Keegan – “The King is Dead”.

Posted on October 3rd, 2009 | 75 Comments |

Dead or alive?
Dead or alive?
As I awoke today my head was still spinning – I am gut wrenchingly saddened at what we have become, as many are aware I have a particular stance re the whole Keegan affair – ultimately that he shouldn’t have walked – many are vehemently against my stance.

I awoke needing to write, to quantify why I sit here uncomfortable with the views of the majority – well the majority of the most vociferous anyway.

I always awaited this verdict to finalise my views –  I had advocated he shouldn’t have walked – so I expected big things to break, big shocks, serious undermining if he won……… I never expected a technical K.O.

As we all know in September last year – Kevin Keegan walked out of Newcastle. As the tribunal stated he was constructively dismissed. Keegan was victorious and released his statement about the club he loves.

Again I squirm and sit uncomfortably. “A club he loves?”.

Newcastle United is more than a business, more than a company – its a living breathing collective of individuals and energy all who come together to play their part in helping each other succeed in the game we all love – surely that’s what we all want? Personalities come and go, just as players, the seasons, games, referee decisions and results come and go – but the club and the love for the club remains.

A parent can claim similar virtues as a football fan, they love their families with equal passion, put others within their families first, the family is a collective and there for each other through thick and thin – Newcastle United is a family – a one to which we all voluntarily subscribe.

I ask – would a parent voluntarily abandon a child whilst of sane mind and then claim the right to say they “love it” – whilst at the time they abandoned it they knew the damage their abandoning would cause?

Even now in these difficult times – we – the fans – whilst opposed to each others views – we remain firm to the cause – we do not cut and run – yet we are not bound by money – or contracts – we give that love – that passion – unconditionally.

To support our families each of us will work to a degree – fortunately the law provides us protection as in Keegan’s case – I ask a simple question – is his verdict just? Before I am slated I need to explain.

A man working in a coal mine, a hard task, a dangerous job an honest one at that, is paid a wage. In any given year he is paid a modest 25,000, he works, he toils and asks little more than the protection of the law if he is forced out – his position untenable. The law is there to provide that protection – the fundamentals are fantastic – but when society misplaces the logic behind them, the well meaning thoughts behind those laws means their effect is skewed and warped.

To put this into context – Kevin Keegan claimed from this affair the years salary of 1000 men from our club. Or to individualise it – it would take a family of four – your family – if you didn’t spend a penny – 250 years for you all collectively to earn that money – with not a penny going to yourself.

I believe in this whole affair people have forgot about the lifeblood of the club, which comes not only from its fans but also the money (akin to blood) the club needs to operate. Talk is cheap, million of pounds float off the tongue without one thought of how much it is, how long it takes to earn – where it “appears from”.

Kevin Keegan was paid 3.0million a year and rising, an astonishing amount of money – Kevin Keegan relies on the same law that protects the miner. But surely when one is paid that amount of money you expect greater pressure, greater problems, greater difficulty and compromise? Surely that’s why you are being rewarded so generously? Again I ask you – what compromises would you make for that level of reward – it is expected – and has a right to be expected that your shoulders are broad – that you are not a mere mortal – you have strength of character and genius.

You see Kevin Keegan wasn’t being asked to work through these difficulties for himself – he was there to represent the fans – the players – the hopes of us all – so his payment – albeit from the club – was also from us all – when he walked – he walked out on us all too.

It is only when the individual forgets where they are, why they are there, what they are being paid for, only when they become self consumed – abandon their family and the collective cause – can they take legal action like Kevin Keegan took.

Many will immediately counter that he would have been liable for the 2.0m to the club if he had simply walked and not took action – I agree – and if compromise couldn’t be reached then Keegan would have had to – for self preservation – have took the club to arbitration. BUT there is a caveat – it would have been for 2.0m only. To try to take the lifeblood of the club, turn it into a black pudding to suckle himself fat at the expense of everything and everyone else is unforgivable.

Many again will say he has a right to fight for all he can get – I simply say these laws – the laws of employment – are there for the miner and common man – they should not be applied to men at this level of payment or salary – they are being paid to shoulder bigger weights – and should stand and act accordingly.

