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

[nufcmichael]

To me, it seems like that the club, with the latest statement, is trying to win back some confidence from the fans, but I doubt that will happen.

 

There are three things in the statement which I really don't believe that Keegan would ever agree to...

 

I have no doubt at all, that Keegan would never let himself completely out of transfer activities and i am sure he has never agreed to that...

 

It is a fact that NUFC is a business and operates, like all businesses, with financial constraints.

 

It is a fact that NUFC's financial constraints inform its transfer dealings.

 

The Board of NUFC have responsibility to ensure that the club is able to meet its commitments which include the wages and the transfer fees for players.

[Guest Wally_McFool]

Does The statement said: "NUFC wished, at all times, to keep any dispute that it had with Kevin Keegan private..

 

 

"It is therefore disappointing that information has reached the media through unnamed sources and a briefing has been given by the League Managers Association that could give rise to a misleading impression amongst the club's fans"Newcastle United have no desire to engage in a war of words, but inaccurate reporting of factual matters and inaccurate allegations have to be corrected.

 

"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.

 

"It is a fact that Kevin Keegan worked within that structure from January 16, 2008 until his resignation.

 

"It is a fact that Kevin Keegan, as manager, had specific duties in that he was responsible for the training, coaching, selection and motivation of the team.

 

"It is a fact that Kevin Keegan 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 in relation to club matters relating to the team and not to communicate with the media in relation to the acquisition or disposal of players.

 

"It is a fact that NUFC is a business and operates, like all businesses, with financial constraints.

 

"It is a fact that NUFC's financial constraints inform its transfer dealings.

 

"The board of NUFC have responsibility to ensure that the club is able to meet its commitments, which include the wages and the transfer fees for players.

 

"The structure at NUFC is clear, and has been clear from January 16, 2008."

 

this statement worry antone n this board?

 

I for one am deeply concerned about it for a number of reasons.

Firstly we are all (directors and fans) in a state of flux, now is the time to put differences to one side and all pull together. In all difficulties in businesses between two sides there is an element of truth in both sides of the arguement. The key issue is not who was correct, but how we are all going move forward from here? The directors and many of the fans (Who are stakeholders in this business - and extremely important ones at that) need to work together. I personally feel that this statement is aimed at being devisive rather than cohesive. As a stakeholder in a business and a MD of my own I to aliemnated my customer base seems rather strange, especially as football fans are rather more passionate about the business than other market areas. The directors and the publiucity officers need to be workiung over time to put at least some positive spin on this for EVERYONES sake.

 

Secondly the FACTS stated sound and read like some petulant school boy who has misread an exam question and is finding blame with somene else. This methodology will do nothing to engender unity within the club. We are called Newcastle United not for nothing.

 

Newcastle may or may not be a big club, but one thing is certain we do hold a unique position in the local community where the club is supported by so many (ages, sexes etc). Will the attitude of these directors set us back? I think so.

 

Finally we are all fans of the club, and most of us have been for all our lives (win, lose or draw) and will be hopefully for long into the future. If we want to protest can we do so in a manner that is both original, hardhitting, but not detrimental to the club. What about 10 minutes silence at the start of the match for the loss of our manager (regardless of what happens on the pitch) followed by the passion that was there for JKeegans first ever game as our manager (if you can remember this)

 

It is also A FACT that a football club cannot survive without any fans and players and the way the FACELESS GUTLESS COWARDS at St James are operating , there wont be many of either left  very soon.

[mrmojorisin75]

Mrmojorisin75.

You're missing the point. How are we supposed to believe that statement, that states that keegan knew he would have no input on transfers and work under a DOF.

Only then to read directly from wise that keegan has the final yes or no, and that he answers to kev.

Surely you can see how Kev was mislead....because our club is run by contradictory fuckwits.

 

well i'm operating with my head here hindu and have done all summer when i was criticising the lack of transfer activity and was told to shut up 'cause ahsleys people knew what they were doing

 

maybe i've started to believe what i was told?

 

anyway that aside yes it does seem rather a contradiction in terms, but i'll pose you a question; is it not possible KK did give the go ahead for all the signings we made on the understand ing he'd also be getting some other players he targetted?  now i realise it's semantics but if that was the case and the club just didn't bother to get his targets 'cause they felt they were unrealistic then he's still not been lied to has he?

 

the alleged player sales isn't so easy to explain away though, but i ask again why does everyone assume it's WISE? this is all i'm asking

 

personally i think there will have been a shift from when KK was brought in to the point we're now, i.e. the targets the club and the manager had (maybe this was thrashed out after that chelsea "crisis meeting" were too far apart so the club persued their own rather than his, KK realised this at the very end when some of us saw it coming back in may and he's kicked off and ultimately walked because if it

[Guest fraser]

Mrmojorisin75.

