KK resigns - see OP for new club statement issued September 6th

[Guest afternoonfix]

NUFC have every right to air their views, looks like keegan's as much to blame

[indi]

Whatever side of the argument you're on it's pretty clear that the club is in a no-win situation. They've put out a statement full of emotion and people are slating them for it. I agree that putting out something like that was a mistake, but I'm sure that if they'd put out a slick PR statement they'd have been slated for that too. Having seen this I'm now one hundred percent certain of what I wrote earlier on.

[Ally]

As I've said all along, Keegan was happy to accept it to get his feet under the table.

 

I'm starting to think you're actually Dennis Wise.

 

Same here... How anybody can try to defend a statement or structure like this for a Premiership football club is beyond me. And that's coming from somebody who is actually in favour of a DoF structure, but if there is meant to be no input at all of the manager into the recruitment process how the hell is the manager supposed to achieve the goals set to him and be accountable if they fail?

 

Keegan did have a say though, Guthrie was his signing and the likes of Bassong and Zayette either stayed or went on the opinion of what Keegan thought of them while on trial.

 

How do we know Guthrie was his signing? Because he's English?

[Dave]

if the club is going to present press releases like this, which are supposed to be sanitised and neutral, imagine how they've been treating keegan. from the tone of this it looks like the working relationship and communications had descended to pitiful levels, which regardless of the principles at stake, is another reason why Keegan left.

 

Aye, fits in with them sending him a letter detailing their proposals. No compassion whatsoever.

[midds]

And they've released it just in time for the editors of the Sunday rags to cobble together a new headline for tomorrow morning. 

 

 

[madras]

NEWCASTLE UNITED lost patience with Kevin Keegan because they told him to manage the team in the style of Arsène Wenger and he wanted to do the job like Jose Mourinho. With the credit crunch looming, Keegan was given a £12m transfer budget in the summer, but produced a wish list that would have cost more than 10 times as much. His nominated transfer targets were David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry.

 

Tony Jimenez, Newcastle’s vice-president overseeing recruitment, instead proposed Samir Nasri, before he joined Arsenal, Sebastian Schweinsteiger of Bayern Munich, and Espanyol’s Valmir Valdo. The last straw, which led Keegan to walk out, is said to have been the sale of James Milner to Aston Villa, which the manager sanctioned on the basis that Schweinsteiger, who starred for Germany at Euro 2008, would be signed as a replacement. Newcastle agreed a deal with Bayern, only for the midfielder to turn down the move. The Sunday Times can reveal that neither Keegan nor Dennis Wise, the executive director with whom he fell out, were the original choices for their respective jobs. Club owner Mike Ashley wanted Harry Redknapp as manager and Terry Venables as his eminence gris, but both rebuffed him.

 

Anxious to set the record straight over the reasons behind Keegan’s departure, the club issued a statement yesterday refuting many of the claims made on his behalf. The most crucial of the points it makes is that Keegan accepted the job last January in the full knowledge he would have to report to a director of football and to the board. The statement insists that Keegan had specific duties relating to training, coaching, selection and motivation of the team and that he was allowed to carry them out without interference from any board member. It continues: “It is a fact that Newcastle is a business and operates, like all businesses, with financial constraints . . . and those constraints inform its transfer dealings. The structure at [the] club is clear and has been from January 16, 2008.”

 

A boardroom source told The Sunday Times last night: “Kevin says a manager should have the right to manage, and nobody would disagree with that, but not to manage regardless. In any business, people have to manage within the constraints and budgets applied by their company. Kevin couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do that.

Multimedia

 

    * Premier League highlights

 

    * Ahead of the game e-mail: wit and wisdom delivered direct to your inbox

 

Multimedia

 

    * TheGame: debate, analysis, comment and columnists

 

    * Fanzine fanzone: have your say

 

Related Links

 

    * Mike Ashley, wally with the lolly

 

“Right from the start, at his interview for the job, it was made perfectly clear the way the club wanted the job done. There was not going to be a Chelsea scenario, with Newcastle paying big money and massive wages for established stars. The club was going to be run like Arsenal, and the emphasis would be on scouring the world for the best emerging young talent, like Arsène Wenger has done with Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor. We talked of building the club up over three to five years. Kevin took the job on those terms.”

