds captain Billy Bremner, after a scuffle on the pitch. Both players removed their shirts in protest, with Keegan visibly shaken by the decision. The fight was shown that night on BBC television and both were fined £500, with Keegan being suspended for three games and Bremner eight.

The next year saw Keegan scoring goals and representing his club and country, but 1975 was a trophyless season for Liverpool and England failed to qualify for the 1976 European Championships. There were numerous honours for Keegan over the next two years, however, as Liverpool again won the League championship and UEFA Cup. Keegan scored in both legs of the final against FC Bruges, although he had only scored once previously during Liverpool's run in the competition.

In 1977, Keegan was instrumental in Liverpool's progress towards an unprecedented "treble" of League championship, FA Cup and European Cup, though midway through the season he announced his intention to leave in the summer to play abroad. Nevertheless, Keegan was irrepressible as Liverpool clinched the title and reached the finals of both Cup competitions. Keegan's last appearance in a Liverpool shirt on home soil, however, saw Liverpool losing the FA Cup final to bitter rivals Manchester United, ending the possibility of the "treble". The European Cup final in Rome against Borussia Mönchengladbach was four days later. Keegan didn't score, but he did make a late run which led to a foul inside the penalty area by Berti Vogts. This led to a penalty which was successfully converted by Phil Neal, sealing a 3–1 win.

After 323 appearances and exactly 100 goals, Keegan left Liverpool as promised. He had been made many offers from clubs on the continent but chose to join Hamburg SV in Germany for £500,000. Liverpool replaced him with Kenny Dalglish.

Keegan later said, "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."^[9]

Hamburg (1977-1980)

Keegan's transfer to Hamburg was agreed between the FA Cup final and the European Cup final of 1977, although a transfer fee was agreed the season before.^[11] On his arrival in Germany, Keegan was the highest payed player in the country, and was built up by the press and club as the "saviour" of Hamburg. He scored in pre-season friendlies against Barcelona FC and former club Liverpool, but the club suffered defeat in the European Super Cup against the Merseysiders, and was sent off in a mid-season friendly against FC Lübeck after knocking out an opposition player with a punch.^[12] An unhappy first few months at the club gave way to a more successful season. Although the club finished tenth in the league in 1977-78, Keegan's 12 goals helped him pick up a personal honour, the France Football European Footballer of the Year award for 1978.^[13]^[12]

The 1978-79 season saw a vast improvement on the club's 1978 finish. New manager Branko Zebec imposed a tough training regime, and Keegan's increasing grasp of the German Language, coupled with the newly imposed discipline meant that Hamburg finished as league champions for the first time in nineteen years.^[12] The club's success also translated into individual recognition for Keegan, who picked up the European Footballer of the Year award for a second consecutive year,^[13] as well as the nickname Mighty Mouse from the fans, after the cartoon superhero.^[14]

Hamburg's European campaign of 1979-80 saw Keegan score two goals to help Hamburg past FC Dinamo Tbilisi, Soviet champions who had beaten Liverpool to reach the latter stages. The club lost to Nottingham Forest in the final in Madrid, however, and this was coupled domestically with being beaten to the Bundesliga title by Bayern Munich. Having negotiated a maximum transfer fee of £500,000 in his contract the year before and agreeing a move in February, Keegan left Hamburg for Southampton in the summer of 1980.^[15]

Southampton (1980-1982)

On 10 February 1980, Lawrie McMenemy called a press conference at the Potters Heron hotel, Ampfield to announce that the European Footballer of the Year would be joining Southampton F.C. in the forthcoming summer. The news caused surprise throughout the world of football and around the city of Southampton, as Southampton were a relatively small club. The club were beginning to become established in the top division, but this signing showed how persuasive their manager could be, especially when Keegan captained England in the 1980 European Championships in Italy.

In the following season, Keegan was able to produce some of his best form and at the end of January 1982 Southampton sat at the top of the Division 1 table, but a run of only three wins from the end of February meant a rather disappointing 7th place finish.^[16] Despite this, Keegan was voted the PFA Player of the Year, and awarded the OBE for services to Association Football. Keegan had scored 26 of the team's 72 goals and was voted the club's Player of the Year.