You're missing the point. How are we supposed to believe that statement, that states that keegan knew he would have no input on transfers and work under a DOF.

Only then to read directly from wise that keegan has the final yes or no, and that he answers to kev.

Surely you can see how Kev was mislead....because our club is run by contradictory fuckwits.

 

A view supported by the fact that in January we were bidding for Woodgate, and subsequently bidding for Modric who are both established stars (in fact one is named on the alleged wish-list in the News of the World article) and then we're suddenly to believe that the entire budget was £12m. They can't even lie well.

[James]

After seeing that statement, there is no doubt in my mind that KK had no choice but to resign. Any disappointment I had with Keegan for walking away from us once again has changed into a hatred of the current boardroom.

 

The sacking of Llambias is a minimum requirement for me.

[mrmojorisin75]

Mrmojorisin75.

You're missing the point. How are we supposed to believe that statement, that states that keegan knew he would have no input on transfers and work under a DOF.

Only then to read directly from wise that keegan has the final yes or no, and that he answers to kev.

Surely you can see how Kev was mislead....because our club is run by contradictory fuckwits.

 

A view supported by the fact that in January we were bidding for Woodgate, and subsequently bidding for Modric who are both established stars (in fact one is named on the alleged wish-list in the News of the World article) and then we're suddenly to believe that the entire budget was £12m. They can't even lie well.

 

no idea what point you're trying to make there really?  the money was there?  wasn't there?  they lied about the bids?

 

can't make head nor tail of it

[mrmojorisin75]

After seeing that statement, there is no doubt in my mind that KK had no choice but to resign. Any disappointment I had with Keegan for walking away from us once again has changed into a hatred of the current boardroom.

 

The sacking of Llambias is a minimum requirement for me.

 

why?

 

it tells me there were financial restraints to the summer spending; if KK was told there was then i disagree with you, i he wasn't told then i agree

 

but we don't know do we?

[Unbelievable]

Indi, if you can't see that what Keegan said when Wise was appointed is in sharp contradiction to how the system has finally worked out by the club's own admission tonight you are beyond help:

 

Keegan:

"It will work very well. Dennis reports to me - the chain is established.

(...)

"I know what Dennis is going to do, and the idea in principle is good - to look for new players, to bring youngsters through and do things which our academy isn't doing so much at the moment."

 

Oh look you've completely ignored the main part of what I said, well done.

 

I will humour you though by explaining why I posted what I posted. In that second article Keegan is quoted as saying that he knew about the DOF situation , that he knew it was Dennis Wise, that he apparently respected Wise and thought he would do a good job. These revelations - well to some of "us" anyway - should shatter the popular delusions that KK had no idea what he was getting himself into and must have been lied to from the start. The reason I point that out is that everyone is pointing to the discrepancies in what the board have said and totally ignoring the discrepancies in what Keegan's said. That way, delusion reigns.

 

Are you going to comment on the actual point of my post or are you going to ignore it? If you are then don't be surprised if I respond to other people in future and not you. Jonny asked the same question of me but avoided the temptation to be a spaz about the way he did so, I should really have responded to him, sorry Jonny.

 

I get the impression that a number of people who are heavily on the Keegan side of this argument have a lot of pent up anger and frustration which they need to vent and as pretty much no-one is as similarly biased on the side of the board they're sending it the way of anyone who's trying to remain somewhere in the middle. Well I can understand that it must be hard to keep things under control if you feel that passionately about Keegan, but it's pretty tedious to be continuously slagged off for holding an opinion that you don't actually hold. So from now on I'm not responding to anyone who does, so you may as well not bother as you'll be wasting your time.

 

 

What discrepancies in what Keegan has said? As far as I can see there are no discrepancies, unless you mean discrepancies between with what Keegan said back then and what the board are coming out with now, which is exactly the reason for this outrage you fail to understand.

 

As for the rest, fair enough, even though I think you are completely underestimating the perception of what Ahsley & Co have done in this last week if you believe there will be no serious repercussions.

 

The discrepancies between when Keegan was saying that everything was fine and he was totally happy throughout the period up until this week and him now saying that his position was unmanageable, he was being undermined and that he hated it so much he had to quit.

 

Who said anything about no repercussions? What I said was that the people who participate in those repercussions will be just as guilty of destroying the club as Ashley, Wise, Keegan or whoever else people want to blame for it.

 

Indi, I'm sorry to keep banging on about this, but you seem to have some difficulty in understanding your own logic. You have now described the "discrepancy" in Keegan's stance in two different ways and they are both flawed for the following reasons:

 

1) "I was specifically addressing the idea that some people seem to have that Keegan knew nothing about there being any director of football (or whatever you want to call him) at the time when he became manager of the club"

 

=> as has been pointed out by other posters since, this must have been a minority as most people were aware of this. But more importantly, what has this got to do with Keegan himself and any discrepancy in what he has ever said?