So on to the case – what little there is of it.

The pivotal point of this case is in relation to the mayhem, frustration and anger in our lives, is trivial. The long term problems of those fundamentals though – I accept – if not worked through are significant – but men who stay and talk work around problems – men who run achieve nothing.

The signing of Nacho Gonzalez for commercial reason or otherwise is an interesting debate in itself, I truly believe that a club has the right to spend its own money – and Mike Ashley owns this club – if he wants to spend one penny or one million – the decision is for him to take. I can not willingly spend another mans money. If Mike Ashley was simply removing our money from our own contributions into his own pockets the way previous regimes had – I would be bitter – but nothing could be further from the truth. He has supported us – arguably saved us – after other men stole our futures.

By the same extension – I simply can not get my head around the fact – that a man – Keegan who was being paid 3.0m a year to shoulder responsibility – could not handle the loan signing of ONE player for reasons he did not agree with.

If Keegan walked on this principle alone – he should never be allowed in the city again – he abandoned his family and left it to rot – he then came back and attempted to pickpocket all of the families money.

I – because of history and my previous respect for him – can not believe this was the only thing that made Keegan walk. He would have been unhappy in general – his defence (to us and the courts) is flawed:

IF he was happy – this is a trivial incident to work around given time and time alone.

IF he was generally unhappy and this was the straw that broke the camels back – he could not say that in court – as his case would be obliterated and NUFC would be victorious.

The conclusions for myself – please  take time before you lash out at me are that : Either Keegan walked in a hissyfit on the signing of one loan player – or that He was unhappy and used this as an excuse and ran. In either case he does not come out of this well – he leaves as a hissyfitter or as a man who didnt state the real unhappiness for leaving in the trial (god forbid a teller of  “untruths” ).

We then have to look at the club – the admittance that they misled fans. There are many elements at play here – one should not take them at face value. I need to explain:

I – as the panel – don’t believe that the club had stipulated to Keegan that he would not have the final say on transfers. I do believe that as Keegan knew that a Director of Football most likely Dennis Wise was to be appointed over him, that general conversations had taken place (as admitted by all) but nothing specific re this detail at all – The very fact someone is being appointed over you – implies by its nature – that the buck does not stop with you – neither side produce a single discussion about this issue as evidence. Keegan asserts “that’s what a managers role is” the club assert “he knew as he had been told” – I dont go along with that – I think they assumed he knew because of the obvious nature of the DOF role.

Also I dont believe the club told the truth in the trial – I believe Keegan was to have the ultimate say on most transfers – yet they saw a benefit to this loan – and took it. But I think they too have tried to win the case (just as Keegan did) by saying their press releases were misleading the fans. Again with Keegan there are two possibilities behind this rationale:

Either the club deliberately lied to the fans – as they knew the reaction to Dennis Wise having power OR in reality that Keegan did have the say on most matters – but they reserved the right to step in as and when to do business. (as anyone running a business would want)

There is no doubt about it, Newcastle United and Mike Ashleys board (at the time) do not come out of this well – again they show ignorance of the consequence of the press and failure to communicate and explain. They have not realised that their “misleading fans” defence would be seized upon, poor management indeed.

But in my opinion the real villain of the peace – is the man who turned his back on his family and the club he “loves”, walked out for the signing of one loan player, a man who didn’t try and stay the course in difficult times, a man who didnt care what happened to the club, fans and people he loves when he walked.

Kevin Keegan – the man who would have the miners and forefathers turning in their graves as he abandoned his post and then tried to strip the club bare, he put his fragile-ego ahead of everything that really mattered – you – me – and Newcastle United Football Club.

For myself – gone is the myth – the fallacy that Kevin Keegan loves this club – he loves himself – his own pockets and above all else he loves walking out on things he “loves” – way before he loves NUFC.

NUFCBlog Author: Stardust Stardust has written 15 articles on this blog.

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75 Responses

  1. Stardust i ask again, you obviously won’t change your mind about Keegan, but what are your views of Mike Ashley now that he is a proven liar and has misled the fans on purpose?