He finally reached a World Cup when England got to the 1982 finals in Spain. He was duly named in the squad for the tournament but was suffering from a chronic back injury and was unfit to play in all of England's group games. In a last, desperate effort to play in a World Cup (he knew that he would not be around for the 1986 competition) he secretly hired a car and drove from Spain to a specialist he knew in Germany for intensive treatment. It worked to the extent that he came on as a substitute for a crucial second round pool game against the host nation which England had to win. Unfortunately, his few minutes of World Cup football saw him miss a point blank header which he directed wide.

When Bobby Robson became the new England coach after that World Cup, Keegan was left out of his first squad, a decision he learned of from the media rather than Robson himself. Keegan expressed his public displeasure and never played for his country again. He won a total of 63 caps in a period in which England had failed to qualify for three major tournaments and scored 21 goals. He captained his country 31 times.

Keegan had fallen out with McMenemy over the manager's failure to strengthen Southampton's defence (which conceded 67 goals in 1981–82) whilst the team was at the top of the table.^[17] There were also rumours that McMenemy had charged the whole team of cheating after a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa in April 1982 to which Keegan took great exception. Although Keegan joined Saints' next pre-season tour, he had already decided to move on to seek a new challenge, and a few days before the start of the 1982–83 season he signed for Second Division Newcastle United for a fee of £100,000.

Newcastle United (1982-1984)

Keegan joined Newcastle United and spent two seasons there, during which time he was extremely popular with the supporters. He played 78 times, scored 48 goals and helped them to promotion from the Second Division in 1984, within a team which also contained Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and Terry McDermott. His contribution to Newcastle's promotion, which ended their six-year absence from the First Division, earned him iconic status on Tyneside.

Keegan announced his retirement prior to the end of the 1983-1984 season. His last league game came against Brighton and Hove Albion, scoring in a 3-1 victory. Keegan's final appearance for Newcastle came in a friendly against Liverpool some days later, leaving the pitch in a helicopter whilst still dressed in his kit. He moved with his family to Spain, stating that he would never enter football management, although he did carry out occasional work as a football pundit for British television.

International career

Keegan made his England debut on 15 November 1972 in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Wales. Keegan only appeared in the two matches against Wales during this campaign as England failed to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup.^[5]

He scored his first international goal in his third appearance, also against Wales, on May 11, 1974. He scored 21 goals in total for his country in 63 games. He was given the captaincy by manager Don Revie in 1976 after Gerry Francis fell from favour. He retained the captain's armband until his international retirement after the 1982 World Cup.

He only managed one World Cup appearance though, after England failed to qualify for both the 1974 and 1978 tournaments. His World Cup experience was limited to just 26 minutes after injury wrecked his chance in England's 1982 campaign. He recovered sufficiently to appear in their final game against hosts Spain, during which he famously missed a headed chance to break the deadlock.

Managerial career

Newcastle United

On 5 February 1992, almost eight years after his final game as a player, Keegan returned to football as manager of Newcastle United. They had been relegated from the top flight in 1989 and narrowly missed out on promotion in 1990, but in 1991 they had failed to make the playoffs and at several stages in 1991-92 they had occupied bottom place in the Second Division. Following the dismissal of previous manager Ossie Ardiles, Keegan was appointed to simply keep Newcastle clear of relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time.

Survival was achieved and Newcastle would be playing in the new Division One for the 1992-93 season. Most observers tipped Newcastle to finish higher than the 20th position they had occupied the previous season, but an 11-match winning start to the season saw them establish themselves as most people's favourites for the Division One title by October. They led the league virtually all season, and the club record signing of Bristol City striker Andy Cole in February further strengthened their side; Cole netted 12 goals in the club's final 12 games. The addition of Charlton Athletic's Robert Lee bolstered the midfield.