 

2) "The discrepancies between when Keegan was saying that everything was fine and he was totally happy throughout the period up until this week and him now saying that his position was unmanageable, he was being undermined and that he hated it so much he had to quit."

 

=> Now, this is indeed a true discrepancy, but it goes to the very reason he has walked: he was misled into thinking he was going to have some influence in the recruitment process and in the end it turned out he didn't. There is a causal relationship between the discrepancies in both parties' stances, and considering that do you think it more likely that:

 

- Keegan's growing unhappiness to work with the system in place made the board change the system towards him having no input in it at all

 

OR

 

- the board changed the system towards him having no input in it at all which caused Keegan's growing unhappiness to work with the system?

 

Out of these two explanations, I know which one I find more realistic than the other.

 

As for the no repercussions bit, you wrote a sort of rallying call for people to just let things be because they would be partly responsible for destroying the club, which is fair enough as it is your opinion. I was just pointing out that it seems not many people agree with you so it won't happen.

[Guest johnson293]

Just read the NOTW article on this - they are really putting the boot into Keegan - even adding to some of what is already in The Times article.

 

By ROB BEASLEY, 07/09/2008

 

KEVIN KEEGAN saw himself as the ultimate circus master commanding a line-up of superstar acts that would wow the soccer world.

David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Jonathan Woodgate and Anton Ferdinand were all on his £200million Newcastle United wish-list.

 

But his wildly ambitious plans were far too rich for his St James’ Park budget and so far removed from the reality of Newcastle’s plans that his departure was inevitable.

 

So while the Toon Army may be revolting over his demise, the key figures inside St James’ Park are truly amazed at how Keegan “lost the plot” during his ill-fated return to the North-East club.

 

And for the first time, the inside story of the meltdown on the Tyne can be told.

 

Ridiculous

 

Both sides are bitter at the farcical way in which the strained relationship finally snapped this week and both the Newcastle camp and Keegan’s allies are squarely blaming each other.

 

“People inside the club joked about it, calling it ‘the madness of King Kev’ but no one was really laughing.”

 

Doubts over Keegan’s coaching ability and tactical prowess had surfaced just a few months into his return.

 

Billionaire owner Mike Ashley had given the Toon Army what they demanded after the sacking of Sam Allardyce even though Keegan had been a virtual recluse for three years following his exit from Manchester City. Three years without seeing a live game of football meant Ashley was taking a leap into the unknown but throughout his life, he has always been prepared to take risks.

 

A source close to the Toon owner admitted: “When Kevin was approached about taking over, everyone at the club knew it was a risk.

 

Gamble

 

“The upside was that he is a living legend here on Tyneside and remains hugely popular with the fans.

 

“He has charisma and an infectious enthusiasm and that was a major part of his attraction. But everyone was also well aware of his track record as a manager. He has this habit of walking out on the job if things are not going his way.

 

“Kevin did it in his first spell at Newcastle, at Manchester City and with England, so it was clearly going to be a gamble.

 

“That’s where the club was clever. They put a clause in his contract saying that if he resigned he would have to pay the club £2m in compensation. If he was sacked the club would have to pay him £2m in compensation.”

 

But despite the safeguards, it soon became clear Keegan was struggling.

 

A desperate start where Newcastle could barely buy a goal let alone a win prompted a series of crisis meetings within St James’ Park. The name of Terry Venables as a fire fighter alongside Keegan was mooted.

 

Ashley, though, had faith in his appointment and opted not to take panic measures. That faith was repaid as Keegan steadied the ship and brought a sense of confidence to the dressing room.

 

That, though, could not disguise the simmering tension between Keegan and vice-president Tony Jimenez, football director Dennis Wise and, once Chris Mort moved on, managing director Derek Llambias.

 

Massive

 

For no matter how many times Ashley’s executives explained the club’s structure and transfer policy, which was to be overseen by Wise and Jimenez, Keegan refused to accept he would NEVER be given the final say.

 

As a club insider explained: “Kevin just seemed incapable of grasping the situation, understanding the club’s policy and working to a budget no matter how many times he was told.

 

“Right from the start, at his interview for the job, it was made perfectly clear to Kevin the way the club wanted the job done.

 

“Jimenez chaired the meeting and laid it out plain for Kevin. This 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 and bringing it to the North-East, like Arsene Wenger had done with Nicolas Anelka, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas. We talked of building the club up over the next three to five years so that we could compete at the top again. Kevin sat there and agreed and took the job on those terms. But then he wants to try and sign Beckham! It was unbelievable.

 

“You wondered what planet he was on.”

 

Ironically, Keegan has no real animosity towards Ashley, who he believes has always treated him decently and been willing to listen. His anger is aimed directly at Jimenez, Wise and Llambias, in that order.

