Would you want Keegan back now?

[Guest BooBoo]

I just think if he were to come back the whole club would have to pander to his every desire so that not to risk him having another dummy spit.

[Delima]

From The Guardian. Good read. I actually chuckled on the bold bit when Keegan said that. I love Keegan and I would like Keegan back in charge. This is no meant to be a dig at Keegan but I thought he played his populist card too much during his appointment and I cringed at these north-south comments by Keega.

 

Northern exposure is catching on

The enduring myth of a north-south divide in the Premier League belies the reality that the two are now virtually interchangeable

Gary O'Neil

 

Despite his initial misgivings, Gary O'Neil says that there is little difference between living in Portsmouth and Middlesbrough. Photograph: Henry Browne/Action Images

 

A footballer must decide between a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United or Aston Villa. He has three demands: a) the new club is near an airport boasting daily flights to Dubai where his girlfriend likes to tan and shop; b) a branch of Waitrose is close by; and c) the local property market remains awash with six-bedroom, four-bathroom homes boasting triple garages and electronic gates. Which club meets his criteria?

 

The answer is all three. The enduring myth that a north-south divide makes it tough for clubs outside London to attract top talent is exploding. Whether he parks his fleet of blacked-out windowed, personalised number-plated 4x4s and Baby Bentleys in Harrogate or Hornchurch, a Premier League footballer's lifestyle is pretty homogenous. However powerful the lure of London, a world city, how many Arsenal or Chelsea players actually live within the congestion-charge zone? Most reside around the M25, in "anywhere" places such as Cobham, St Albans, Brentwood and Sevenoaks.

 

I once doorstepped a manager living in a well heeled road in Sevenoaks (the attempt failed, not least because he possessed two ferocious-looking dogs) which struck me as a virtual identikit of a street in another football mecca, Newcastle's upmarket Darras Hall. On planet football there is no north-south cultural split, no gulf in health care, employment opportunities or quality of diet, just a group of fit young men who tend to colonise England's wealthiest locales. And, whisper it, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough are pretty interchangeable. We know this because Gary O'Neil says so.

 

The Boro midfielder, late of Portsmouth, speaks with the zeal of the converted. Just last Thursday I attended a press conference where he admitted that he and especially his wife were so unsure about relocating to Teesside that last season he asked Gareth Southgate for a move back south. Boro's manager instead persuaded him to give northern life one last try and the couple have never looked back.

 

"I don't think there is a north-south divide - well, not now," said O'Neil. "I've realised there's no real difference between the two."

 

Anyone who imagines he was merely being polite has clearly never visited Yarm, home to many a Boro star and the sort of Georgian market town which could comfortably be transposed into Surrey or Cheshire. These days O'Neil, his wife and toddler daughter are happily settled near there.

 

Having discovered that North Yorkshire life is actually much the same as its Hampshire equivalent, the couple are now suspicious of regional stereotyping. But it is often perpetuated by those who should know better - Kevin Keegan fell into the trap in January when he talked, cringe-inducingly, about "southerners going to the theatre and northerners the match".

 

In reality there are far more similarities than differences between people and places in England - all urbanisations are social mosaics harbouring grotty areas. When Roy Hodgson was in charge of Blackburn he drove the long way round between his home and Rovers' picturesque Ribble Valley training ground in order not to become "depressed" negotiating the town centre.

 

Compare that with where he is now, at Fulham. As wealthy as Craven Cottage's environs are, Hodgson surely finds it much harder to bypass the pockets of deprivation studded along routes in and out of the capital. And in his heart of hearts does he really believe the food in many London restaurants is any better than that served in the Clitheroe bistros he once frequented, or the dinner-table chat more intelligent?

 

The humour is arguably superior in Blackburn. When the club's then defender Stéphane Henchoz moaned that East Lancashire was "always dark by 3.30pm" the players' car-park attendant presented him with a gift-wrapped searchlight.

 

Much to Roy Keane's chagrin, though, players' Wags doubt the quality of north-east shopping - which rather highlights their ignorance, because Newcastle airport not only offers daily flights to Dubai but Barcelona, Milan, Paris and, naturally, London too.