  2. Tino _ I have summed it up above – I cant add more than that really.

    Every one of us, who works for a business, in a company, owns a company or organisation – benefits from spin and press every day – millions around the UK benefit from it – it is used as a tool – I dont like it but accept it – it helps fans pay for their tickets and entertainment.

    But as I said – i think their admittance was ill conceived – I actuallu dont buy into it – I think they tried to win the trial 9just as I think KK had) – I think that the press releases were real, BUT they assumed KK would know he wasnt ultimately in charge as they were appointing a DOF.

  3. tino 11 – stardust probably runs his business in a simlar manner to MA – so he’s hardly likely to critisize him…off to the game for me.

  4. But Stardust they spent money on a player who wasn’t wanted and would never play!

    That money could’ve went towards funding a left back which we needed, it’s crazy.

  5. totally appreciate that Tino – but that was the decision for the man paying – i.e. what return will i get? he decided it was worth it.

  6. Good article. I don’t agree with a lot of it but it’s nevertheless a good article.

    I’m a little disappointed that you appear to deny some of the findings of the tribunal – which was after all a very considered affair based on all the available evidence – because that takes away our reference point for the truth (or at least the best reference point we have for the truth), thus taking us back to a position of conjecture and opinion.

    I have a number of tedious domestic tasks to attend to but I’ll reread your article and offer additional comments later.

  7. Stardust says:
    October 3, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    totally appreciate that Tino – but that was the decision for the man paying – i.e. what return will i get? he decided it was worth it.

    ————————————————
    Obviously the wrong decision though, surely? Putting money somewhere in return for something that may or may not happen in the future at the expense of the present time when investment was needed elsewhere, was IMO wrong and stupid.

  8. Thanks Hugh – appreciate the conjecture, but I have dealt with hundred of cases – just reading between the lines – may be right or wrong.

    Tino – appreciate it might look it – but you wouldnt give away 1.0m if you werent sure of a return.

  9. Stardust, Kevin Keegan won his case. Please, have the good grace to accept the decision and move on, like everyone else involved should. There is no dignity nor nobility in decrying such a decision.

  10. Stardust,
    I cannot believe you let ashely et all off so lightly here…Keegan is gone,good riddance i say!! I do not begrudge him for leavin but I do begrudge him for leaving at the worst possible time…there was obviously many problems and I do not think that it was simply ONE loan signing(it would be childish to believe thus). Good players were sold(milner,faye) and sub standard players brought in. Our squad had been thin the previous season and nowhere near enough was invested(it was plain for all to see) we were left threadbare(to this day) in some areas and I have no doubt that keegan was cacking it because of the size of our squad(with many of the players being injury prone). Ashely failed us and Kevin in this regard. Kevin also knew that the club had lied intentionally to the fans…an altogether common occurence under this incompetent regime. They LIED deliberately to us, and have done it many a time since! WHAT are we to believe??? In my eyes NOTHING to have come out of ashely mouth is 100% true any longer(or at least i cannot believe it). I have lost every last ounce of sympathy and respect for him because he is a proven LIAR. Whats to say he is actually trying to sell/or that he didnt buy us to make a profit etc etc. He is a bo!!ox of the highest order and in my eyes owes the club so much. HE has destroyed us…ever since he arrived there have been constant problems/ strife/ tension/ incompetency/ lies+untruths amongst many other things. He has said one thing and done another. He pushed the fans to the brink and yet we stil show unwavering suppport of Newcastle Football Club.

    Stardust, which is worse…demanding 2 mill for the obvious debacle going on behind the scenes and for the club having breached their contract with him or paying 1 million of the clubs money as a favour to someone???
    When is this favour going to be returned…never I assume or else the favour already had been repayed already with it being of no benefit to the club.

    Glad that keegan is gone but the only way we can move forward is under someone who wants the best for this club….something i no longer feel ashley ever wanted

  11. Very good article..

    the bottom line is the club is being run by charlatans with poor business acumen who definitely have out stayed their welcome, and good riddance to a manager who has also abused the fans trust with one goal and that was to line his own pockets at his first opportunity.

    Ashley and Keegan when you are both long gone you will be very quickly forgotten.

    I’m pleased we can finally move on.

