I cam across this about the recent talk in... more info plus a video......
http://whatculture.com/sport/newcastle-6-shocking-revelations-kevin-keegans-departure.php/2
1. Newcastle Turned Down Luka Modric
Back in 2008, newspapers widely reported that Newcastle were on the verge of a transfer coup, as Croatian midfielder Luka Modric was about to sign for the club in a £12m deal from Dinamo Zagreb, but ultimately, the player signed for Spurs.
Keegan has now revealed where the deal went sour: Newcastle had stolen a march on their rival suitors – including Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal – as Modric’s agent was a fan of Keegan when he played, and had been keen to link his client up with his hero, and the deal progressed as far as Modric visiting the club. But then Tony Jimenez, somewhat unthinkably, ruled that Modric was simply not good enough for the Premier League, and the club passed on the deal, to Keegan’s utter astonishment.
Spurned by their first choice, Modric and his agent went to Tottenham and subsequently proved Jimenez’s opinion to be entirely wrong.
2. He Has Sympathy For Alan Pardew
By his own admission, Keegan would feel reluctant to criticise any manager in Pardew’s situation, considering the leadership situation he is forced to work with on a daily basis.
With the Hyypia example – as well as the Luka Modric revelation that tops this feature – Keegan said fans should consider that Pardew could well be facing the same adversity that he had to endure, and doesn’t necessarily deserve to be castigated. Keegan’s drawn-out point was that it is not as clear-cut a situation as fans might suspect from outside.
When pressed by a member of the audience, seemingly intent on asking whether Pardew owed Ashley money – an enduring rumour that fans seem drawn to beyond all else, despite the unlikeliness – Keegan stated he didn’t know the situation behind the manager’s appointment.
3. Tony Jimenez Had No Football Experience
Somewhat astonishingly, on the subject of Tony Jimenez, who was employed as Vice President under Ashley in the management structure that attracted so much criticism, Keegan seemed particularly animated.
The most quotable of his mentions of Jimenez suggest that the international businessman – who was apparently charged with trying to sell Newcastle for Ashely in Dubai, and also became involved in the purchase of Charlton Athletic in 2008 – had no experience in football. His only claim, according to Keegan’s research, to being a football man came from being a steward at Chelsea.
That is probably an exaggeration, given that Jimenez was vice president of a club in Cyprus 4 years before he was at Newcastle, and was a close friend of Juande Ramos, to the extent that he helped broker the Spaniard’s move to Spurs, but his statement is a chilling indictment of the dynamic between the then vice president and manager.
4. Mike Ashley Was Not The Real Problem
As Keegan said on ESPN ahead of Alan Pardew’s first game – at home against Liverpool – the problem with the set-up in the upper echelons of Newcastle is that Mike Ashely “doesn’t know anything about football” and didn’t surround himself with people who “know what they’re doing.’ The long and short of that, according to the former boss, is that the club is now a shambles.
During the talk-in, Keegan echoed the same sentiment, though apparently with less ire than he has done in other interviews, especially in terms of his opinion of Ashley.
When asked about his second stint at the club, Keegan almost apologetically said his brief time under Ashley had been “okay” – to the shock of some fans, no doubt – and that the real problem is with the people the Newcastle owner surrounds himself with, naming in particular, Tony Jimenez, Dennis Wise, and later, Derek Llambias.
5. He Left Because Of The Signings Of Xisco And Ignacio Gonzalez
it has been said before, but Keegan once more reiterated that the reason he left Newcastle ultimately came down to the signings of Spanish flop Xisco, and the hardly-seen Nacho Gonzalez, who turned up on loan at St James Park without the manager’s input on the deals.
It was ultimately those two signings, as Keegan confirmed with his own words, that forced his hand to resignation, and his attempt to get Mike Ashley to restructure the management set-up as an ultimatum when Keegan was asked what would get him back to Newcastle. He admitted in the talk-in that he knew the players simply were not good enough – and with the benefit of hindsight, he was completely justified.
6. Newcastle Almost Signed Sami Hyypia
Keegan announced during his Q & A session that he had identified two targets that he wanted to sign during the summer transfer window in 2008 that ultimately ended with him leaving the club, and that the club fudged both attempted acquisitions.
The bigger of the two is somewhat known (and will be returned to shortly), but it is less well known that Keegan wanted to sign Sami Hyypia, who was at the tail-end of his Liverpool career, and was available for £1.25m. Having worked out the details of his contract demands – considerably less than the top earners at Newcastle according to Keegan – the manager went to the board and told them exactly what was needed to sign him.
But four hours later, Hyypia rang Keegan to confirm that the club had offered just £500k, and been turned down, telling Keegan that they had tried and failed.
Officially, Newcastle almost signed the imposing defender on three separate occasions, with the first coming in 1995 when the 22 year old turned up on Tyneside for a trial under Kevin Keegan, who passed on the Finn and sent him back to MyPa. The second time relates to the time Keegan referred to when he was at the club, and then at the end of the transfer window in February 2009, Joe Kinnear admitted they had had an offer rebuffed for the centre-half again.
