Meeting King ‘Kev’in Keegan

Back in 1983 my football team, Newcastle United, signed the then England Captain Kevin Keegan. I remember writing to him as a young boy and being incredibly happy when a few weeks later I received a signed photo back.

It had pride of place in my bedroom on the windowsill which retrospectively might not have been the best place for it as over the many years it got bleached by the sun and condensation stained the paper. By the 1990’s it was effectively just a blank bit of paper and that was that for decades until in the summer I found out that Kevin Keegan was coming to near me one evening in October to do a speaking engagement and I knew I had to buy a ticket as he is 72 now and as he said himself, getting on a bit.

Known as ‘King Kev’ in honour of his accomplishments and relationship with the city, Kevin Keegan was promoted with Newcastle United both as a player and manager.

Arguably one of the first superstar players of the modern era, Keegan joined the club from Southampton just a few years after being named European Player of Year for two successive seasons while at Hamburg.

During a stellar career, he amassed 63 international caps for England and scored 21 times for the Three Lions.

He retired as a player in 1984, playing his final competitive game for United against Brighton before a friendly against Liverpool at St. James’ Park days later – famously leaving the pitch in a helicopter while in full kit.

He sensationally returned to St. James’ Park as manager in 1992 following the dismissal of Ossie Ardiles and after steadying the ship in the second tier, he would take the club on a spectacular journey over the next five years.

After gaining promotion to the Premier League for the 1993/94 season, United became one of the leading forces in the top flight, with a fearless attacking style seeing the team dubbed the Entertainers during the 1990s.

During that period, the Magpies finished as runners-up in the Premier League in both the 1995/96 and 1996/97 seasons – losing out by a narrow margin on each occasion to Manchester United.

The Magpies’ dramatic 4-3 loss at Liverpool – where Keegan was also a player – in April 1996 is widely regarded as the Premier League’s greatest ever game.

After departing in January 1997, he returned as manager between January and September 2008.

I only got to see Kevin Keegan play once, having annoyingly moved away in 1982.

It’s often said that the league placings never lie but if ever there was a year where many think they did then it is 1996.

As Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys said ‘They were victorious in defeat,’ he says. ‘They won friends. We called them “The Entertainers” and it was a pleasure going there. Their chairman Sir John Hall used to invite us to his Wynyard Hall estate on the Saturday night and Kevin would be there. I remember the big fires burning and champagne glasses everywhere.

‘That was Newcastle — they were class, on and off the pitch. We loved them. My biggest regret from that period is that they did not win a title. They deserved it. But I don’t think Kevin would do anything differently. That gusto and bravado was the reason they were so close in the first place.’ 

One of the many, many reasons Kevin Keegan is loved by so many is his passion and saying exactly what he and many others feel and on the Youtube link below you can see perhaps the most famous rant in the history of football.

You just don’t see any other manager speaking up like that and whilst the London based establishment and media claimed it was a sign everything had got out of control; to us his fans and many others who were just neutrals, we loved him for it. Loved it! As he put it himself.

Twice Kevin Keegan quit as manager of Newcastle United, the first time as he didn’t think he could offer any more and the second because the then new and now infamous club owner Mike Ashley brought him having told him a number of lies.

And there my team suffered for 15 years or so under one of the most useless and miserly owners in the history of the Premier League. Even then Kevin was a man of the people and spoke from the heart saying just the right thing.

In just over a year the team has gone from rock bottom of the league to playing in a cup final and the European Champions team and for the first time in decades it feels like the good times are back.

So having booked my ticket to meet Kevin Keegan a few months ago, it was a long, exciting and nearer the day, nervous wait. I’m fortunate or otherwise to meet quite a lot of famous people and people who just think they are. Many are wonderful, a few are awful… I know everyone is just waiting for me to namedrop my MP Oliver Dowden here.

There were around 300 people at the Evening with Kevin Keegan and somehow I ended up being the second in the queue which afforded me quite a few minutes to have a lovely chat with the man I had waited to meet since 1983. It’s hard to put 40 years of thoughts into a 5 minute chat but I think I did ok.

I told him I was a bit nervous and he said not to be. I made him laugh with a joke and he did the same to me with his reply. He didn’t remember my letter but he did remember the signed photo he sent to me and now it was time to grab this lovely photo of us.

His evening talk was enjoyable too. It started almost an hour late, largely because Kevin was going way beyond what he had to do in chatting to the people who’d come to see him.

He was very funny and heartfelt with lots of stories about the tough footballers of the 70’s and 80’s. I couldn’t relate to the stories of success but I certainly could of being a boy in the north of England in the decades after WW2, albeit 25 years later than Kevin.

His rules for street football were the same as ours. No penalty awarded unless someone broke their leg. Play only stops if someone shouts CAR or if the ball owner is called in for tea and whoever kicks the ball over a fence or wall has to get it.

Kevin started playing for a factory team and not just any factory team but the reserve one. The photos of some of the places he played were a bit grim and rough and when he finally got himself a trial at the local though rather lowly professional football team, he never got past the front door as the manager looked him over and proclaimed him to short to be a footballer and instead to head across the way to the racecourse to be a jockey!

It wasn’t long before he found himself a team and after a few years he was signed up by the legendary Liverpool that saw him playing for numerous great teams and peaked with captaining England for six years. Indeed he remains the only English player to be awarded the European Player of the year for two successive years.

He also spoke up passionately on the corruption in FIFA and other international footballing bodies, the well known Old-Trafford time and bizarre refereeing the somewhat biased refereeing there over the years. He was very complimentary to everyone who had ever helped him during his career and explained how he always sought to do what was best for his family whilst giving inspirational moments and hilarious anecdotes along the way.

In something of a double-whammy of legendary footballing figures from the NE, a few weeks earlier I bumped into the incredible Sky Sports football presenter Jeff Stelling who despite being smartly dressed with a large suitcase right in the heart of the City of London, was more than happy to stop for a photo and a quick chat

Thank-you Kevin Keegan, you were fantastic and it was such a wonderful thing to meet you after 40 years. And generally just thank-you.

It’s sometimes said that one shouldn’t ever meet their hero but perhaps people just need to pick better heroes.