  12. Can we please now draw a line under this sordid affair? Right then, I’m off now to support the one thing that comes first and foremost before any individual – Newcastle United football club.

  13. Bobby Robson always stated that football was being killed by agents and there “associated” contacts inside football, a la Ashley, Wise, Jimenez, etc. Keegan is a man of great dignity and could obviously see that taking a player to “do a favour” for an agent was the thin end of the wedge – at least he was dignified enough not to become part of this spiv culture that Ashley is part of.

    Is it just co-incidence, or, as a man of great stature, Arthur Cox mysteriously left NUFC months prior to KK going; ask yourself the question why he left Newcastle? He could see what NUFC has become since Ashley took over; a club ran by spivs and dodgy deals – just a good job KK exposed this, unfortunately, it cost him his job and many NUFC fans (you’re obviously one of them). It would have been easier for KK to just take the cash and get on with it (your Keegan self, self, self doesn’t wash with me). Good on you Kevin!

    NEVER FORGET what KK has done for NUFC, Newcastle and the North-East in general … I’d have KK anyday and would welcome him back tomorrow.

    My 2p worth.

    TC
    Gatesheed Mags

  14. stardust,do you hold sir bobby in the same light as keegan,they both sued the club.your a disgrace,nothing like loosing with dignity is there.

  15. Well written piece stardust and I agree with these views.

    Three views on which I would like to touch, is the debate about having signed on loan a player who was or is not going to play first team football as a favour for two south American clubs. I think in football this is known as networking. You scratch my back I scratch yours.

    In an event in the distant future these two south American clubs produce a young hot shoe they will not forget the favour we did for them and as such we will be on the front foot when negotiating his signature.

    All clubs do such and some do even more. You cannot put a price tag on establishing a network so to suggest it is a wrong decision is surely shortsighted.

    The other view is one I have argued time and time again on the .com counterpart, and that is the correlation between remuneration and difficulty of job. The more difficult the job the higher the remuneration I think that is beyond debate here. 3 Million is a lot of money we should recognise that. He was not here as a favour but he was being paid to be here, we must remember that. A man who demonstrates such intransigence in a highly remunerative job is clearly conceited.

    The last point is the £25 million he was claiming. Talk about going for the jugular. He ‘loves’ the club so much he claimed £25 million. This is evidence enough that this man does ‘love’ the club. Not was he instrumental in relegating us but he wanted to bankrupt us as well.
    Your King is Dead indeed.

  16. stardust,do you hold sir bobby in the same light as keegan,they both sued the club.your a disgrace,nothing like loosing with dignity is there.

    when did sir bobby sue the club

  17. If Keegan had claimed the 2 million then Ashley would have paid him in a heart beat!! and all the shady dealings of this Man would remain a secret. No tribunal would have occured and Keegan wouldn’t have cleared his name. This I believe is the sole reason for the size of the claim, to force this into the public domain.

    I ask again, are you happy that our Football club is paying 60k per week to a player that isn’t good enough to play in the first team just to keep a couple of shady Agents happy!!

  18. Stardust, you’re so dumb your adorable…”I awoke needing to write…” indeed. Good job Franz Kafka isn’t your ghost writer or you might have awoken this morning to find you were a giant cockroach! You’ve certainly shown yourself to be a pompous ass!

    Although the speed at which you’ve grabbed KK to use as a human shield, to mask the real issue (Ashley’s corrupt regime), does show certain ‘roach like tendencies.

    Once again high handed drivel and fanciful nonsense abound in your writing. You claim a monopoly on the truth by harping on the amount Keegan claimed. I don’t suppose it’s crossed your mind that this “Outrageous” amount was something Keegan NEVER EXPECTED TO GET? That maybe, just maybe, the size of the claim was designed to force Ashley’s hand….to push him into an arbitration that would involve full disclosure. Claiming a derisory sum my well have given Ashley carte blanche to pay KK off….and this whole tawdry saga would NEVER have seen the light of day.

    Keegan…right, Ashley…wrong. Simple really, everything else is just window dressing.

    Let’s answer some questions like: Who are these “South American agents?” and “Why do we have to keep them sweet?”, that’s were the real story is. I suppose bleating on about a perceived slight by a former hero is the easy option…right? I trust your “need” is sated now…sorry to hear of your squirming discomfort, although there are creams for that sort of thing!

