To people of a certain age Kevin Keegan is a true superstar.
In the 1970’s and 80’s Keegan was England’s saviour. The one player everyone could relate to. A working class lad from Doncaster who got to the very top of his profession thanks just as much to his guts and determination as to his talent .
His career saw him go from playing in the 4th division with Scunthorpe United to becoming a true hero to every Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton and Hamburg fan who were fortunate enough to see him play. Perhaps what summed up Keegan more than anything and what endeared him to the public more than anything was his appearance on the 1970’s TV show ‘Superstars’.
Here Keegan crashed badly in the bicycle race section of the competition, suffering bad cuts and bruises. Instead of giving up though Keegan put a smile on his face and declared
“These people here in the stands have come here to see me make a fool of myself and they’ve got a right to it!”.
He insisted on racing again and despite his injuries he managed to qualify for the final thanks to a second-place finish. He eventually went on to win the programme outright and whilst people still laughed at the bike fall he also demonstrated to everyone just how much of a winner he was. Here was a man who was as close to Roy Of The Rovers as you could get.
Even his terrible single ‘Head Over Heels In Love’ couldn’t take away the respect the nation had for Keegan. In fact the single went top 10 in Germany, the country where Keegan was playing at the time. Wherever Keegan went he was adored.
To another generation, Kevin Keegan is seen in a fairly different light. As a manager he is known as a ‘quitter’. He was never sacked from any of the managerial jobs he held. At Newcastle (twice), Fulham, Man City and, of course, England, Keegan left by his own accord. The perception was that he was a great motivator capable of getting the very best out of every player that came his way but also that his ‘all out attack’ philosophy was naïve and destined to fail. Then there were his tantrums. Keegan wore his heart on his sleeve but whilst this was seen as a positive in his playing career it was considered as weakness in management. His outwardly emotional nature saw him receive much sympathy from the public…………and much laugher.
His quotes are legendary. Whether in the commentary box or after a match , Kevin Keegan has always been one of the few people in football worth listening to for entrainment purposes. A friend of mine used to collect Kevin Keegan quotes and read them out in the pub. It may sound sad but I hope that the following quotes show you just why those Kevin Keegan centred nights produced so much laughter. These are all collected from around the net and I am sure the keen Keegan watchers amongst you will have seen them or heard them before but to paraphrase Oscar Wilde “If one cannot enjoy reading a Kevin Keegan quote over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”. So for those who have seen these before, enjoy again and for those who havent……………make sure no one around you is asleep .
Here are my personal top 40 Kevin Keegan quotes:
40.
“The minute’s silence was immaculate, I have never heard a minute’s silence like that.”
39.
“I’m not disappointed – just disappointed”
38.
“Hungary is very similar to Bulgaria. I know they’re different countries.”
37.
“I tell Laurent (Chavert) ‘Ey, there’s no reason why you cant take your training on the pitch here’. I keep telling him ‘Tres Bien all the time. Whatever that means “
36.
“He scores most of his goals when he’s got the ball.”
35.
“Nicholas Anelka – 24 years of age but he’s been around a lot longer than that”
34.
“A tremendous strike which hit the defender full on the arm – and it nearly came off”
33.
“Goalkeepers aren’t born today until they’re in their late twenties or thirties”
32.
“That would have been a goal if it wasn’t saved.”
31.
“I risked getting my tyres nicked by going to Robbie Fowler’s home in Liverpool!”
30.
“Football’s always easier when you’ve got the ball.”
29.
“He’s about as tall as they get for a goalkeeper of six-foot-five “
28.
(about his wife)“In Jean I think I’ve found the ideal partner… I think… I abuse her.”
27.
“Chile have three options – they could win or they could lose.”
26.
“Shaun Wright-Phillips has got a big heart. It’s as big as him, which isn’t very big, but it’s bigger”
25.
“My father was a miner and he worked down a mine.”
24.
“One of his strengths is not heading.”
23.
Whilst in the commentary box watching England play Romania, Keegan confidently said after Micheal Owen scored an equaliser“Only one team can win this now……….England”
Full Time Score:Romania 2-1 England
22.
“Our current financial situation means that if we want to buy, we have to spend.”
21.
“You can’t do better than go away from home and get a draw.”
20.
“The ref was vertically 15 yards away”
19.
“He’s using his strength. And that is his strength, his strength”
18.
“Danny Tiatto is not going to make a mistake on purpose.
17.
“Glenn Hoddle hasn’t been the Hoddle we know. Neither has Bryan Robson.”
16.
“I’ve had an interest in racing all my life, or longer really.”
15.
“That decision, for me, was almost certainly definitely wrong”
14.
“It’s dog eat dog in this division, and we’ve just eaten one of the dogs'”
13.
“England have the best fans in the world, and Scotland’s fans are second-to-none.”
12.
“Gary always weighed up his options, especially when he had no choice.”
11.
“The Germans only have one player under 22, and he’s 23”
THE TOP 10…..
10.
England V Argentina. David Batty steps up and has to score or England
are out. The following conversation takes place in the commentary
boxBrian Moore:“Quickly Kevin, you know him best, will he score?”
Kevin Keegan: “Yes”
David Batty misses and England are out
9.
“I came to Nantes two years ago and it’s much the same today, except that it’s completely different.”
8.
“You can’t play with a one armed goalkeeper… not at this level”
7.
“They’re the second best team in the world, and there’s no higher praise than that.”
6.
“You get bunches of players like you do bananas….though that is a bad comparison”
5.
“The good news for Nigeria is that they’re two-nil down very early in the game”
4.
“There’s a slight doubt about only one player, and that’s Tony Adams, who definitely won’t be playing tomorrow”
3.
“The 33 or 34-year-olds will be 36 or 37 by the time the next World Cup comes around, if they’re not careful.”
2.
“I know what is around the corner – I just don’t know where the corner is. But the onus is on us to perform and we must control the bandwagon.”
1.
When you do that with footballers like he said about Leeds, and when you do things like that about a man like Stuart Pearce – I’ve kept really quiet, but I’ll tell you something, he went down in my estimation when he said that – we have not resorted to that. But I’ll tell ya – you can tell him now if you’re watching it – we’re still fighting for this title, and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and… and I tell you honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it!”
Article written by: Jim Haginson
Jim Haginson & Friends 