Extracted from
soccernet
Tyneside was preparing itself for the third coming tonight after
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley handed Kevin Keegan a sensational
return as manager.
Eleven years after ending his first spell in charge, Keegan is on
his way back to St James' Park as Sam Allardyce's replacement and
has signed a three-and-a-half year contract.
Ashley and chairman Chris Mort found themselves under fire at the
weekend as it emerged that Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp had
withdrawn for the race to succeed Allardyce.
However, the pair tonight gave the fans what they wanted when they
appointed a man who achieved legendary status both as a player and
as a manager during his previous spells with the club.
They did so under cover of an extensive smokescreen which had seen
a bewildering list of names linked with the post as they cast their
net far and wide.
The Magpies confirmed Keegan's appointment shortly before 4.30pm
this afternoon, although details remain sketchy.
Indeed, while the confirmation answered one burning question, it
left another up for debate as joyous fans wondered if their other
long-held wish, Alan Shearer's addition to the management team,
would also become a reality.
Their response was immediate as lengthy queues formed at the St
James' ticket office with fans who might otherwise have stayed away
from tonight's FA Cup third-round replay against Stoke voted with
their feet on hearing the news.
The joy at Keegan's arrival is understandable - his arrival as a
player in 1982 helped to rejuvenate the club's fortunes on the
field, where they won promotion to the top flight in his second
season.
As he was unveiled, then club secretary Russell Cushing famously
said: 'We're in heaven, we've got Kevin.'
Keegan's iconic departure from St James' by helicopter after his
final game - a match which saw a young Shearer take his place among
the ball boys - apparently signalled the end of an era.
But eight years later, Sir John Hall staged a major coup to hand
the former England international his first job in management and
spark one of the most remarkable periods in the club's
history.
Backed by Hall's millions, he put together a side which thrilled
audiences far beyond Tyneside and went desperately close to lifting
the league title for the first time since 1927 at the end of the
1995-96 season, only to be overhauled by Manchester United.
The longed-for trophy, however, never arrived - indeed, the wait
goes on - and Keegan finally called it a day in January 1997 for
reasons which have remained largely private ever since.
News of Allardyce's departure last Wednesday sparked a flurry of
speculation over who would be installed as the club's seventh
manager since Keegan first headed off into the sunset.
There was massive popular support for him to return, either in his
own right or in partnership with Shearer, but as time wore on and
the club privately set out their requirements, his chances seemed
to recede.
Keegan was non-committal when the suggestion was put to him by a
television crew earlier this week, and as the names Mark Hughes,
then Gerard Houllier and Didier Deschamps started to loom large, it
appeared Ashley and Mort were looking in a different
direction.
But when they made their move, they did so to maximum effect to set
the city alight once again.
Keegan faces the task of assembling a backroom team, but perhaps
more importantly, strengthening a depleted squad during the
remaining two weeks of the transfer window to ensure that the club
is not sucked into the fight against relegation from the Barclays
Premier League.
Newcastle entertain Bolton on Saturday when a full house is
guaranteed with the Geordie nation preparing to welcome back their
most cherished adopted son.
The rollercoaster ride continues.