evin Keegan: “On the final day of the
1995-96 campaign the Premier League
trophy was at St James’ Park, though we
never got to see it. The league brought a
replica just in case we beat Spurs in our
last game, and Manchester United lost at
Middlesbrough. But we could only draw,
while United won at the Riverside Stadium
and were handed the real trophy on the
pitch. We never got to have a look at the
replica; it was hidden away deep in the
bowels of St James’ Park, then whisked off
without us ever catching a glimpse. For
large parts of the season we had one hand
on the trophy - we were 12 points clear of
United at the top of the table and
playing incredible football – but we
couldn’t get both on it. When I
look back at that season now,
there is some pride, but I have
nightmares about how we threw
the title away.
In 1992, Newcastle had been in a very different position: bottom of the
old Second Division, having won only six of their 30 previous matches
under Ossie Ardlies, and with the worst defence in the entire league.
There were even fears they could fold.
At the time, I’d only just returned to England after spending seven
years in Spain following my retirement from playing in 1984. I almost
completely forgot about football while living in Marbella. For all that
time, I barely watched a game on television, and only went to see two
matches live. To be honest, I felt I could live without it.
Instead, I played so much golf that my two daughters thought I was
a pro and didn’t realise I had anything to do with football. But I soon
discovered it’s possible to have too much sun and golf, and we came
back to England for our girls’ education.
There was no grand plan beyond that, no intention to get back into
football, until one day in early 1992 when I received a phone call from
Newcastle chairman Sir John Hall out of the blue.
He asked me to become Newcastle manager. ‘The two people who
can save Newcastle are talking right now – you’ve got the passion and
I’ve got the money,’ he said. I hung up the phone and told my wife,
Jean. ‘I know you’ll take it,’ she said. She was right.
Maybe if it had been another club I would have turned them down,
but this was Newcastle. My father was a Geordie, who always talked
about Hughie Gallacher and Jackie Milburn. I’d played for them as my
last club, and knew what they demanded there.88 The Managers FourFourTwo.com