 

As Sunderland's manager, who judges places "on how much people love walking their dogs", reflected: "Players who say living in the north would bore them are usually boring people."

 

Personally I think they are more frightened. In an era when we are all supposed to inhabit a global village, too many of us, footballers included, are scared to move out of our parochial comfort zones. Just ask Gary O'Neil.

[Dave]

So after the Hull game the poll results were:

 

Yes - 173 (63.8%)

No - 98 (36.2%)

Total Voters: 271

 

I've reset it after today's suggestions of potential new owners bringing Keegan back. Has your opinion changed?

[Robster]

So after the Hull game the poll results were:

 

Yes - 173 (63.8%)

No - 98 (36.2%)

Total Voters: 271

 

I've reset it after today's suggestions of potential new owners bringing Keegan back. Has your opinion changed?

 

I am torn

Part of me says no as we need to move on; part of me says yes to show ashley what he missed out on

[La Parka]

No. Don't want the ship jumping twat back, as he will leave the minute he doesn't get his own way.

[ikri]

So after the Hull game the poll results were:

 

Yes - 173 (63.8%)

No - 98 (36.2%)

Total Voters: 271

 

I've reset it after today's suggestions of potential new owners bringing Keegan back. Has your opinion changed?

 

No.  Time to move on, besides we can't go through all this again if Keegan & the next owner fall out.

[Lenny]

I think I voted yes the first time around, voted no this time. I think if a new ownership was to come in with good intentions and attempted to bring in a decent manager, it would be enough to lift the team and fans. I don't think Keegan is exempt from blame, we should move on.

[Guest rebel_yell12]

I wouldn't think Newcastle fans should want him back.  No doubt he's a great man-manager, very popular with the lads, but at least a few of them must be suspicious of his ability to stick it out now -- and the owners would do well to be, as well.  The man's walked off more jobs than most, for certain.  Done it twice to the goalkeepers (Given & Harper) now hasn't he?  And the same with Michael Owen, who was playing for England when Keegan walked off that job with no notice.  Having Keegan back now would just mean waiting constantly for the shoe to drop.  Again.

 

Still...he is a good manager, familiar with the squad.  It would feel something like a "reset" button to a month past.  Which is quite tempting. 

 

All in all, just don't think the potential cost is worth it, tbh.  Keegan's temperament is reliable only insomuch as you know he WILL walk out.  It's just a matter of when.

[Syrette]

No, we need to move on.

[Colos Short and Curlies]

I voted yes (after voting no first time around).

 

He wouldn't be my first choice but I would welcome him back.

 

However, he seems to have lost the main drawing factor to bringing him back - the fans are now split on him and whilst he would have the majority supporting a return, its not the 99% support back in January.

 

If we are going down the Icon route again with new owners then Shearer would be a better bet, but I'm not 100% sure on him either unless there was a senior figure alongside him

[lovejoy]

no, which is a hell of a rurnaround for me.

[Robster]

There is something I dont understand about the criticism of Kevin walking away from all his previous jobs.

 

About 99% of other managers get sacked because they end up doing a shite job so what makes them so much better candidates ?

And if we pry a manager away from another club, whats to stop us accusing him of potentially walking away if he gets a better offer.

 

Whilst the criticism might be correct, I am not sure its any different to any other label you could put on most other managers.

 

Only a rare few stay so long they are both successful and wanted by their board (Ferguson, Wenger...)

 

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

It's a really difficult decision. With Keegan back it would be an instant fix. We know the fans and players would get right behind him straight away. The trouble is, as much as I like him, can we trust him to stay? He may well have had good reason to walk but it has dropped NUFC right in the shit. Whose to say the new owners (assuming we get new owners) wouldn't upset him with something? I really like him but is he a dependable long term manager? It depends on who else we could get. If we can only get mediocre managers go for Keegan. The worry is whoever we get apart from Keegan is a gamble.

[johnnypd]

i'd have him back, but it depends what kind of team or set of owners he'd be working with. anything similar to the messy setup we've used recently would be asking for trouble.