  19. what commercail gain could we get from south america..ZERO.nacho plays for valencia,there was nothing to gain.appart from a back hander to wise and co.

  20. Seeing as Keegan did not get the £25 million he wanted perhaps now he will go and sell his story to the Sun.

  21. Unlucky not to win again….stonewall pen.

    For those saying the 25m was just lawyer business – why wasnt this announced as a tactic by the Keegan camp? He has after all made a full statement?

    Answer – because he wanted 25m!

  22. Excelsior “Once again high handed drivel and fanciful nonsense abound in your writing. ”

    Oh the irony – one of the funniest things Ive read lol.

  23. Is anybody on this blog actually interested in the matches and players? It all seems to be regurgitated off pitch crap!

  24. aye i had a hair cut the day like,but the FACT is you have been exposed as a mug you backed ashley to the hilt,and now the truth is out he has tryed to take us all for mugs,and you still think he is as white as white.

  25. the main reason the fans of this football club,have been divided over the last year is whether the ashley regime were telling lies.
    i think we can safely say now that they cannot be trusted,lets not forget these idiots brought keegan back in the first place.
    i appreciate what keegan did first time around for the club,but his association with nufc should be at an end for good.
    i just hope the same happens with mike ashley,and he leaves sharpish.
    this club is bigger than the likes of ashley and keegan,lets weed out the trash and move on.

  26. what is it with you stardust..ashley or NUFC,
    im not well schooled like you im a graftet worked all my life,but for some reason you take the high ground in every comment,where you bullied at school,what is your problem.

  27. aye sound a bit of a div there like, but im not i know when im being taken for a mug,im to much of a cat to be fked off kittens

  28. Hitman your wasting your time Stardust only see’s things from his view, you cannot reason with him as I said before you would think KK walked out on stardust when he was bairn. and I would say he was bullied at school

  29. Stardust
    I knew you’d be bitter and twisted when Sir Kevin cleared his name – but even I didn’t expect the meandering, steaming pile of poo-poo you have written above.
    I really think you should have taken 24/48 hrs out…..but you chose not to – and here is your garbage for all to see.
    OF COURSE football finances involve enormous amounts of money that the ordinary working man will never see…..but to say that is peculiar to Sir Kevin and use it as a stick to beat him is laughable. You really are a joke pal.
    And of course you fail to mention the seedy dealings of your fat friend – as revealed by these eminent QCs who have seen the evidence – instead, a rant against Sir Kevin. You really are sad.
    The King is very much alive – in the hearts of true United fans. You, in contrast, are a sad, bitter excuse who cannot accept Sir Kevin won.
    Stop whingeing and take it like a man – you ARE a man aren’t you??

  30. It’s not unreasonable to question the merits of Keegan’s successful constructive claim. The problem with doing it now is it distracts from the really important stuff. Mike Ashley is the villain of the piece. It’s his fault we went down, his fault the club hasn’t had permanent manager for over a year, his fault there’s been no investment in the squad for over two years, his fault hundreds of people have lost their jobs. Blogs like this only serve to strengthen Ashley’s hand.

  31. Reached the conclusion Stardust is nothing but a windbag,with an enormous ego.
    Also a bounder, cad and rotter !

  32. Heartfelt and well-written but, I’m afraid to say, totally at odds with the truth, for all the reasons I’ve mentioned before.

  33. Decision time .. tuen against Keegan .. you’re a fu cking mackem bast ard in discise.

    Keegan forever, keep the faith.

  34. “Stardust says:
    October 3, 2009 at 5:20 pm
    Excelsior “Once again high handed drivel and fanciful nonsense abound in your writing.

    Oh the irony – one of the funniest things Ive read lol.”

    Glad it made you giggle, Stardust. I trust you laughed as much at the “Pompous ass” bit?

    Those who feel compelled to shout about their stranglehold on the truth, should beware who hears them.

  35. Stardust you are a sorry excuse for a Geordie IF INDEED you are one.

    The thousands of fans who demonstrated outside of St James Park when Keegan left are well and truely vindicated. I congratulate Mr Kevin Keegan and wish him all the best for the future.