 

They tried to pull Keegan back into line last May when he was called to London for a very public rebuke after he criticised the club’s transfer policy. Again, the club’s blueprint for the future was reinforced. It still didn't register.

 

Succeed

 

“Kevin was again told in no uncertain terms how things would be done,” claimed the source.

 

“Yet in June he tells us he’s spoken to Frank Lampard’s agent and claims Lampard wants to come to Newcastle . . . for £200,000 a week!

 

“On another occasion, Keegan and Arthur Cox sat in a meeting claiming that they’d just had Theirry Henry on the phone discussing a move to Newcastle.

 

“It was so bizarre you wondered if he was doing it on purpose to try and get sacked.

 

“There was no getting through to him. He’d say ‘We can get anybody. We have to do it if we want to succeed.’

 

“But what he wanted would have cost the club £200m in transfer fees and wages. Kevin had been told over and over again that he had around £12m to spend on buying players.

 

“We wanted him to use his expertise to spot the next Dimitar Berbatov or Cesc Fabregas but it just seemed like he didn’t know any young talent at all, only established mega-stars.

 

“Meanwhile Jimenez and Wise were on the trail of Sami Nasri, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Valmiro Valdo at Espanyol. They just lost out on Nasri to Arsenal and Schweinsteiger turned us down, even though he was offered £70,000 a week.

 

Suggestions

 

“They’re the sort of deals Kevin should have been chasing but he didn’t know anybody but the blindingly obvious.”

 

Sources close to Keegan, though, claim he made his own enquiries about Schweinsteiger and knew that Newcastle’s proposed deal of £3.5m was less than HALF of the amount other clubs had offered.

 

But the seeds of discontent were sown long before transfer deadline day as another Newcastle insider admitted: “It’s common knowledge we have been looking for a centre-half.

 

“Kevin’s suggestions? Jonathan Woodgate, Richard Dunne and Sami Hyppia! Now where’s the resale value of any of those players?

 

“To be fair, he also mentioned Anton Ferdinand and we tried hard to get him but he just wouldn’t come.

 

“Apparently, Anton’s brother Rio is not a big fan of Keegan as a coach after his stint with England, and that’s what scuppered us.”

 

Our top man on the Toon also dismissed Keegan’s protests about the sale of James Milner to Aston Villa for £12m. He said: “The truth is that Kevin sat in a meeting where the sale of Milner was discussed.

 

Acrimonious

 

“Kevin reckoned he was worth about £7-8m and the plan was to use the cash to buy Schweinsteiger.

 

“Everyone thought the £12m from Villa was just too good to turn down so the deal was done. The only disappointing thing was that Schweinsteiger wouldn’t come.”

 

Keegan now looks set to sue for constructive dismissal and stands to get a £2m pay-out if he succeeds. But it could be an acrimonious and costly case.

 

Our source admitted: “ In any business anywhere in the world people have to manage within constraints and budgets applied by the company.

 

“That’s the same if it’s the News of the World or Newcastle United. Kevin couldn’t or wouldn’t do that. He was trying to tell us how to run a company worth hundreds of millions when his own company was a million in debt.”

 

That article is just too rediculous for words, and clearly the NOTW 'source' or 'top man at the toon' is someone very close to, or even one of Jiminez, Wise or Llambias. After writiing various stories of him trying to sell the club at any opportunity, Ashley is now seen as the one who kept faith with KK, and didn't go with the 'panic measure' of Venables???

 

So we missed out on Anton Ferdinand because Rio didn't like KK?? Thank god for that then!!

 

And it claims that Woodgate was one of a number of unsuitabel names suggested as centre back signings - then why were we bidding for him, and seemingly close to re-signing him??

 

And, as for KK allegedly discussing transfers here with Lampard and Henry??!!!

 

What a complete joke - I know its from the NOTW, but do they really think this is gonna turn feeling against KK from the (majority) of fans???

[James]

After seeing that statement, there is no doubt in my mind that KK had no choice but to resign. Any disappointment I had with Keegan for walking away from us once again has changed into a hatred of the current boardroom.

 

The sacking of Llambias is a minimum requirement for me.

 

why?

 

it tells me there were financial restraints to the summer spending; if KK was told there was then i disagree with you, i he wasn't told then i agree

 

but we don't know do we?

 

There is nothing wrong with the fact that we can't afford something, it is the fact that the statement makes it clear that the club's hierarchy consists of some faceless contract-scanning pointdextor who was impossible to work with.

[Offshore]

I've read and re-read the clubs statement now, the only thing wrong with it is its shortness and the fact that it should have at least attempted to sound concillitory towards KK.

 

Much has been made of the quotes from Wise, can't argue with facts. He said it, he either meant it (at the time) or didn't. To give a flip to this, is it much different from KK going on to say he was happy with the set-up?