Top scorer David Kelly and influential midfielder Gavin Peacock were both sold during the close season, and Keegan brought striker Peter Beardsley back to Newcastle from Everton, six years after he had been sold by Newcastle to Liverpool.

1993-94 was an enormous success for Newcastle as they finished third in the Premier League and qualified for the UEFA Cup, bringing European football to the club for the first time since the 1970s. Andy Cole was the Premier League's top scorer with 34 goals from 40 games, and managed a club record total of 41 goals in all competitions.

Newcastle won their first six games of the 1994-95 season to top the league and they appeared capable of winning their first league title since 1927. But the shock departure of Andy Cole to Manchester United in January weakened their attack, and the 12 point lead on the league that they had established was eventually lost, and finished the season sixth place in the final table; not enough for even another UEFA Cup campaign.

Newcastle performed well in the first half of the 1995-96, going 10 points ahead on 23 December 1995 and regaining a similar lead in January. But a 1-0 defeat at the hands of fellow title challengers Manchester United cut the gap to one point on 4 March, and within two weeks Newcastle's lead was overhauled and they were unable to recover it, with a 1-1 draw for Newcastle against Tottenham on the final day of the season handing the title to Manchester United, whose 3-0 triumph at Middlesbrough would have won them the title regardless of Newcastle's result against Tottenham.

It was during the race for the 1995-96 title that Keegan famously directed remarks at the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson during an interview on live television. His outburst—"I'd love it if we beat them! Love it!"—has gone down in football legend as Ferguson's greatest personal victory over another manager. It appears at 17th place in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.

Keegan then broke the world transfer fee record by signing Blackburn and England striker Alan Shearer. Shearer made an instant impact on his native Tyneside, despite being on the losing side on his debut, a 4-0 FA Charity Shield defeat at the hands of Manchester United, and scored two months later in a 5-0 victory against United in the Premier League. Newcastle briefly topped the league at several stages in the first half of the season, but on 7 January 1997 Keegan surprised the footballing world by announcing his resignation as manager. A club statement following his resignation stated that several attempts were made to persuade Kevin to change his mind, but the club eventually reluctantly accepted his resignation. Kevin left the club with a short statement claiming the decision was his and his alone. On the Newcastle United DVD 'Magpie Magic,' [1], it is said that chairman Sir John Hall asked for a long term commitment as manager from him which he was unwilling to give, whilst it also states that many still rumour that the pressure and criticism of selling Andy Cole and dropping the 12 point lead in the 1994-1995 season had taken it's toll on him.

He was succeeded by Kenny Dalglish, the same man who had replaced him as a player at Liverpool 20 years earlier, but Newcastle were unable to win the title and in the subsequent four seasons finished outside the top 10 in the Premier League, although they were FA Cup runners-up twice.

Fulham

Keegan returned to football on 25 September 1997 as "Chief Operating Officer" (a similar role to a Director of Football) at Division Two club Fulham, with Ray Wilkins as head coach. Fulham finished sixth in the final table, but Wilkins was sacked just before the first leg of the playoff semi-final and Keegan took over as manager.

Keegan was unable to inspire Fulham to overcome Grimsby Town in the playoffs, but good form in 1998-99 - helped by the acquisition of many players who would normally have been beyond the budgets of most Division Two clubs - clinched them the Division Two title and promotion to Division One, but Keegan quit at the end of the season to concentrate on his duties as England manager, having succeeded Glenn Hoddle in February 1999.

England

Keegan was named as the new England coach in February 1999, succeeding Glenn Hoddle. He led the team to a winning start with 3-1 victory 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, as England beat Germany, but lost 3–2 to both Romania and Portugal, despite having the lead in both games. The defeat against Romania ended their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-final.

Keegan resigned as England coach on October 7, 2000, after England lost to a Dietmar Hamann goal for Germany in their first 2002 World Cup qualifier in the last game to be played at Wembley Stadium before the old stadium was rebuilt. Keegan won only 38.9% of his games in charge, making him statistically the least successful permanent England manager (although unlike Don Revie (1974-1977) or Steve McClaren (2006-2007), Keegan achieved qualification to a major tournament for England).