    Keegan will go down in history for exposing Fat Cash for the barrow boy he is.

    As for you Stardust I will not say what my thoughts are for your future.

    Long Live the King Kevin Keegan

  36. Geordie Jayne says:
    October 4, 2009 at 12:28 am

    “Stardust you are a sorry excuse for a Geordie IF INDEED you are one.

    The thousands of fans who demonstrated outside of St James Park when Keegan left are well and truely vindicated.”

    Jayne, are you suggesting that people who don’t agree with Kevin Keegan are somehow lesser Geordies than people who do? Or, possibly, aren’t even Geordies at all?

  37. I thinks it’s unfair to question Stardust’s credentials as an NUFC supporter, although he’s not doing himself any favours by pursuing the “la,la, la not listening, ya boo sucks” line. I had my reservations about certain individuals being unable to take the judgement with any degree of grace irrespective of the outcome, and I take no pleasure whatsoever in sadly being proved right.

  38. Shiver

    I have accepted the verdict in its entirety – not sure where you think I dont.

    I have though – rationalised the full report by the panel and come to conclusions of my own.

    Please dont confuse the two.

    Keegan won by a TKO – but it now leaves open the tide gates for tens of managers to up sticks and leave when their chairman buys a player for the club – which happens every year.

    Contracts will be tightened and the status quo changed forever.

    This is a dangerous verdict indeed – a one that infers an owner and benefactor does not have the right to spend their own money in the way they see fit – they must hand power to another blindly – a fact I find bizarre.

    And you cant see why I am uncomfortable………… :~

  39. Lol Worky – I have asked George Caulkin to read it – be good if we got him to post an opinion lol.

    Not sure what they are fizzin at – its only the truth isn’t it ;)

  40. Stardust, i’m not confusing any issue, I’m merely pointing out the futility of you trying to argue over factual matters, which is a bizzare exercise in itself. You tried to argue that Keegan left over one thing, when it was made abundantly clear within the findings of the arbitration panel that it was ‘the final staw’, or culmination of a series of events, if you will.

    Furthermore, you’re apparent disgust at the possibility Employers won’t be able to contractually mess around with is morally and ethically very suspect. Richard Littlejohn-esque, sadly.

    Your absolute, stonewall refusal to accept the judgement passed down does not do you any favours. In simple parlance – Cosa Nostra style – get the f___ over it.

  41. Shiver – Social Worker are we?

    I have said – please read “I accept the verdict”

    Your argument with me is obviously as hollow as your head.

    Cant add or say anything really – Im just sitting here with a very puzzled face – imagining you with a room full of cats

  42. Shiver – just thought I would post this for you: My article is fully consistent. Keegan left on the signing of Gonzalez alone (and for the future consequence of other similar signings).

    32. The Third Issue:
    Why did Mr Keegan leave the Club?
    We are satisfied that Mr Keegan left the Club (i.e. resigned) because the Club sought to impose upon him a player, namely Gonzalez, whom he did not want, in breach of the term in his Contract which we have found entitled and required him to have the final say. This was his evidence, which we accept, and it is supported by the timing of his resignation.

    33. True it is that he was plainly unhappy with some aspects at the Club, in particular the small size of the squad and the lack of signings which he believed were required to bolster its size, both of which were making him frustrated, and true it is that he plainly had a difficult relationship with Mr Wise and Mr Jimenez but we are satisfied that what triggered his resignation was the Club’s signing of Gonzalez notwithstanding Mr Keegan’s strong opposition to it. Both at the time and to us he described the Gonzalez signing as the final straw and the evidence shows that the Club appreciated that proceeding with it against this wishes might well lead to his resignation.