 

If you take the statement as true, or at least acknowledge that it's close to the truth then what were they supposed to do?

 

And another thought, and be honest, if it had been ANY manager apart from KK, who'd resigned, would we be so raged?

 

 

[James]

Here is a recent photo of Llambias:

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/378146339_fddbaea54b.jpg

[morpeth mag]

hard to know where to start but here goes -

 

We're missing Chris Mort who seemed to have the quality of keeping the differnet personalities together as a 'team' and to communicate effectively with the public.

 

It seems to me that the sizt of the transfer pot was unclear. The Times article says £12m but we bid more than this for Modric. If you add up the incomings and outgoings before Milner then we'd spent the £12m at the same time KK was talking about another 3 or 4 coming in. KK iwas putting pressure on the Board to spend through the media - maybe necessary but doesn't win friends with the Board.

 

Jimenez thinks he can spot a player better than KK. The straw that broke KK's back were the deadline day signings. Personally I've been impressed so far with the deals but it's also fair to say there has been no 'wow' signing to fill the empty seats and that at this pace of investment it will take as 5 years to even get close to a CL spot. It seems to me that KK not only lost his veto on xfer deals but lost any input. He couldn't stay in that scenario and the Board must have known that. It's not clear if we failed to sign a left back or whether Wise/Jimenez (and me!) were happy with the Enrique/Zog/Bassong combo. If it was the latter then someone should have the the guts to tell KK the truth.

 

It seems ludicrous that KK wasn't exected to comment on transfers. He is the public face of the club especially when no other bugger will go in front of the press. Someone need to front the press and talk about seat sales, aspirations for the season, contract situations, Joey B etc etc. If KK is just the coach then the Chairman should  be communicating too. It's no coincidence that Sports Direct has major communication and governance issues too.

 

I was in favour of Deschamps last time round and was happily swept away on the KK bandwagon. We need a coach who is tactically astute and happy to work with Wise Jimenez regarding players. A spaniard seems a sensible place to start.

 

Finally I think this was more a dispute between KK and Jimenez than KK and Wise. It just suits us to focus on Wise because we feel we know who he is.

[lovejoy]

they are trying to make out that kk had 'lost the plot'.

 

it would appear that the players didn't/don't think that. especially with milners comments today.

[Unbelievable]

I've read and re-read the clubs statement now, the only thing wrong with it is its shortness and the fact that it should have at least attempted to sound concillitory towards KK.

 

Much has been made of the quotes from Wise, can't argue with facts. He said it, he either meant it (at the time) or didn't. To give a flip to this, is it much different from KK going on to say he was happy with the set-up?

 

If you take the statement as true, or at least acknowledge that it's close to the truth then what were they supposed to do?

 

And another thought, and be honest, if it had been ANY manager apart from KK, who'd resigned, would we be so raged?

 

 

 

Oh dear, more crossed wires..

 

Wise said the system would work in such and such a way, Keegan said he was happy about it, then six months later Keegan is unhappy and the club come out and say the system now no longer works such and so and never has done, but it has always worked in quite a different way. From this turn of events, if you manage to conclude Keegan is the party doing the lying for having said he was happy with the system yet walking out six months later is ridiculous. As I´ve said before: there is a discrepancy between what he said then and what he said now because he was misled, like we all were.

[Wallace]

Just read the NOTW article on this - they are really putting the boot into Keegan - even adding to some of what is already in The Times article.

 

By ROB BEASLEY, 07/09/2008

 

KEVIN KEEGAN saw himself as the ultimate circus master commanding a line-up of superstar acts that would wow the soccer world.

David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Jonathan Woodgate and Anton Ferdinand were all on his £200million Newcastle United wish-list.

 

But his wildly ambitious plans were far too rich for his St James’ Park budget and so far removed from the reality of Newcastle’s plans that his departure was inevitable.

 

So while the Toon Army may be revolting over his demise, the key figures inside St James’ Park are truly amazed at how Keegan “lost the plot” during his ill-fated return to the North-East club.

 

And for the first time, the inside story of the meltdown on the Tyne can be told.

 

Ridiculous

 

Both sides are bitter at the farcical way in which the strained relationship finally snapped this week and both the Newcastle camp and Keegan’s allies are squarely blaming each other.

 

“People inside the club joked about it, calling it ‘the madness of King Kev’ but no one was really laughing.”

 

Doubts over Keegan’s coaching ability and tactical prowess had surfaced just a few months into his return.

 

Billionaire owner Mike Ashley had given the Toon Army what they demanded after the sacking of Sam Allardyce even though Keegan had been a virtual recluse for three years following his exit from Manchester City. Three years without seeing a live game of football meant Ashley was taking a leap into the unknown but throughout his life, he has always been prepared to take risks.

 

A source close to the Toon owner admitted: “When Kevin was approached about taking over, everyone at the club knew it was a risk.