When Sven-Göran Eriksson became England manager, Eriksson appointed the 64-year old Tord Grip as his assistant. This caused Keegan to complain that when he was England manager, the FA had told him that he could not have Arthur Cox as his assistant because at 60, Cox was too old. Keegan went on, "I wasn't allowed to bring in the people I wanted and that was wrong. Mr Eriksson was and I'm delighted for him because that's the way it should be."^[18]

Manchester City

Keegan signed experienced international players such as Stuart Pearce, Eyal Berkovic and Ali Benarbia. In the club's most successful season for years, City were promoted as champions after scoring 124 goals in all competitions, including 58 from Shaun Goater and Darren Huckerby.

In preparation for his second season as manager (2002–03) he signed Nicolas Anelka, Peter Schmeichel and Marc-Vivien Foé. The season saw Manchester City win at Anfield and take four points from Manchester United, but concede five goals at Stamford Bridge and at home to Arsenal, before finishing ninth in the Premier league. Keegan also guided City into the UEFA Cup, qualifying via the UEFA Fair Play ranking. Anelka remained at the club after the season finished, but Schmeichel retired from playing and Foé died on 26 June after collapsing in an international fixture for Cameroon.

Keegan's City team did well in the UEFA Cup tie against Belgian bronze club Lokeren, winning over two legs. However, a disappointing draw at home to Polish minnows Groclin led to their elimination from the UEFA Cup and a slump in form. City did not win again in the league until 21 February, and finished 16th in the league, although there was a reminder of Keegan's better times away to Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup on 4 February 2004; despite going in at half time 3–0 behind and with ten men after Joey Barton was sent off, Keegan's team came back to win 4–3.

2004-05 brought better form for Manchester City, but Keegan agreed to leave as manager on the 10 March 2005 after telling the chairman his desire to retire from football at the end of the season. The club went on to finish eighth under his successor Stuart Pearce, and only missed out on a UEFA Cup place when Robbie Fowler missed a penalty in stoppage time of a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on the last day of the season.

The return to Newcastle

After declaring his retirement from football in 2005, Keegan remained out of the media spotlight, working at the 'Soccer Circus' football school in Glasgow.^[19] In October 2007, he indicated he was unlikely to manage again.^[20] However, on 16 January 2008 Keegan made a largely unexpected return to Newcastle United as replacement for the sacked Sam Allardyce.^[21] His first task was to choose a club captain. He decided to give the captaincy to Michael Owen, stating ""He's not scared to give his opinion when he's right, and he's not scared to say what he feels. He's a tremendous professional, and he trains properly every day."^[22]

Keegan had a disappointing first 8 games back at Newcastle, not winning a single match. However on 22 March 2008, Keegan achieved the first victory of his second managerial spell, a 2–0 win against his former club, Fulham.^[23] This was his first win as Newcastle manager since beating Leeds United on 1 January 1997, This game was followed by a 4-1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur and a 3-0 win against Reading F.C.. On 20 April 2008, Keegan maintained his perfect record over local rivals Sunderland with a 2–0 home Tyne-Wear derby win.^[24] which secured mathematical safety from relegation, allowing Keegan to plan for his stated contract length of the next three full seasons at the club. With a 2-2 away draw for the following game at West Ham, the 8 game run of no wins had been turned into a 7 game unbeaten run. This came to an end with a home defeat to Chelsea F.C, who needed a win at St James' Park to ensure they still had a chance to beat Manchester United to the title with their final game.

After the Chelsea game Keegan said that he "never spoke" to owner Mike Ashley, increasing speculation that the two did not get along. An urgent meeting was called and despite the press speculation both men remain on good terms. It has been argued that the pre-planned exit of chairman Chris Mort, along with Keegan's comments have strengthend the owner's resolve to play a larger part in the club.