    34. It follows that we do not accept the Club’s case which is that Mr Keegan resigned because he could not continue to operate within the structure of the Club and that the Gonzalez deal may have represented a convenient excuse for him to do so. First, he told us, and we accept, that he wanted to stay at the Club. Secondly, there were very good reasons for him to want to do so. He had a valuable Contract worth £3m for the first year, £3.2m for year two and £3.4m for year three, plus benefits and he was managing a Club about which he clearly felt passionately and whose fans supported him no less passionately. Thirdly, the Club had had an encouraging start to the new season: in the Premiership, they had drawn away to Manchester United and then won at home to Bolton and in the Carling Cup they had since won away at Coventry. True it is that they had just lost away at Arsenal but that cannot have come as any great surprise. And the atmosphere in the dressing room was described as excellent. Finally, as we set out in more detail below, he was being told by the Club that they wanted him to stay.

    SO SHIVER PLEASE STOP TYPING – the nonsense that drivels from your fingers is simply that – drivel.

  43. ‘Both at the time and to us he described the Gonzalez signing as the final straw and the evidence shows that the Club appreciated that proceeding with it against this wishes might well lead to his resignation’.

    So the club knew that signing a player who was injured and would never play in the first team(KK said on ESPN he would be in the reserves)would result in the resignation of their manager, yet they still went ahead and brought him in?

    Mmmm. Very strange way to run a club imo.

    KK fully vindicated!

  44. Stardust – surely you’re just supporting Shiver’s argument there??

    Paragraph 33 sums up pretty well what you initially opined and I can’t see why you won’t just accept it as a justifiable grounds for KK’s actions.

    Yet you then besmirch him by suggesting it’s not true. Which is it?

    One is fact and the other is opinion. Stick to your principles of dealing in facts and you’ll reach a satisfactory conclusion.

  45. Stardust, quite the sensitive soul, aren’t we? The type that can never accept when they are in the wrong, for example. Resorting to baseless insults when you’ve been made to look foolish makes you look, well, foolish. Spoilt child syndrome.

    Surely even you can appreciate the contrary nature of you asserting you fully accept the verdict only to continually whinge about said verdict ad nauseum. Irony, dear boy.

    And the superfluous use of hyphens is hardly assisting you in your fruitless attempts to attain the interlectual highground in leui of a credible argument or opinion.

  46. Well written article I have to say Stardust. I don’t agree with it but it’s well written never the less.

    One question.

    STARDUST – ‘I – because of history and my previous respect for him – can not believe this was the only thing that made Keegan walk. He would have been unhappy in general – his defence (to us and the courts) is flawed:

    IF he was generally unhappy and this was the straw that broke the camels back – he could not say that in court – as his case would be obliterated and NUFC would be victorious.’.

    POINT 33

    ‘True it is that he was plainly unhappy with some aspects at the Club, in particular the small size of the squad and the lack of signings which he believed were required to bolster its size, both of which were making him frustrated, and true it is that he plainly had a difficult relationship with Mr Wise and Mr Jimenez but we are satisfied that what triggered his resignation was the Club’s signing of Gonzalez notwithstanding Mr Keegan’s strong opposition to it. Both at the time and to us he described the Gonzalez signing as the final straw and the evidence shows that the Club appreciated that proceeding with it against this wishes might well lead to his resignation.’

    To me this shows that the panel recognised this WAS the final straw and that Kevin did not just leave because of the one transfer, but because this was the exact point at which his authority was completely and blatantly usurped by the club, after both the public and he were advised he had full authority over transfers, and hence is the fundamental point upon which he built his case.

  47. Pons – thanks for the feedback – though I contend Para 34 clarifies para 33.

    In essence they acknowledge though there were difficulties the only thing that made him walk was the signing. And it is this point alone that wins him the technical KO.

    If he had walked for the other matters he would not have won – as I state – I still hold enough respect for the man to believe he couldn’t and wouldn’t have walked for the one signing – therefore I advocate this was a legal tactic to win. (watch Shiver weigh in here from his cat filled room lol)

  48. Shiver – “And the superfluous use of hyphens is hardly assisting you in your fruitless attempts to attain the interlectual highground in leui of a credible argument or opinion.”

    I am very sorry to use too many hyphens “-” I hope the few hours it took me to draft for the interest of debate were not wasted because of my appalling English.

    Worky – I am sorry for using too many hyphens – I hope I haven’t lowered the tone of your fine blog ;)

  49. Stardust says:
    October 5, 2009 at 12:28 pm (Edit)

    In essence they acknowledge though there were difficulties the only thing that made him walk was the signing. And it is this point alone that wins him the technical KO.

