'Kevin Keegan' was my first favourite football player. Putting it that way doesn't put it in the correct context, however.
Back when I was a toddler, maybe a tad bit older, either my parents or relatives (likely the latter if I had to gamble) handed me a football book and I asked who one of the players happened to be. They told me it was Keegan and I remember them trying to teach me to say his name.
It resulted in me uttering the words 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan' when I would play with soft footballs around my living room.
I tried looking for the book on eBay last night. I came across Kevin Keegan annuals, Shoot annuals and others. My search was in vain. Nothing stood out.
There's also a photo of me in a red and white striped hat and scarf which pops up every now and again. I don't recall if it was 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan' Liverpool related, but it would have been from around that time just going by how old I would have been when it was taken.
What I do know for sure is this - the Irish side of my family turned me to the dark side - Manchester United - after Keegan had retired. I had a new 'Kevin' to follow in Kevin Moran. I even had a Kevin Moran United licensed football.
I was a passive Manchester United supporter for most of that early childhood. By the early 1990s, with the Premier League in its infancy, United was no longer my team. I would go to watch Cardiff City at Ninian Park but it was okay back then for us to have a Premier League team to support.
Keegan had returned to Newcastle United by then. He had delivered the team to the top flight. It was only appropriate for me to renew my 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan' fandom. Newcastle United became my team.
All because of Keegan.
What a ride it was to be on that Newcastle United bandwagon. I experienced some amazing highs (Newcastle's 5-0 rout of Manchester United in October 1996 immediately comes to mind) and an incredible low which saw me close to tears over a football game for the first time in my life.
Cardiff City had drawn either Luton or Newcastle at home in the FA Cup fifth round during the 1993/94 season. I bought tickets for the game expecting City to meet Newcastle. I figured there would be no way a Premier League side would lose to a team in the second division. How wrong was I? Luton won 2-0, ending any hope I had of seeing the dream matchup.
I fought back tears that night. I've never felt as gutted over a football result since. And this is coming from someone who's had his fair share of gambling losses on footy games.
I have so many fond memories (and evidently bad ones!) from those years following Newcastle under Kevin Keegan.
They truly lived up to their 'The Entertainers' moniker.
That all ended in January 1997, when Keegan left Newcastle for a second time. His first, as a player, was inside a helicopter as it flew away from St. James' Park.
I stuck with Newcastle for years after that. I was still following them when Keegan made his return to the Newcastle dugout in January 2008. It was 4025 Days after the 1997 departure (I must have counted it for the blog post!)
In-between the Newcastle stints is something which kind of eased the pain from Luton/Newcastle memory. My friend and I went to see Cardiff City take on a Fulham team, managed by Keegan, in the League Cup in August of 1998.
Wish fulfilled. I finally got to see Keegan manage a team against Cardiff City. As an added bonus, I also got to witness Peter Beardsley play live. Beardsley was my favourite Newcastle player during those Keegan years.
As an aside, Ninian Park is where Keegan scored his first goal for England. The 11th May 1974 game, in the British Home Championship, saw Wales lose 0-2 to their visitors.
Keegan's third stint at Newcastle didn't go as well as expected. His run ended after eight months and resulted in him winning £2 Million in a constructive dismissal case against the club.
There was only one Kevin Keegan. There'll never be another 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan'.
* * *
Here are some Kevin Keegan posts I've written over the years.
The Big Fish (January 10 2008) - I had a brilliant idea for Newcastle to bring in Keegan to replace Sam Allardyce and for Alan Shearer to act as his understudy to eventually become long-term Newcastle boss.
What The People Want (January 14 2008) - More about the Keegan/Shearer dream ticket.
4025 Days Later (January 17 2008) - Keegan returns
D-Day For Kev (May 9 2008) - I wrote about Kevin Keegan and then-Newcastle owner - Mike Ashley- being at odds
He's Gone Again (September 5 2008) - Keegan leaves Newcastle for the third, and final, time
Keegan Versus Newcastle (October 3 2009) - I write about the legal matters between Keegan and Newcastle
Kevin Keegan (February 18 2011) - a review of the brilliant Keegan biography by Ian Ridley
Watching Cardiff .vs. Newcastle.... (August 18 2018) - I wrote a blog while watching Cardiff .vs. Newcastle on the telly. I reminisced about the Newcastle/Luton/Cardiff FA Cup scenario from 1994. In a coincidence realised this morning, as I write this post, I noticed that the Cardiff .vs. Newcastle game was played on the twentieth anniversary of me going to see Keegan's Fulham take on Cardiff in 1998!
The 5-0 Win (October 20 2021) - I wrote about the classic Newcastle win over Manchester United twenty-five years later.
Two Managers, One Story (January 8 2026) - Written following the passing of Terry Yorath and coverage of Kevin Keegan being diagnosed with cancer
Nostalgia Blast (January 13 2026) - I write about a classic Newcastle shirt and link it to the second departure of Keegan
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