Denis Cassidy Book **Contains Shepherd**

[timnufc22]

Gawd, I swear Keegan fans are the touchiest bunch in the world. If it even looks like someone might be thinking of venturing the mildest criticism of their idol, they're out in force, picketing threads and shouting self-righteously through tinny megaphones.

 

It's very hard to resist winding them up, but there's no sport in it really. Too easy.

 

Almost predictable isn't it?

 

I agree Ozzie & Cronky are.

 

There have been some interesting responses here. Gimp asked a 'genuine question' about how Keegan's critics compare him to Robson's situation. I gave an entirely factual response - no opinion offered at all - and I seem to be causing some annoyance.

 

The fact is that when the basic details of Keegan's behaviour are presented, it doesn't look good.

 

Another fact is that Wise rang up Keegan and said "I've got a very good player for you". Then Wise later said to Keegan he'd actually never seen him play... which was after he told Keegan to look at Gonzalez on Youtube when Keegan didnt like the look of Gonzalez credentials. What sort of treatment is that?  Its not just a simple disagreement over a loan signing, which looks nice and innocent... but the DOF lying to the manager, showing a total lack of resprect and breaking any trust.

 

Another fact, is that had Keegan stayed on the basis of Llambias' letter sent to him - "It will continue to be the position that no player will be bought for the first team without your approval, save of course for commercial deals which remain within the sole discrection of the Board." - then they could have brought in any player without his agreement and have it classed as a commercial signing. And Keegan wouldnt have been able to complain or leave afterwards referencing board interference as he'd have agreed to Llambias' terms in that letter - terms which wernt agreed on when he joined.

 

Other witnesses at the tribunal claimed Dennis Wise was not prepared to accepted that Keegan had the final say. Total mess man.

 

And can I ask where these young south american players are? That deal was really 100% legit wasnt it?

 

The treatment was totally shabby, and more than just a simple disagreement.  No-one claims Keegan is perfect, but  I dont understand why a Newcastle fan would think this treatment didnt matter, and say 'it dosent look good on Keegan' when reading what happened. The mistake imo wasnt appointing him, the mistake was to treat him like the way they did and push him into a corner afterwards!

It took a long time for the truth to out (and there may yet be more to come) but when it did it clearly showed KK had been badly treated. The problem is by the time the tribunal arrived at a verdict a lot of supporters had committed themselves to blaming Keegan and can’t admit they got it wrong.

 

BUT I suspect Keegan probably had a bit more than a dubious Latin American loan signing to contend with. I suspect Keegan's lawyers hung a good chunk of his case on the Nacho Gonzalez loan because the evidence of "intervention" was easy to prove and probably undeniable. Their job was to win and they went with the area where they knew they could make their case. However I think there was probably a lot more that happened in that transfer window and I would bet that Milner's transfer and the use of the funds was the most significant factor behind Keegan's walkout.       

 

I'll try and be brief. The tribunal found that it was not a part of Keegan's contract that he had to accept Wise as the final decision-maker on transfers, and as such he was entitled to the £2 million specified in his contract. Gonzalez had been imposed on him, he was found right in law and there's no argument on that particular point.

 

What was outside the tribunal's brief - although they did mention it in passing - was the general problems in the working relationships between Keegan and the Ashley set-up that had existed for some time beforehand. There had been rumours about it early on, and it had become obvious after Keegan's outburst after the Chelsea game and the subsequent meeting in London. Keegan did not like working to a DOF, and he did not like working in the context of a limited transfer budget. He was unable to change those issues, and that, I believe is the fundamental background to his walkout.

 

Supporters of Keegan's actions often seem to speculate that there is more evidence of the Board's wrong-doing over transfers which for some reason was never cited at the tribunal by Keegan's lawyers and has never come to light since. That strikes me as a tacit admission that the Gonzalez affair, in itself, doesn't amount to a great deal. Well, on that I can agree. Only I don't think the hidden tensions were due to other players being imposed on him. I just think Keegan didn't like working under the constraints, financial and procedural, that he was under, and was looking for a way out.

 

Preferably with far more money than he was entitled to, of course.

 

Thats fair enough, tho at the same time the bits above in bold are facts... if Keegan wanted to leave purley because of finanical restrains and having a DOF theres no denying he was treated like crap at the same time.

 

"Although we heard a considerable amount of evidence as to events which took place in the months which followed Mr Keegan's appointment, in view of our conclusions, we can proceed at once to the events which culminated in Mr Keegan's resignation on 4 September 2008" from the tribunal is what some might point to with regards to the structure potentially causing problems earlier, and also "This lack of clarity, indeed confusion, in the understanding of the Club's own representatives as to this critical issue makes it, in our view, even less likely that it would and should have been clear to Mr Keegan from what he was told at the meeting on 16 January 2008 that he would not have the final say." To me, it looks like a jobs-for-the-boys mindset, and it was a mess, no doubt about that.

 

And some would say the way the Gonzalez thing was played out towards Keegan, and the distinct lack of respect, shows Wise's overall attitude in a nutshell, and what it might have been like a lot of the time.

 

For me, the treatment over the Gonzalez deal and the way they tried to change his contract are a shambles enough to see how he was backed into a corner. I believe he was up for bringing back better times here and proving some people wrong, wanted to get the side back into the top 6, the game at Old Trafford showed brilliant spirit.

[Cronky]

If you have £16-99 to spare, do not spend it on this book. I've just read it and it's abysmal. It is a self-indulgent ramble.

 

I thought with the bloke having been an insider at one stage, we were going to have some fresh insights into what was going on behind the scenes. Nope. He spends most of his time giving a tedious fan's-type view of events on the pitch over the last 20 years.

 

In case anyone thinks I'm biased, his view of Ashley is generally sympathetic - ie made some bad mistakes but now deserves the fans' support. His major beef is with the Halls and Shepherd, the theme being that they treated the club as a cash cow.

 

[quayside]

If you have £16-99 to spare, do not spend it on this book. I've just read it and it's abysmal. It is a self-indulgent ramble.

 

I thought with the bloke having been an insider at one stage, we were going to have some fresh insights into what was going on behind the scenes. Nope. He spends most of his time giving a tedious fan's-type view of events on the pitch over the last 20 years.

 

In case anyone thinks I'm biased, his view of Ashley is generally sympathetic - ie made some bad mistakes but now deserves the fans' support. His major beef is with the Halls and Shepherd, the theme being that they treated the club as a cash cow.

 

 

F*cking outrageous - how dare he.

[Guest BooBoo]

Gawd, I swear Keegan fans are the touchiest bunch in the world. If it even looks like someone might be thinking of venturing the mildest criticism of their idol, they're out in force, picketing threads and shouting self-righteously through tinny megaphones.

 

It's very hard to resist winding them up, but there's no sport in it really. Too easy.

 

Keegan Bummer Brigade baiting is one of my hobbies. You're very right though, KK fans are super touchy.

[Thespence]

Gawd, I swear Keegan fans are the touchiest bunch in the world. If it even looks like someone might be thinking of venturing the mildest criticism of their idol, they're out in force, picketing threads and shouting self-righteously through tinny megaphones.

 

It's very hard to resist winding them up, but there's no sport in it really. Too easy.

 

Keegan Bummer Brigade baiting is one of my hobbies. You're very right though, KK fans are super touchy.

 

Everyone has there touchy subjects, I mean you got wound up at SJP & started booing NUFC players ffs What was that about?

 

Did I bite there?