    If he had walked for the other matters he would not have won – as I state – I still hold enough respect for the man to believe he couldn’t and wouldn’t have walked for the one signing

    ====

    He didn’t walk for ‘one signing’. He walked because his contract was breached and he was not allowed the final say on transfers.

    32. “We are satisfied that Mr Keegan left the Club (i.e. resigned) because the Club sought to impose upon him a player, namely Gonzalez, whom he did not want, in breach of the term in his Contract which we have found entitled and required him to have the final say.”

    He tried to rectify the situation but negotiations between KK and Ashley broke down because Ashley would not give him the final say on transfers and having that say was an implicit clause in his contract.

    40. “In any event, it is clear that the “final final straw” occurred on 4 September when the Club handed to him the letter to which we have referred above in which it made it clear that were he to remain at the Club he would still not have the final say.”

    The Nacho thing certainly brought it to a head – which it says in the tribunal – but you also have to read point 40 to get the full context.

    He left because he was denied – and was going to continue to be denied – the final say on transfers.

  50. I think I get what you’re saying now Stardust!

    Keegan was just waiting for a legal loophole to get out of dodge!

    That makes sense!

    It’s contrary to the factual findings of the tribunal but definitely fits in with the agenda of disparaging Kev.

  51. Hugh – the letter argument is a decent enough point. For me the timing of it is misplaced – it is at the end of the dispute – provided for clarity.

    The owners whole system was aimed at preventing the to-ing and fro-ing of players, to build a long steady future, to stop new manager after manger making wholesale changes. So when the owner wanted to spend 1.0m for the betterment of the club – to access the brightest young talent in South America – he should be able to do so.

    Thereon it opens an argument all over again and it takes you back to the beginning of the whole tribunal.

    Irrespective of the letters content – Kevin Keegan should have stayed, proved over time he had a better eye that anyone else – won Mike over by getting him to trust him, and strengthened his position.

    Keegan didnt – he walked.

  52. BBM – at 68.

    No I am saying he was miserable and at that time on that one instance – Keegan reverted to type and stormed out. Oh of course he always has an excuse – every time he has an excuse – but BBM remind me – where else in the world of football have you a man who perpetually storms out on clubs. (and where that person is still respected)

    Only Newcastle I guess.

  53. Stardust: “Irrespective of the letters content – Kevin Keegan should have stayed, proved over time he had a better eye that anyone else – won Mike over by getting him to trust him, and strengthened his position.”

    Maybe he should. Maybe Ashley should have compromised too, stopped the Nacho loan and then gone back to KK to discuss how they’d handle future ‘commercial signings’ or whatever. Maybe even Ashley shouldn’t have employed him in the first place. Maybe loads of things could have been different.

    Things played out the way they did though and the tribunal was about whether – given the circumstances that transpired – Keegan was justified in walking out or not. It seems he was, so the person who really should have been doing things differently is Ashley.

  54. Hugh, He should never have got Keegan in the first place, I was horrified from the start and knew it would lead to big trouble. Then, to compound that by bringing in another egotistical little troublemaker almost immediately, throwing him into the same cock-pit, was insanity from a team building point of view.

  55. workyticket says:
    October 5, 2009 at 3:04 pm

    Just one of numerous disasters he has overseen..

  56. Just a thought but we all know that Agents are a unscrupulous bunch who are only motivated by money. So why did Ashley and Wise ect think that by taking this one player they would get the best South American youngsters?

    If Barcalona, R Madrid or Man City offered the agents more money for one of these youngsters they would take them there, they wouldn’t give NUFC a second thought, gentlemans agreement or not.

    The gullibility of it all beggers belief!

  57. workyticket says:
    October 5, 2009 at 3:04 pm (Edit)

    Hugh, He should never have got Keegan in the first place, I was horrified from the start and knew it would lead to big trouble. Then, to compound that by bringing in another egotistical little troublemaker almost immediately, throwing him into the same cock-pit, was insanity from a team building point of view.

    ===

    It’s rare that we totally agree about something relating to the Ashley/Keegan subject, but I do agree 100% with that.