 

Against that background, the directors were gobsmacked when Keegan came up with the names of Beckham, Ronaldinho, Lampard and Henry. “It was so bizarre,” our source said, “that I wondered if he was doing it on purpose, to try to get sacked. There was no getting through to him. What he wanted would have cost the club £200m in transfer fees and wages, and he had been told that he had around £12m to spend. We have been looking for a centre-half. Kevin’s suggestions were Jonathan Woodgate, Sami Hyy-pia and Richard Dunne. Where’s the residual value in them?

 

“On the Milner issue, the truth is that Kevin sat in on a meeting where the sale was discussed. Kevin r e c k o n e d J a m e s w a s w o r t h £7m-£8m, and the plan was to use that cash to buy Schweinsteiger. Jimenez did the negotiations with Villa and managed to agree a fee of £12m. Everyone thought it was too good to turn down, so the deal was done. Unfortunately, Schweinsteiger then said he wouldn’t come.”

 

The board reject suggestions from the Keegan camp that they tried to sell Michael Owen behind the manager’s back. Our source said: “We definitely didn’t try to sell Michael and didn’t speak to any club about him. On the contrary, we have made him a very good offer to stay. It is an extended and improved contract, the richest ever offered to any Newcastle player. He has sent a letter back, saying he appreciates the offer, and talks are ongoing.”

 

Newcastle on the attack last night as Keegan row hots up

 

Anxious to set the record straight over Kevin Keegan’s departure on Thursday, Newcastle issued a statement late last night refuting many of the claims made on his behalf. Attempting to counter ‘inaccurate reporting of factual matters and inaccurate allegations’, the statement says:

 

It is a fact that Kevin Keegan, on appointment on January 16, 2008, agreed to report to a director of football and to the board. He worked within that structure until his resignation. As manager, [he] had specific duties in that he was responsible for the training, coaching, selection and motivation of the team. He was allowed to manage his specific duties without any interference from any board member

 

It is a fact that Kevin Keegan agreed only to deal with the media [about] matters relating to the team and not to communicate about the acquisition or disposal of players

 

It is a fact that Newcastle United Football Club is a business and operates, like all businesses, with financial constraints [that] inform its transfer dealings. The board have a responsibility to ensure that the club is able to meet its commitments, which include the wages and the transfer fees for players

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article4692140.ece

 

 

would this change anyone's opinion if true ?

[Guest gggg]

At least i know it's official now. Our main aim as a club is to look after the pennies, anyone with a problem with that can shut up or leave.

[ATB]

Well I support the club no matter what. To be honest. You all make me feel sick. Just giving me a reason to start supporting Manure or something.

 

Clearly it was a mistake to hire Keegan (don´t know what they were thinking) just because the reason that if he should leave the club before the contract expelled this was the situation that always was going to happened.

 

Hope Ashley hire McClaren or some shit and sell the club to some fucker just to piss of the fans.

[Guest elbee909]

Stupid cunts.  You just know they're all backing each other up and now see the rest of the world as being against them so they're coming out with their lists of 'facts' which they have convinced themselves are all absolutely true.  "Oh yeah Mike, we definitely said that".  Hmm, I'm sure you did.  Fucking fucks.  Way to inflame an already touchy situation.

[Unbelievable]

As I've said all along, Keegan was happy to accept it to get his feet under the table.

 

I'm starting to think you're actually Dennis Wise.

 

Same here... How anybody can try to defend a statement or structure like this for a Premiership football club is beyond me. And that's coming from somebody who is actually in favour of a DoF structure, but if there is meant to be no input at all of the manager into the recruitment process how the hell is the manager supposed to achieve the goals set to him and be accountable if they fail?

 

Keegan did have a say though, Guthrie was his signing and the likes of Bassong and Zayette either stayed or went on the opinion of what Keegan thought of them while on trial.

 

And you know this how?

[Mick]

As I've said all along, Keegan was happy to accept it to get his feet under the table.

 

Maybe the goalposts have changed, today is the first I've heard of Keegan reporting to wise.

