On This Day – 8th January
Kevin Keegan sensationally resigned from his job as Newcastle United manager on this day back in 1997.
Newcastle had a fantastic season in the previous campaign and almost won the Premier League. Unfortunately, their form took a dip at the end of the season and they narrowly missed out to Manchester United.
In the October, Newcastle trounced Manchester United 5-0 and had just beaten Tottenham Hotspur 7-1 but Keegan decided that it was time to go. He told the press that he felt that he had taken the club as far as he could but his decision sent shockwaves through the football world.
Keegan had taken over at St James’s Park in 1992 with the club dangerously close to dropping into the third tier. He managed to save the club from relegation and the following season the club won the First Division championship.
He guided the club to a third place finish in their first season in the Premier League before finishing sixth in the 1994/95.
David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, David Batty and Warren Barton were brought in for the 1995/96 and the Toon Army were 12 points clear in mid-February. Then the club’s form took a massive nosedive and Kevin Keegan had his famous meltdown on Sky Sports where he uttered his immortal “I’d love it if they beaten them” line in a post-match interview.
The city of Newcastle went into shock when the news came from St James’s Park that Keegan had walked. Kenny Dalglish came in to replace Keegan as manager, just as he had as a player at Liverpool and the club finished as runners up.
About Author