[video=youtube;ENfD_z7yde8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENfD_z7yde8[/video]
TIP... bottom left of the screen... click the unmute button....
http://whatculture.com/sport/newcastle-6-shocking-revelations-kevin-keegans-departure.php/2
1. Newcastle Turned Down Luka Modric
Back in 2008, newspapers widely reported that Newcastle were on the verge of a transfer coup, as Croatian midfielder Luka Modric was about to sign for the club in a £12m deal from Dinamo Zagreb, but ultimately, the player signed for Spurs.
Keegan has now revealed where the deal went sour: Newcastle had stolen a march on their rival suitors – including Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal – as Modric’s agent was a fan of Keegan when he played, and had been keen to link his client up with his hero, and the deal progressed as far as Modric visiting the club. But then Tony Jimenez, somewhat unthinkably, ruled that Modric was simply not good enough for the Premier League, and the club passed on the deal, to Keegan’s utter astonishment.
Spurned by their first choice, Modric and his agent went to Tottenham and subsequently proved Jimenez’s opinion to be entirely wrong.
2. He Has Sympathy For Alan Pardew
By his own admission, Keegan would feel reluctant to criticise any manager in Pardew’s situation, considering the leadership situation he is forced to work with on a daily basis.
With the Hyypia example – as well as the Luka Modric revelation that tops this feature – Keegan said fans should consider that Pardew could well be facing the same adversity that he had to endure, and doesn’t necessarily deserve to be castigated. Keegan’s drawn-out point was that it is not as clear-cut a situation as fans might suspect from outside.
When pressed by a member of the audience, seemingly intent on asking whether Pardew owed Ashley money – an enduring rumour that fans seem drawn to beyond all else, despite the unlikeliness – Keegan stated he didn’t know the situation behind the manager’s appointment.
3. Tony Jimenez Had No Football Experience
Somewhat astonishingly, on the subject of Tony Jimenez, who was employed as Vice President under Ashley in the management structure that attracted so much criticism, Keegan seemed particularly animated.
The most quotable of his mentions of Jimenez suggest that the international businessman – who was apparently charged with trying to sell Newcastle for Ashely in Dubai, and also became involved in the purchase of Charlton Athletic in 2008 – had no experience in football. His only claim, according to Keegan’s research, to being a football man came from being a steward at Chelsea.
That is probably an exaggeration, given that Jimenez was vice president of a club in Cyprus 4 years before he was at Newcastle, and was a close friend of Juande Ramos, to the extent that he helped broker the Spaniard’s move to Spurs, but his statement is a chilling indictment of the dynamic between the then vice president and manager.
4. Mike Ashley Was Not The Real Problem
As Keegan said on ESPN ahead of Alan Pardew’s first game – at home against Liverpool – the problem with the set-up in the upper echelons of Newcastle is that Mike Ashely “doesn’t know anything about football” and didn’t surround himself with people who “know what they’re doing.’ The long and short of that, according to the former boss, is that the club is now a shambles.
During the talk-in, Keegan echoed the same sentiment, though apparently with less ire than he has done in other interviews, especially in terms of his opinion of Ashley.
When asked about his second stint at the club, Keegan almost apologetically said his brief time under Ashley had been “okay” – to the shock of some fans, no doubt – and that the real problem is with the people the Newcastle owner surrounds himself with, naming in particular, Tony Jimenez, Dennis Wise, and later, Derek Llambias.
5. He Left Because Of The Signings Of Xisco And Ignacio Gonzalez
it has been said before, but Keegan once more reiterated that the reason he left Newcastle ultimately came down to the signings of Spanish flop Xisco, and the hardly-seen Nacho Gonzalez, who turned up on loan at St James Park without the manager’s input on the deals.
It was ultimately those two signings, as Keegan confirmed with his own words, that forced his hand to resignation, and his attempt to get Mike Ashley to restructure the management set-up as an ultimatum when Keegan was asked what would get him back to Newcastle. He admitted in the talk-in that he knew the players simply were not good enough – and with the benefit of hindsight, he was completely justified.
6. Newcastle Almost Signed Sami Hyypia
Keegan announced during his Q & A session that he had identified two targets that he wanted to sign during the summer transfer window in 2008 that ultimately ended with him leaving the club, and that the club fudged both attempted acquisitions.
The bigger of the two is somewhat known (and will be returned to shortly), but it is less well known that Keegan wanted to sign Sami Hyypia, who was at the tail-end of his Liverpool career, and was available for £1.25m. Having worked out the details of his contract demands – considerably less than the top earners at Newcastle according to Keegan – the manager went to the board and told them exactly what was needed to sign him.
But four hours later, Hyypia rang Keegan to confirm that the club had offered just £500k, and been turned down, telling Keegan that they had tried and failed.
Officially, Newcastle almost signed the imposing defender on three separate occasions, with the first coming in 1995 when the 22 year old turned up on Tyneside for a trial under Kevin Keegan, who passed on the Finn and sent him back to MyPa. The second time relates to the time Keegan referred to when he was at the club, and then at the end of the transfer window in February 2009, Joe Kinnear admitted they had had an offer rebuffed for the centre-half again.
[video=youtube;ENfD_z7yde8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENfD_z7yde8[/video]
TIP... bottom left of the screen... click the unmute button....