[Dave]

Whatever side of the argument you're on it's pretty clear that the club is in a no-win situation. They've put out a statement full of emotion and people are slating them for it. I agree that putting out something like that was a mistake, but I'm sure that if they'd put out a slick PR statement they'd have been slated for that too. Having seen this I'm now one hundred percent certain of what I wrote earlier on.

 

I'd rather they said nothing than put out this. If they don't see how it's going to antagonise already angry fans then they're incredibly ill-advised. Whether you blame Keegan or not, you cannot deny this.

[Ally]

Who the fuck is this boardroom source?

[Unbelievable]

NUFC have every right to air their views, looks like keegan's as much to blame

 

They've got another thing coming when Keegan will air his side of the story, especially if it strategically timed at a couple of hours before next Saturday's match.. Doubt if Keegan will stoop to the same levels as this bunch though..

[johnnypd]

it's like the Owen contract statement, the statement is not designed to present the facts, or encourage Owen to sign, it's merely getting their excuses out the way and shifting the pressure elsewhere. we have some bitter bastards running this club!

[Bad Mongo]

I'm sure if Keegan named a player, and it was in our pay structure, we'd have got him. That's how I read that.

 

That's a very creative reading, because that's not at all what Mike Ashley said.

[Guest helios_centric]

As far as I can see all they are trying to do is throw as much mud as possible at Keegan and hope that some of it sticks. It won't wash with the fans, just wait until the reaction at the Hull game for proof of that.

 

All this backstabbing is making this much worse and making us look more ridiculous as a club by the minute.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Don't respond to this KK, you're bigger than this.

 

I respect the man even more for revealing these charlatans for what they are.

[Disco]

Article is written a lot better than the PR people at NUFC. Why would people come out saying we are making wow signings & such if we only have £12m to spend and why do we only have £12m to spend? Why didn't the board realise Schweinsteiger would never move here and have backups in place or not sell Milner until a suitable deal had been made to replace him? Makes us look even more farcical if anything. I wish we'd stop washing our dirty laundry in public - its embarressing enough being a Toon fan at the best of times without this sort of ammo for others.

[Wullie]

it's like the Owen contract statement, the statement is not designed to present the facts, or encourage Owen to sign, it's merely getting their excuses out the way and shifting the pressure elsewhere. we have some bitter bastards running this club!

 

Again, the difference between this joke of a statement and the sort of PR we were seeing under Chris Mort is incredible.

 

I'm convinced it's this toad Llambias.

[cp40]

i bet they didnt tell KK in january, the director of football, would be a person of low esteem, and respect, who would come in and lay the the law down to him,  and show him no respect.

[Thomson Mouse]

As I've said all along, Keegan was happy to accept it to get his feet under the table.

 

Accept what though. They seem to be wanting to prove they are in the right but they dont confirm the crucial fact about the DOF being allowed to sign players without Kevin's agreement

 

Wise came after Keegan and who's to say the explained the workings of the team fully to him.

 

Wankers.

[Baggio]

As I've said all along, Keegan was happy to accept it to get his feet under the table.

 

I'm starting to think you're actually Dennis Wise.

 

Same here... How anybody can try to defend a statement or structure like this for a Premiership football club is beyond me. And that's coming from somebody who is actually in favour of a DoF structure, but if there is meant to be no input at all of the manager into the recruitment process how the hell is the manager supposed to achieve the goals set to him and be accountable if they fail?

 

Keegan did have a say though, Guthrie was his signing and the likes of Bassong and Zayette either stayed or went on the opinion of what Keegan thought of them while on trial.

 

And you know this how?

 

Because keegan said on both Bassong and Zayette that he would be speaking to Wise to let him know what he thinks of them, he also talks how he's been monitoring Guthrie since Bolton played Man Utd and that was where he caught his eye.

 

Unless it's all bollocks like and KK had to say that or he'd be locked back under the stairs.

[Disco]

it's like the Owen contract statement, the statement is not designed to present the facts, or encourage Owen to sign, it's merely getting their excuses out the way and shifting the pressure elsewhere. we have some bitter bastards running this club!

 

Again, the difference between this joke of a statement and the sort of PR we were seeing under Chris Mort is incredible.

 

I'm convinced it's this toad Llambias.

 

Its almost anti-PR if anything we are seeing now. Terrible.

[Guest afternoonfix]

Seems like keegan knew the score from the start and still walked.