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Kevin Keegan

pinkeye

by pinkeye
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  • 2 weeks later...
Greg

Greg

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Has been awfully quiet since all this.

 

66/1  :azn:

 

 

“Having worked with these people – I’m talking about Ashley and Llambias – then I can tell you that you can’t work with them because you can’t trust them. They tell you one thing and mean another.”

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  • 1 month later...
Jack Flash

Jack Flash

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If the defence has been sound, however, the clamour has been directed towards Ginola who has arrived in England with the elegant impact of his French compatriot, Eric Cantona. His silky and destructive skill, more than anything, is making Tyneside believe this may be the year.

 

"He'll get fitter and stronger and he'll adapt," said Keegan, whose enthusiasm for his Gallic playmaker approaches that of the Toon Army. "You sit back with him and light the blue touch paper. He's like a firework, you don't know what's in there, what's going to happen."

 

David, Daveed, as Keegan correctly pronounces it, has the free role in the team. "I've told him to enjoy himself, 'we'll fit in with you'. He's changed everything, his country, language, training styles and if I started saying 'David, you don't do this, you don't do that' I'd be taking away from him. I didn't buy him to change him."

 

Others have had to adapt though. Robert Lee, for one, is having to play in a more restricted manner, his role reined in as a sacrifice for Ginola's liberty. The result, Keegan estimates, is the best form from the England midfield player for nearly a year. He holds the fort in front of the back four and Ginola storms at the opposition down the left.

 

"I've told John Beresford," Keegan added, "that he can give the ball to David and don't worry if there's anyone tight on him. There's a lot of players you wouldn't want to do that with, but David's got so much ability to go past people, good players too. And not just get past them, leave them for dead. A touch and he's gone."

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/keegans-burning-ambition-1600249.html

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r0cafella

r0cafella

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If the defence has been sound, however, the clamour has been directed towards Ginola who has arrived in England with the elegant impact of his French compatriot, Eric Cantona. His silky and destructive skill, more than anything, is making Tyneside believe this may be the year.

 

"He'll get fitter and stronger and he'll adapt," said Keegan, whose enthusiasm for his Gallic playmaker approaches that of the Toon Army. "You sit back with him and light the blue touch paper. He's like a firework, you don't know what's in there, what's going to happen."

 

David, Daveed, as Keegan correctly pronounces it, has the free role in the team. "I've told him to enjoy himself, 'we'll fit in with you'. He's changed everything, his country, language, training styles and if I started saying 'David, you don't do this, you don't do that' I'd be taking away from him. I didn't buy him to change him."

 

Others have had to adapt though. Robert Lee, for one, is having to play in a more restricted manner, his role reined in as a sacrifice for Ginola's liberty. The result, Keegan estimates, is the best form from the England midfield player for nearly a year. He holds the fort in front of the back four and Ginola storms at the opposition down the left.

 

"I've told John Beresford," Keegan added, "that he can give the ball to David and don't worry if there's anyone tight on him. There's a lot of players you wouldn't want to do that with, but David's got so much ability to go past people, good players too. And not just get past them, leave them for dead. A touch and he's gone."

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/keegans-burning-ambition-1600249.html

When we could dream :(

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Jack Flash

Jack Flash

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DO you know how many men have occupied the manager's chair at Maine Road since Les McDowall defected to Oldham Athletic back in the 1963?

 

Including caretaker bosses like Asa Hartford, I make it 24 in 40 years. Manchester City should hand out a health warning when they appoint a new manager which reads: "Danger. Your Lifespan here will be the equivalent to that of a goldfish"

 

I waded through the record books yesterday to dredge up that statistic because it suddenly dawned on me that, of those 24 managers who have drifted in and out of Maine Road over the past four decades, I have known - to some extent or other - 22 of them. God, am I starting to feel old.

 

Those 22 managers have come in all shapes and sizes with widely contrasting personalities.

 

Burning ambition

 

Some, like dear old Joe Mercer, you could listen to until the cows came home. Some, like Mel Machin, used words like each one cost him money. Others, like the wonderfully eccentric John Bond, could talk the hind legs off a donkey.

 

But of all the managers at Maine Road, I've never known one quite like the present incumbent Kevin Keegan and it's only now after studying him and listening to him for the past two years, that I'm getting some idea about what makes him tick.

 

And what sets Keegan apart from all those other managers is that no other was ever driven by ambition to the same extent.

 

Keegan, I am now convinced, is obsessed to prove himself as one of the great managers of his era by winning the Premiership title for Manchester City before he walks away from the Blues for good to concentrate on getting down his golf handicap.

 

'Average season'

 

If you've been looking and listening closely enough in recent weeks, you will have noticed how that obsession has manifested itself. You see King Kev is not over impressed by his team's Premiership season is he? He keeps referring to the campaign as being "average" and muttering darkly about his side's inconsistencies.

 

Do you know what? He's had me believing it myself. He's had me thinking about all the stupid points the Blues have thrown away this season. I keep thinking about the drawn games that should have been won, or the games lost that should have been drawn. And then I get mad at the team because I know they've tossed away the chance of playing in Europe next season.

 

But I'm not mad at Keegan's boys any longer. Because I've forced myself to take a reality check and I've realised that the only person in the blue half of Manchester who is in any way disappointed about Manchester City's season is Keegan himself.

 

If every one of my fellow City fans is being honest with themselves, then they will agree with the following statement.

 

Before a ball had been kicked in anger this season, if the leading official of the Premier League had guaranteed us a finishing position of one place above the relegation zone, we would have snapped his hand off.

 

Keep believing

 

Look where we are now - eighth place in the top flight and with a final home game to come.

 

Kevin, I'm sure I am speaking for every City fan when I tell you this. We've not had an "average" season. We had a wonderful, brilliant season, which has far exceeded our wildest expectations. And for that, we bless you.

 

Don't lose that magnificent obsession, Kev. We share it with you. And I'm not alone in believing that you can achieve your dream.

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Fenham Mag

Fenham Mag

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If the defence has been sound, however, the clamour has been directed towards Ben Arfa who has arrived in England with the elegant impact of his French compatriot, Eric Cantona. His silky and destructive skill, more than anything, is making Tyneside believe this may be the year.

 

"He'll get fitter and stronger and he'll adapt," said Keegan, whose enthusiasm for his Gallic playmaker approaches that of the Toon Army. "You sit back with him and light the blue touch paper. He's like a firework, you don't know what's in there, what's going to happen."

 

Hatem, Hatam, as Keegan correctly pronounces it, has the free role in the team. "I've told him to enjoy himself, 'we'll fit in with you'. He's changed everything, his country, language, training styles and if I started saying 'Hatem, you don't do this, you don't do that' I'd be taking away from him. I didn't buy him to change him."

 

Others have had to adapt though. Yohan Cabaye, for one, is having to play in a more restricted manner, his role reined in as a sacrifice for Ben Arfa's liberty. The result, Keegan estimates, is the best form from the French midfield player for nearly a year. He holds the fort in front of the back four and Ben Arfa storms at the opposition down the left.

 

"I've told Davide Santon," Keegan added, "that he can give the ball to Hatem and don't worry if there's anyone tight on him. There's a lot of players you wouldn't want to do that with, but Hatem's got so much ability to go past people, good players too. And not just get past them, leave them for dead. A touch and he's gone."

 

 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/keegans-burning-ambition-1600249.html

 

Changed the names, if Keegan had been in charge in 2013.

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