Can Kevin Keegan Succeed at Newcastle?

Newcastle United shocked the football world this week when they announced that their new manager was going to be Kevin Keegan. Keegan has previously had two spells with the Geordie club as a player from 1982 to 1984, and a manager from 1992 to 1997.

Keegan is a hero to the Toon Army. His 48 goals in 78 games for them in the eighties, and promotion from The Championship in 1992 and runners up spot in the Premier League in 1996 under his management have all gone to make him a Tyneside legend.

So the question is, can he succeed again, and bring Newcastle some meaningful silverware for the first time in nearly forty years?

There is no doubt that Keegan is a fine man manager and an effective motivator. He likes his teams to play attacking football and will give some excitement to the long suffering Newcastle fans. The big question mark against his name is whether he has the tactical nous to challenge the likes of Ferguson, Grant, Wenger, and Benitez. I believe that history has shown that not to be the case.

Keegan did not manage to win anything in his previous tenure as Newcastle manager, and although he achieved a remarkable win percentage of nearly 55%, he failed to do the one thing that everyone seems to believe he can do this time.

The team he is inheriting is nothing like as skilful and full of flair as the team he had back in the nineties. If he is to achieve the seemingly impossible, it will not be with the current crop of players.

There is an old adage that you should never go back. It is possible that Keegan will fail to produce the anticipated resurrection of the club, and slowly fall out of favour with the Geordie fans who can be unforgiving. That would be a shame.

I believe that the team will see an immediate upturn in fortunes, but that the improvement will be difficult to sustain. I wish King Kev all the best, but I have an awful feeling that it may just all end in tears.