Newcastle Circus Reaches All Time Low

Once Bobby had gone Shepherd knew he had to act quickly. One thing he didn't bank on was being rebuffed by manager after manager, eventually having to settle on Graeme Souness, a man who at the time was residing over a Blackburn team languishing near the bottom of the division.

The writing was on the wall from the moment Souness arrived and once he left, Glenn Roeder never had much of a chance.

I have a lot of respect for Roeder as he did the best he could throughout a turbulent time at United. He still managed a European spot during his caretaker time in charge and then throughout his first full season, Newcastle had the worst injury list in decades.

The final victim of the circus was Sam Allardyce. He did little wrong but never seemed likely to produce the kind of attacking football that toon fans crave. He was also unfortunate that he came in just before Ashley's takeover. Allardyce was never the man that Ashley wanted and it was almost inevitable that he too would be on his way.

However, his replacement was a big surprise.

Nobody expected Keegan and his appointment made Ashley the most popular person on Tyneside for a while.

Now here we are eight months on. Ashley has a big decision to make. He needs to give Keegan what he wants and let him manage the football club his way.

He knows it's the only choice. For himself. For the fans. For the future of Newcastle United Football Club.

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