 

Gamble

 

“The upside was that he is a living legend here on Tyneside and remains hugely popular with the fans.

 

“He has charisma and an infectious enthusiasm and that was a major part of his attraction. But everyone was also well aware of his track record as a manager. He has this habit of walking out on the job if things are not going his way.

 

“Kevin did it in his first spell at Newcastle, at Manchester City and with England, so it was clearly going to be a gamble.

 

“That’s where the club was clever. They put a clause in his contract saying that if he resigned he would have to pay the club £2m in compensation. If he was sacked the club would have to pay him £2m in compensation.”

 

But despite the safeguards, it soon became clear Keegan was struggling.

 

A desperate start where Newcastle could barely buy a goal let alone a win prompted a series of crisis meetings within St James’ Park. The name of Terry Venables as a fire fighter alongside Keegan was mooted.

 

Ashley, though, had faith in his appointment and opted not to take panic measures. That faith was repaid as Keegan steadied the ship and brought a sense of confidence to the dressing room.

 

That, though, could not disguise the simmering tension between Keegan and vice-president Tony Jimenez, football director Dennis Wise and, once Chris Mort moved on, managing director Derek Llambias.

 

Massive

 

For no matter how many times Ashley’s executives explained the club’s structure and transfer policy, which was to be overseen by Wise and Jimenez, Keegan refused to accept he would NEVER be given the final say.

 

As a club insider explained: “Kevin just seemed incapable of grasping the situation, understanding the club’s policy and working to a budget no matter how many times he was told.

 

“Right from the start, at his interview for the job, it was made perfectly clear to Kevin the way the club wanted the job done.

 

“Jimenez chaired the meeting and laid it out plain for Kevin. This 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 and bringing it to the North-East, like Arsene Wenger had done with Nicolas Anelka, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas. We talked of building the club up over the next three to five years so that we could compete at the top again. Kevin sat there and agreed and took the job on those terms. But then he wants to try and sign Beckham! It was unbelievable.

 

“You wondered what planet he was on.”

 

Ironically, Keegan has no real animosity towards Ashley, who he believes has always treated him decently and been willing to listen. His anger is aimed directly at Jimenez, Wise and Llambias, in that order.

 

They tried to pull Keegan back into line last May when he was called to London for a very public rebuke after he criticised the club’s transfer policy. Again, the club’s blueprint for the future was reinforced. It still didn't register.

 

Succeed

 

“Kevin was again told in no uncertain terms how things would be done,” claimed the source.

 

“Yet in June he tells us he’s spoken to Frank Lampard’s agent and claims Lampard wants to come to Newcastle . . . for £200,000 a week!

 

“On another occasion, Keegan and Arthur Cox sat in a meeting claiming that they’d just had Theirry Henry on the phone discussing a move to Newcastle.

 

“It was so bizarre you wondered if he was doing it on purpose to try and get sacked.

 

“There was no getting through to him. He’d say ‘We can get anybody. We have to do it if we want to succeed.’

 

“But what he wanted would have cost the club £200m in transfer fees and wages. Kevin had been told over and over again that he had around £12m to spend on buying players.

 

“We wanted him to use his expertise to spot the next Dimitar Berbatov or Cesc Fabregas but it just seemed like he didn’t know any young talent at all, only established mega-stars.

 

“Meanwhile Jimenez and Wise were on the trail of Sami Nasri, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Valmiro Valdo at Espanyol. They just lost out on Nasri to Arsenal and Schweinsteiger turned us down, even though he was offered £70,000 a week.

 

Suggestions

 

“They’re the sort of deals Kevin should have been chasing but he didn’t know anybody but the blindingly obvious.”

 

Sources close to Keegan, though, claim he made his own enquiries about Schweinsteiger and knew that Newcastle’s proposed deal of £3.5m was less than HALF of the amount other clubs had offered.

 

But the seeds of discontent were sown long before transfer deadline day as another Newcastle insider admitted: “It’s common knowledge we have been looking for a centre-half.

 

“Kevin’s suggestions? Jonathan Woodgate, Richard Dunne and Sami Hyppia! Now where’s the resale value of any of those players?

 

“To be fair, he also mentioned Anton Ferdinand and we tried hard to get him but he just wouldn’t come.

 

“Apparently, Anton’s brother Rio is not a big fan of Keegan as a coach after his stint with England, and that’s what scuppered us.”

 

Our top man on the Toon also dismissed Keegan’s protests about the sale of James Milner to Aston Villa for £12m. He said: “The truth is that Kevin sat in a meeting where the sale of Milner was discussed.

 

Acrimonious

 

“Kevin reckoned he was worth about £7-8m and the plan was to use the cash to buy Schweinsteiger.

