Kevin Keegan: An Intimate Portrait of Football's Last Romantic [Paperback]

I found this a readable and entertaining book, about an unusual and idiosyncratic character. The picture that Ian Ridley paints of Keegan seems quite balanced, in that it presents the less attractive sides of his character as well as the engaging and the heroic. It ought to be required reading for any Newcastle supporter who still has Keegan on a pedastal.

I was disappointed with this book which fails to portray the intimate picture promised in the title. In fairness there's not a lot to be written about Keegan that isn't already in print. Ridley does not dispel the image of Keegan as someone who, when the going gets tough, just goes. Toughing it out was not his style and while Ridley produces the odd bit of information which clarifies Keegan's actions in mitigation, these are not enough to rescue Keegan from his reputation as someone who allowed his emotions to get the better of him too often. He almost gave up while at Scunthorpe, he left the England job saying he was not up to it and suggested his Newcastle team were not able to compete with the best.

Keegan did not believe in selling himself short and was skillful at exploiting other people's valuation of his worth. He was one of the first British footballers to create a personal brand and certainly possessed commercial nous. He made up for lack of natural talent by hard work and did not waste his money frivolously. Underlying everything was his fear that if it went wrong there would be nothing to fall back on. This insecurity never went away and, all credit to Keegan, he has become a wealthy man and provided for his family.

Keegan's emotions often spilled over at inappropriate times such as when he and Billy Bremner clashed at 1974 the Charity Shield match. Keegan vented his anger publicly when Bobby Robson did not include him in his England squad. He gave the impression the world owed him an explanation when the world already knew his international career was behind him. In 1996 Keegan lost the plot criticising the wily Alex Ferguson live on Sky television. His emotional tirade undermined his Newcastle team's confidence to compete and they were overtaken for the title having led the table by twelve points at one stage.

Keegan's managerial reputation, based on winning promotion with both Newcastle and Fulham, was belied by his lack of tactical awareness. This became painfully apparent to Keegan himself during his time as the least successful of a procession of managers the FA appointed to avoid hiring Brian Clough (although by the time Keegan took over it was too late for Clough). His final spell at Newcastle was not successful although one has to sympathise with the environment in which Keegan found himself.

Ultimately he took Newcastle to court for constructive dismissal, won two million pounds and had all his legal fees met. After the verdict the BBC website reported him saying, "I also want to confirm that a central purpose of my claim has always been to clear my name and restore my reputation." Whether that reputation is what he believes it to be is moot. The fact remains that while Newcastle have been relegated the journeyman player Chris Hughton has managed to restore some pride by leading the race out of the championship. Mike Ashley was of the opinion that Keegan was a negative influence in a difficult situation and ultimately it was his money at stake.

Criticism of Keegan's personality faults must not take away from his substantial achievements. Three First Division titles, two EUFA Cups, two FA Cups and the European Cup with Liverpool. While at Hamburg he reached the European Cup Final and was twice European footballer of the Year beating some legends of the game. He also had success at Southampton and Newcastle, with whom he won promotion. He was England captain for six years although by the 1982 World Cup he was probably past his best and living on his reputation.

So what why was one of the best footballers of his generation incapable of putting back into the game what he wanted to? He had a butterfly mind, disliked long term planning and got bored too easily. As a person this was probably an advantage - in football where the mundane rules any well balanced person should expect to be bored. As a manager he found it difficult to deal with what he had rather than what he wanted and there were occasions when his tactical awareness was found wanting.

Ultimately, while Keegan enjoyed football, he never lived for it and is probably all the better for it. Perhaps it's because he is so different from most soccer obsessed players and managers that he remains an enigma. It's one of his strengths rather than one of his weaknesses. Three stars for the writer.

Having long enjoyed the writings of Ian Ridley and having once met Kevin Keegan I looked forward to an enjoyable read. I was in no way disappointed in that Ridley's words on a very complex and therefore interesting man held me from the first page. KK had not as far as I know contibuted to this book and it was therefore a far more honest view of the man. Somehow his flaws make him a better person as IR seems to point out. Most ceratinly this is a far better read than these ghost written "auto biographies" of sportsmen who would I think struggle to put one remotely interesting word on a page.

By the way also recommended is "Flootlit Dreams" by the same author!

John Leigh