When Kevin Keegan took over as the manager of Newcastle United for the second time in his career, the Geordies thought that the glory days were back. They felt that "King Kev" will lead them back to the days when he challenged Sir Alex Ferguson with his infamous "I would love it if we beat them, love it!" rant.
As it turned out, his return to Newcastle wasn't as smooth as many thought it would be - I'm suspecting that he himself understands how tough it is only now.
That is probably why Kevin Keegan so masterfully stated a couple of weeks ago that the top four in the Premier League were out of reach - a claim which I am inclined to disagree with. Here's what he said :
“...The gulf is too big. During my time here – and I’ve got three years left – Newcastle will not be a Champions League club. That’s what I want to tell the fans, I don’t want to mislead them. We’ll try our best and if one of them (the top four) hits a brick wall and falls by the wayside and we can jump in there I’ll be delighted, but realistically it’s going to be tough."
I will agree about Newcastle not being good enough to be in the top four this season but, three years is an awfully long time in football. Just look at Everton and how consistent they have been for the past three seasons. They've not had all the money in the world and yet, they manage to get the results.
So, I guess it's possible that money is a mean and not the end of all things.
Even if you look at who spends more money on transfers - Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have spent more than Arsenal in the past two seasons, and yet Arsenal have finished above them and belong to the "elite" top four.
The quality of the player, and not the amount spent on him determines his ability to do well in any league. Many teams in the EPL have a wreckless transfer policy which will get them into a lot of trouble and very little success in the long term.
The English Premier League is not as predictable as many think. The top four may possibly remain the same, but can anybody definitively pick out thier order? Can anybody say for sure who will get relegated?
No. It's impossible.
Let me take the example of my club, Arsenal. Everybody wrote us off as a top four club after the sale of Thierry Henry. But, we came back and fought for our place. Liverpool had to fight a very close battle with their rivals, Everton to claim the fourth spot at the end of this season. Even Aston Villa at some point in the season were fourth in the standings.
Yes, the top four do have a distinct advantage of playing Champions League football and getting more money through that avenue. But there is additional pressure to perform on all fronts rather than just focus on one competition. It also means more matches will be played by them every season. That can be a serious disadvantage to the top four and something that the remaining teams can exploit.
In my opinion, the top four deserve to be there on merit. It's not as if they've bought their way to be a top four team. Everton showed us a few years back that the top four can be broken into. Tottenham almost did it two seasons ago. The fact is that these teams haven't been able to sustain the same quality every year.
Whose fault is that?
Not many leagues in the world can boast of a title race and a relegation battle being decided on the last day. The title this year was almost decided on goal difference. The top three teams finished in excess of 80 points this season. The fight for sixth place also went down to the wire. Even Manchester City got a bonus place in the UEFA Cup owing to the Fair Play Award!
So, how on Earth can Kevin Keegan claim that the English Premier League is becoming boring? Whatever I've mentioned above is quite exciting. The quality of football in the English Premier League is fantastic too. The TRP ratings of the Arsenal vs Man Utd game worldwide were greater than the World Cup Final's (2006) ratings.
The grass is always greener on the other side. I'm sure that many people will look on with envy at the top four and say, "Wow.. we wish we were there". All I can tell those people is - stop wishing and start doing something. Manchester City, Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Everton are teams which can make it to the top four. They play good, consistent football and have good managers (even Sven, who I hope doesn't get sacked, still!)
The Premier League is one of the best, if not the best league in the world - be it in terms of excitement, quality or the competition. There's always some sort of sub-plot in every game which makes it very interesting to watch. Whoever feels that it's a bore is simply bitter that their team is not doing well enough.
As for "King" Kevin - if he is going to carry this defeatist attitude into the remaining three seasons of his contract, he might as well leave now.
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about 1 month ago
damned if you do and damned if you dont. Keegan would have been lambaste had he had suggested Newcastle were realistic challengers to the top four. So a sense of reality see's him lambaste anyway. 80% of Premier League managers will tell you the exact same thing. Please stop patronizing us.
from about 1 month ago
You've got to hand it to Keegan because he knows how to handle the fans.. If he handles the players half as well I think Newcastle can go places. I don't understand how fans can accept such sweeping, negative statements from their managers about the long term performance potential of their club.
For the amount of money that Newcastle have spent and for the amount of wages you guys pay your players - the least they could do for their fans is give some hope that a considerable amount of progress will be made in the future.
I'm sorry - but Keegan doesn't seem to be doing anything of that sort as of now.
about 1 month ago
Redknapp, Keane, Southgate, O'Neill and Bruce all agreed with Keegan, should they leave their contracts now?
Keegan states the obvious and the entire thing gets blown up because its the Toon.
As for "stop thinkin and do something" the gulf created by the Champions League means team like Leeds would have to gamble with their futures just to reach Liverpool. Until the gulf closes the top 4 will stay the same, that aspect is boring!
from about 1 month ago
I'm not too sure whether they would've brought this up on their own - Marc. The manner in which Keegan brought this whole thing up was sad. It is not blown up because its the Toon.
As for Southgate, Bruce and all the names you've brought up there - they may have agreed about them not being a top four club this season or next season.. but can you tell me for sure that Portsmouth or Aston Villa won't break into the top four in the next 3 years? I know I cant.
about 1 month ago
He didnt bring it up Shyam, he was asked a question and answered it with a truthfull answer. For that I and every other Toon fan applaud him. This is another case of the southern based press trying to create a conflict within NUFC. Pathetic, they tried it the moment he was linked with the job. The Keegan/Owen rift, then we had the Keegan/Shearer rift then they tried the Keegan/Wise rift now they are trying the Keegan/Mort,Ashley rift. Like I said pathetic and Keegan and the powers that be at NUFC are aware of the mischief making media campaign so it just wont wash.
from about 1 month ago
If he didn't bring it up on his own, then I hold my hands up and admit that I've made a mistake. I still don't understand how a manager can say "we can't qualify for the CL in the next 3 years".. I mean, you've got to be a bit more positive than that.. If I was an NUFC fan, I'm not too sure if I would be too pleased about his comments, whether prompted or not.
I know, KK is a bit frank and an eccentric kind of person - I was just surprised that he of all the people made somewhat negative comments. I do feel that there are teams outside the top four who can very well challenge and that it's not as easy as everyone makes it out ot be.
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