 

“Everyone thought the £12m from Villa was just too good to turn down so the deal was done. The only disappointing thing was that Schweinsteiger wouldn’t come.”

 

Keegan now looks set to sue for constructive dismissal and stands to get a £2m pay-out if he succeeds. But it could be an acrimonious and costly case.

 

Our source admitted: “ In any business anywhere in the world people have to manage within constraints and budgets applied by the company.

 

“That’s the same if it’s the News of the World or Newcastle United. Kevin couldn’t or wouldn’t do that. He was trying to tell us how to run a company worth hundreds of millions when his own company was a million in debt.”

 

That article is just too rediculous for words, and clearly the NOTW 'source' or 'top man at the toon' is someone very close to, or even one of Jiminez, Wise or Llambias. After writiing various stories of him trying to sell the club at any opportunity, Ashley is now seen as the one who kept faith with KK, and didn't go with the 'panic measure' of Venables???

 

So we missed out on Anton Ferdinand because Rio didn't like KK?? Thank god for that then!!

 

And it claims that Woodgate was one of a number of unsuitabel names suggested as centre back signings - then why were we bidding for him, and seemingly close to re-signing him??

 

And, as for KK allegedly discussing transfers here with Lampard and Henry??!!!

 

What a complete joke - I know its from the NOTW, but do they really think this is gonna turn feeling against KK from the (majority) of fans???

 

Rob Beasley has contacts with Ashley.  He is the journalist who was invited into the Directors Box by Ashley for a game last season.

 

[Unbelievable]

they are trying to make out that kk had 'lost the plot'.

 

it would appear that the players didn't/don't think that. especially with milners comments today.

 

What did Milner say?

[Pilko]

BEEP BEEP

 

Misson Accomplished ALIEN ASHLEY. Return To Base At: STADIUM OF LIGHT.

 

BEEP BEEP

[Offshore]

hard to know where to start but here goes -

 

We're missing Chris Mort who seemed to have the quality of keeping the differnet personalities together as a 'team' and to communicate effectively with the public.

 

It seems to me that the sizt of the transfer pot was unclear. The Times article says £12m but we bid more than this for Modric. If you add up the incomings and outgoings before Milner then we'd spent the £12m at the same time KK was talking about another 3 or 4 coming in. KK iwas putting pressure on the Board to spend through the media - maybe necessary but doesn't win friends with the Board.

 

Jimenez thinks he can spot a player better than KK. The straw that broke KK's back were the deadline day signings. Personally I've been impressed so far with the deals but it's also fair to say there has been no 'wow' signing to fill the empty seats and that at this pace of investment it will take as 5 years to even get close to a CL spot. It seems to me that KK not only lost his veto on xfer deals but lost any input. He couldn't stay in that scenario and the Board must have known that. It's not clear if we failed to sign a left back or whether Wise/Jimenez (and me!) were happy with the Enrique/Zog/Bassong combo. If it was the latter then someone should have the the guts to tell KK the truth.

 

It seems ludicrous that KK wasn't exected to comment on transfers. He is the public face of the club especially when no other bugger will go in front of the press. Someone need to front the press and talk about seat sales, aspirations for the season, contract situations, Joey B etc etc. If KK is just the coach then the Chairman should  be communicating too. It's no coincidence that Sports Direct has major communication and governance issues too.

 

I was in favour of Deschamps last time round and was happily swept away on the KK bandwagon. We need a coach who is tactically astute and happy to work with Wise Jimenez regarding players. A spaniard seems a sensible place to start.

 

Finally I think this was more a dispute between KK and Jimenez than KK and Wise. It just suits us to focus on Wise because we feel we know who he is.

 

Fair and level-headed post.

 

No club ever says what its transfer budget is, and even then it'll be a moving figure as sales are added (or not) to it.

 

The 'no comment on transfers' line on the statement can be read a couple of ways, some are seeing it as the rule is being specific towards KK, I see it as a club policy to try and not disclose transfer dealings by anyone connected with the club and only declare them once done or near enough done.....Jonas, Collo, Milner etc

 

[Guest BooBoo]

Its important not to be blinded by respect for KK into thinking he's 100% blameless for this situation. It appears the club were trying a sensible approcah to improving the club on a realistic budget, yet KK has hardly ever experienced this. For him its always been about superstars and mega deals. If KK was unwilling to play ball with the new club set up then he must shoulder that. You cant have a manager stamping his feet every time he doesnt get what or who he wants.

[Guest elbee909]

Its important not to be blinded by respect for KK into thinking he's 100% blameless for this situation. It appears the club were trying a sensible approcah to improving the club on a realistic budget, yet KK has hardly ever experienced this. For him its always been about superstars and mega deals. If KK was unwilling to play ball with the new club set up then he must shoulder that. You cant have a manager stamping his feet every time he doesnt get what or who he wants.

