FA Cup: Return of the 'Geordie Messiah'

Kevin Keegan will find himself cast in an unaccustomed role when he returns to Tyneside this weekend.

The man who eclipsed his performances on the pitch for Newcastle when he became manager and launched one of the most thrilling episodes in the club’s history still enjoys hero status in the city.

No-one has come closer than Keegan to bringing the championship trophy to St James’ Park for the first time since 1927.

And even the side which won the FA Cup three times in the 1950s would have marveled at the football the Magpies played during his reign.

The term ‘Geordie Messiah’ was one which tripped easily off the tongue as the black-and-white faithful celebrated the reign of a man who carried the club to the verge of renewed success.

And it is one which, for many, still applied even after his shock departure in January 1997.

Keegan will return to the banks of the Tyne with First Division pace-setters Manchester City on Sunday evening for an eagerly-anticipated FA Cup fifth round tie.

And the former England coach is guaranteed the kind of welcome afforded only to men who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in service of one of the country’s most famous clubs.

However, there is a new kid on the block these days threatening to take over the mantle which so long has been the preserve of the diminutive Yorkshireman.

Bobby Robson, the latest man to follow in his footsteps, knows all about Kevin Keegan.

After all, it was Robson who effectively ended the former Liverpool star’s international career when he left the striker out of his first game in charge of England against Denmark in 1982.

Keegan was by then playing his football at St James’, where he was to help them climb back into the top flight, and Robson’s decision did not go down well on the terraces upon which he had stood as a boy.

Twenty years on and the current Newcastle boss, who celebrates his 69th birthday the day after the game, is all but walking on water.

Newcastle have come full circle in the five years or so since Keegan walked out as the club prepared for flotation on the stock market.

He has never publicly given his reasons for the decision which rocked English football and has only once returned to St James’, on January 27 1999 for Peter Beardsley’s benefit game.

And that night perhaps illustrated in microcosm just why both Keegan and Robson hold the places they do in the hearts of the Geordie nation.

A then capacity crowd of more than 36,000 packed into the stadium that night to pay tribute to Beardsley, when managers and players alike also turned out in force.

Keegan and the man who succeeded him, Kenny Dalglish, both played part of the game, while Ruud Gullit, who had taken over from the Scotsman just 19 months later, was also in attendance.

Only man of the moment Beardsley received a more rapturous welcome than Keegan, underlining the difficulty both Dalglish and Gullit faced in winning over fans renowned for their loyalty, but desperate for success.

Keegan provided them with glittering football, big-money and big-name signings he invested more than £60million of Sir John Hall’s money, a quarter of it in Alan Shearer.

But more so he also gave them genuine hope that a first trophy since 1969 was on its way to St James’.

A near miss in the 1995-96 title race served only to strengthen that belief.

And when Dalglish repeated the feat 12 months later to secure Champions League football for the first time, even the Keegan’s departure seemed surmountable.

But what followed instead was a decline which saw all the flair and hope of the Keegan era dissipated as money flowed out of the coffers hand over fist, but for little return.

Dalglish departed as Gullit was recruited to bring ‘sexy football’ to the Gallowgate hordes, but as the cash continued to disappear at an alarming rate, results on the pitch suggested at least some of it was not being invested wisely enough.

Gullit’s reign last just a year, and when the SOS call went out once again, it was Robson who rode into ‘Toon’ on his white charger to spark a genuine revolution.

He was left in no doubt the cupboard was bare, but he inspired a resurrection in the club’s fortunes which initially saw his side climb to Premiership safety, but continues apace today.

The latest man to occupy the St James’ hot-seat has all the qualifications: his job is also his great passion, his enthusiasm is boundless and, put simply, he knows what he is doing.

That is why Newcastle are now not only improving, but challenging for honours.

And that is why although Keegan will belatedly receive his ovation on Sunday, the home fans will be hoping he returns to his new Maine Road home with his FA Cup dreams in tatters while Robson contemplates a second quarter-final in three seasons.