Now brace yourself for the mother of all explosions.
Few people will be surprised that the highly combustible Kevin Keegan finds himself on a collision course with his Newcastle bosses.
The only shock is it has taken him 113 days to reach breaking point.
From the moment Keegan returned to St James’ Park on January 16, the cynics claimed it was only a matter of time before he fell out with his employers.
Sadly, it looks as though that gloomy prophesy is about to be fulfilled as the hopes of a dreamer give way to the harsh realities of modern football.
Keegan has been summoned to a meeting with owner Mike Ashley tomorrow to thrash out which direction Newcastle are heading. In the past 12 months, Ashley has forked out £134million to buy the club and another £100m to pay off their debts.
He does not want to spend another £50m or more on the superstar signings Keegan believes are imperative to turn Newcastle into title contenders.
When Keegan complained after Monday’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea that it is impossible for the Geordies to break into the Premier League’s top four, he was waiting for his employers to prove him wrong.
The last thing he wanted to hear was chairman Chris Mort agreeing with him.
But that is exactly what happened. In yesterday’s SunSport, Mort declared Newcastle will not plunge back into debt just to chase the dream of Champions League qualification.
Mort cited the case of Leeds United, who went for broke and ended up bust. No one on Tyneside will be taking those risks. And in Keegan’s eyes, that is almost a declaration of mediocrity. Newcastle, it would seem, have settled for a place among the also-rans.
It is all eerily reminiscent of Keegan’s first spell as Toon boss.
Then, within weeks of his appointment in February 1992, he walked out after transfer funds promised him by Sir John Hall failed to materialise.
The job was not as it had been advertised in the brochure, Keegan famously declared at the time. On that occasion, he called Newcastle’s bluff, Hall opened the purse strings and Keegan withdrew his threat to resign.
Those tactics, though, will not work with Ashley. Tears and tantrums will fall on deaf ears tomorrow.
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Do not forget Ashley turned to Keegan only after Harry Redknapp turned down taking over from Sam Allardyce.
Keegan, 57, is not as irreplaceable as he once was. Especially with a ready-made successor already on board.
For while Ashley might like to paint himself as a black-and-white striped man of the people, in reality he is a hard-headed businessman. That is why he appointed Dennis Wise as Newcastle’s director of football within 12 days of Keegan’s return.
After nine games without a win under Keegan’s management, rumours started seeping out of the North East that Ashley was already beginning to regret the appointment.
With the club sliding closer to the Premier League’s relegation zone, itchy fingers were hovering over the panic button.
A seven-match unbeaten run averted the crisis just in time and returned the ship to calmer waters.
Yet just when the club’s supporters were daring to dream of brighter days ahead, along came Chelsea to bring them crashing back to earth.
CRUNCH TIME ... Kevin Keegan
It was not just the result of Monday’s game but the huge gulf between the two clubs which opened Keegan’s eyes to the size of the task ahead.
Immediately after the match, he declared it would take a spending spree of Roman Abramovich proportions to restore Newcastle to where he had left them back in 1997.
Ashley may be very rich but he is no Abramovich. That is why he has Wise to shop around for him. It is the ex-Leeds chief’s task to locate potential new signings, aided by technical director Jeff Vittere and vice-president (player recruitment) Tony Jimenez.
Keegan has consistently claimed he has the final say on all comings and goings.
Yet while he has urged the club to renegotiate the deals of Michael Owen, Steven Taylor and Steve Harper, Wise is pressing on with his search for alternatives — in South America.
If Keegan feels he is being undermined, there is no question he will stand his ground in his meeting with Ashley. But having won just four of his 16 games in charge, he is in no position to be making demands.
Like it or not, Keegan is no longer indispensable. Mike Ashley is calling the Newcastle tune now. And what he says, goes.