 

Hugely oversimplistic, and as has been pointed out Keegan's bought a lot more canny buys than he has done megadeals.

[JH]

Its important not to be blinded by respect for KK into thinking he's 100% blameless for this situation. It appears the club were trying a sensible approcah to improving the club on a realistic budget, yet KK has hardly ever experienced this. For him its always been about superstars and mega deals. If KK was unwilling to play ball with the new club set up then he must shoulder that. You cant have a manager stamping his feet every time he doesnt get what or who he wants.

 

We all know KK isn't totally blameless, because he has just stamped his feet and walked out like he always does, I think alot of people understand and accept this.

 

My stance isn't blinded by my love of Keegan or everything, I can say that easily because I still feel some regret on his part that he didn't try to stick out negotiations for a bit longer.

 

The point is that he was undermined and humiliated because those 'above' him were just going out and buying and selling players behind his back, how was he to know that when he first came? "By the way Kevin, we will be hiring a DOF, probably Dennis Wise, who will say in public that he is just here to support you but really he gets the final decision" - would that have been said? I highly doubt it.

 

Noone could blame any manager in any career or profession for walking out because they were undermined. In any walk of life, the manager has to be given the opportunity to manage, not just act as a puppet.

[Offshore]

I've read and re-read the clubs statement now, the only thing wrong with it is its shortness and the fact that it should have at least attempted to sound concillitory towards KK.

 

Much has been made of the quotes from Wise, can't argue with facts. He said it, he either meant it (at the time) or didn't. To give a flip to this, is it much different from KK going on to say he was happy with the set-up?

 

If you take the statement as true, or at least acknowledge that it's close to the truth then what were they supposed to do?

 

And another thought, and be honest, if it had been ANY manager apart from KK, who'd resigned, would we be so raged?

 

 

 

Oh dear, more crossed wires..

 

Wise said the system would work in such and such a way, Keegan said he was happy about it, then six months later Keegan is unhappy and the club come out and say the system now no longer works such and so and never has done, but it has always worked in quite a different way. From this turn of events, if you manage to conclude Keegan is the party doing the lying for having said he was happy with the system yet walking out six months later is ridiculous. As I´ve said before: there is a discrepancy between what he said then and what he said now because he was misled, like we all were.

 

No crossed wires here at all.

 

I presume you've made up your mind that KK is blameless in this and its all the clubs fault. Maybe it is, but maybe it isn't. I've said before I believe there is about a 50/50 split on this.

 

When Wise and KK said what they said (haven't got the actual quotes, but got the general gist of both) maybe one of them wasn't telling the whole truth, maybe both.......or maybe both were actually telling the truth at that time. If the latter, and i'm more inclined to go along with that, then you have to ask what changed. Did the club decide to change the DOF's role in spite of KK, or because of KK?

 

 

 

 

[mattypnufc]

Not sure if this has been posted...

 

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4112576,00.html

[Benwell Lad]

hard to know where to start but here goes -

 

We're missing Chris Mort who seemed to have the quality of keeping the differnet personalities together as a 'team' and to communicate effectively with the public.

 

It seems to me that the sizt of the transfer pot was unclear. The Times article says £12m but we bid more than this for Modric. If you add up the incomings and outgoings before Milner then we'd spent the £12m at the same time KK was talking about another 3 or 4 coming in. KK iwas putting pressure on the Board to spend through the media - maybe necessary but doesn't win friends with the Board.

 

Jimenez thinks he can spot a player better than KK. The straw that broke KK's back were the deadline day signings. Personally I've been impressed so far with the deals but it's also fair to say there has been no 'wow' signing to fill the empty seats and that at this pace of investment it will take as 5 years to even get close to a CL spot. It seems to me that KK not only lost his veto on xfer deals but lost any input. He couldn't stay in that scenario and the Board must have known that. It's not clear if we failed to sign a left back or whether Wise/Jimenez (and me!) were happy with the Enrique/Zog/Bassong combo. If it was the latter then someone should have the the guts to tell KK the truth.

 

It seems ludicrous that KK wasn't exected to comment on transfers. He is the public face of the club especially when no other bugger will go in front of the press. Someone need to front the press and talk about seat sales, aspirations for the season, contract situations, Joey B etc etc. If KK is just the coach then the Chairman should  be communicating too. It's no coincidence that Sports Direct has major communication and governance issues too.

 

I was in favour of Deschamps last time round and was happily swept away on the KK bandwagon. We need a coach who is tactically astute and happy to work with Wise Jimenez regarding players. A spaniard seems a sensible place to start.

 

Finally I think this was more a dispute between KK and Jimenez than KK and Wise. It just suits us to focus on Wise because we feel we know who he is.

 

It does appear that Wise is a very easy target for the lynch mob and the press because of his "previous".

Everything publically stated by him or Keegan up until last week would indicate the problem was not between them.