[Dave]

It's a really difficult decision. With Keegan back it would be an instant fix. We know the fans and players would get right behind him straight away. The trouble is, as much as I like him, can we trust him to stay? He may well have had good reason to walk but it has dropped NUFC right in the shit. Whose to say the new owners (assuming we get new owners) wouldn't upset him with something? I really like him but is he a dependable long term manager? It depends on who else we could get. If we can only get mediocre managers go for Keegan. The worry is whoever we get apart from Keegan is a gamble.

 

I'm not sure that's as certain as it was a couple of weeks ago.

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

i'd have him back, but it depends what kind of team or set of owners he'd be working with. anything similar to the messy setup we've used recently would be asking for trouble.

Exactly. If it's a mega rich billionaire who is happy to back Keegan then great. Rumours of this Nigerian consortium wanting Yakubu sounds like interference from the word go. We'd also be screwed when the African cup of Nations is on if they go down the 'get as many African players as possible' route. 

[Guest Antec]

Get him back till the end of the season and see where we go from there

[johnnypd]

i'd have him back, but it depends what kind of team or set of owners he'd be working with. anything similar to the messy setup we've used recently would be asking for trouble.

Exactly. If it's a mega rich billionaire who is happy to back Keegan then great. Rumours of this Nigerian consortium wanting Yakubu sounds like interference from the word go. We'd also be screwed when the African cup of Nations is on if they go down the 'get as many African players as possible' route.  

 

[BottledDog]

It's a really difficult decision. With Keegan back it would be an instant fix. We know the fans and players would get right behind him straight away. The trouble is, as much as I like him, can we trust him to stay? He may well have had good reason to walk but it has dropped NUFC right in the shit. Whose to say the new owners (assuming we get new owners) wouldn't upset him with something? I really like him but is he a dependable long term manager? It depends on who else we could get. If we can only get mediocre managers go for Keegan. The worry is whoever we get apart from Keegan is a gamble.

 

I'm not sure that's as certain as it was a couple of weeks ago.

 

Exactly my thoughts. His walking away has put them in the shit as much as anyone and there must be a sense of betrayal or loss of trust from the older lads (just as there is amongst a number of the supporters), and who knows how the new players feel about him.

[Slim]

Need a dont care option

[Guest Edd]

Yes, because until some of our fans get him out of our system it will be very hard to move on.

 

Even though I don't want Keegan back myself, I'm almost tempted to agree with this.  I don't have a major problem with Keegan as manager and it could work out, but then again what happens if/when he walks out again?  Will the new owners be driven out once more and the club be plunged into further crisis?  Is that really a risk we can afford to take?

 

This could be our last chance to get it right, because no owner or manager will want anything to do with us if we have a repeat of the current mess.

[nobby_solano]

i'd love for him to come back, if he could manage on his terms without tied hands. obviously he'd have a budget to work within, but a budget which would be 'first team only' and someone else would recruit young talent to the academy / squad, with some sort of separate budget.  i know it probably would never happen, it should, which probably means it won't

[Guest MrSundlofer]

Still would love him back and so will the players. It will give them their confidence back. What happens if we get someone else ?

[merlin]

The problem is that any new owners cannot really get a top class manager at the present time, and are unlikely to be able to do so until there has been a period of stability in the club - or until the season's end at the earliest.

 

The club is in a desperate position and CANNOT afford to be relegated, new money or not - the bad reputation which the club now has will make it very difficult to rebuild if we go down, so in that case i would bring him back in order to keep us up ; in any case, whoever is appointed cannot buy players until Jan, so the new manager will have to have great powers of motivation - and KK DOES have that...

[Tisd09]

With or without new owners I think it maybe dangerous to bring him back. I didn't want him to go and in a perfect world he would still be manager, but if things are not going well under new regime then the owners may hang on longer given what happened to Mike Ashley. I think we need a completley fresh start. New owners, new manager aswell. I still respect Keegan and love what he has done for the club but sometimes the old saying never go back actually rings true.