During the pre-season of the 2008-2009 season, Keegan signed Argentina international Jonas Gutierrez,^[25] nicknamed "The Spiderman," as well as fellow Argentina international defender Fabricio Collocini from Deportivo La Coruna.^[26] Keegan also signed midfielder Danny Guthrie from Liverpool FC and Sebastian Bassong from French club Metz,^[27] after he impressed during a trial at the club.

Outside of football

In 1976, Keegan competed in the BBC's television programme Superstars. Despite suffering severe cuts after crashing his bicycle, he insisted on re-racing and secured second place in the event, before going on to win that edition of the programme.^[28] He also advertised Brut aftershave alongside boxing legend Henry Cooper.

His song Head Over Heels in Love, written by Chris Norman and Pete Spencer, was released on 9 June 1979, and peaked at number 31 in the UK charts, but climbed to number 10 in Germany (not only was Keegan based there at the time, but Norman's band Smokie were far more popular there than in their native Britain).^[29] He released a second single, England, on his return to England from Germany, but it failed to chart.

In April 1991 he was attacked while sleeping in his Range Rover by the M25 at Reigate Hill in Surrey. His assailants later admitted in court that they needed money for a drugs debt and had no idea they were attacking Kevin Keegan. ^[30]

List of honours

Keegan was made an Inaugural Inductee of the in recognition of his impact on the English game as both a player and manager.

Statistics

Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Kevin Keegan factfile". bbc.co.uk (2000-10-07). Retrieved on 2006-07-14.
^ ^a ^b Keegan, Kevin (1998). My Autobiography. London: Warner Books, pp53-82. ISBN 978-0-7515-2377-5.
^ "Kevin Keegan Biography". soccer-fans-info.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
^ Keegan, Kevin (1998). My Autobiography. London: Warner Books, pp83-118. ISBN 978-0-7515-2377-5.
^ ^a ^b "Kevin Keegan". englandstats.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
^ "Wales 0 - England 2". englandstats.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
^ "Past Winners of the Football League". Football League. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
^ "Reds reach European goal". uefa.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
^ Liverpool FC, Quotes. Accessed 10 January 2007
^ Liverpool FC, No.8: Kevin Keegan
^ Keegan, Kevin (1998). My Autobiography. London: Warner Books, pp119-146. ISBN 978-0-7515-2377-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c Keegan, Kevin (1998). My Autobiography. London: Warner Books, pp147-172. ISBN 978-0-7515-2377-5.
^ ^a ^b "Ballon d'or" (in French). France Football. Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
^ "Hamburg’s debt to the Mighty Mouse from England". Mediaservice international. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
^ Keegan, Kevin (1998). My Autobiography. London: Warner Books, pp173-191. ISBN 978-0-7515-2377-5.
^ Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk. In That Number - A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC, p.167.
^ Jeremy Wilson (2006). Southampton’s Cult Heroes. Know The Score Books, pp. 150-151. ISBN 1-905449-01-1.
^ BBC Sport, Keegan's swipe at FA, accessed 25 April 2007
^ "Big Top won't be the same as ringmaster goes to Toon". Donegan, Lawrence; The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
^ "I will not manage again - Keegan", BBC (2007-10-15). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
^ "Keegan in shock Newcastle return", BBC (2008-01-16). Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
^ "Keegan: Owen stays as captain". Sunderland Echo (2008-07-23). Retrieved on 2008-08-19.
^ "Newcastle 2-0 Fulham", BBC (2008-03-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
^ "Newcastle 2-0 Sunderland", BBC (2008-04-20). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
^ "Jonas Gutierrez joins Newcastle". Daily Telegraph (2008-07-02). Retrieved on 2008-08-19.
^ "Keegan Captures Coloccini". Sky Sports (2008-08-15).
^ "Magpies confirm Bassong deal". Sky Sports (2008-07-30).
^ BBC Sport, Superstars: a brief history, viewed 1 July 2007
^ Head over Heels in Love
^ "King Kev's circus act". football.guardian.co.uk (2007-05-07). Retrieved on 2008-02-13.

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