Football is in mourning today, after Kevin Keegan sadly passed away.
The former Manchester City manager had recently revealed he had been diagnosed with stage four cancer, and his family announced his death on Monday.
Before stepping into management, Keegan enjoyed an incredible career as a player, turning out for the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle United, as well as venturing abroad for a stint with Hamburg.
Desperately sad news as former Man City manager Kevin Keegan has sadly passed away. What are your favourite memories of him?
Keegan won two Ballon d’Ors back-to-back while playing for the German side, and remains the only English player to win the award twice.
Keegan also starred for his country, scoring 21 goals in 63 games for England.
Following the desperately sad news of his passing today, we relive his four years as Manchester City manager, which were crucial in shaping the club as we see it today.
Remembering Kevin Keegan’s time at Manchester City
Kevin Keegan was appointed Manchester City manager on 24 May 2001, succeeding Joe Royle at the helm after the club had been relegated.
But the dejection of being relegated would be short-lived for City fans, with Keegan overseeing a memorable campaign that resulted in promotion at the first time of asking.
After bringing in experienced players like Eyal Berkovic, Stuart Pearce and Ali Bernabia to the club, Keegan’s City blew the competition away, going up as First Division champions with a remarkable 108 goals scored.
The following season back in the Premiership brought about some mixed results.
But City were absolutely fine in terms of relegation, finishing far above the drop zone in ninth.
A tough season followed in 2003/04, with a poor showing in the UEFA Cup leading to poor form in the league. The club finished 16th.
That season featured one of the most chaotic and pulsating matches of Keegan’s City tenure – the 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. City were 3-0 down at half-time with Joey Barton having been sent off, but still came back to win 4-3.
In 2004/05, City were going fairly well, but Keegan informed the club of his desire to retire from football at the end of that season. He was replaced by Pearce, and the club narrowly missed out on a UEFA Cup place thanks to a missed penalty from Robbie Fowler on the final day of the season against Middlesbrough.
Keegan’s attacking philosophy at City was welcomed by the fans, and he was also adored and respected by all within.
Former skipper Andy Morrison is quoted by mancity.com as saying: “He was a very charismatic character and people liked him. Players were really fond of him because he was a warm character. He looked after his players and he did things right.”
| Kevin Keegan’s record as Man City manager (2001-2005) |
| Games managed – 176 |
| Wins – 77 |
| Draws – 39 |
| Losses – 60 |
| Goals scored – 299 |
| Goals conceded – 233 |
| Points-per-match – 1.53 |
Danny Mills told an amusing story about Keegan a few years ago, which was about how he didn’t like confrontation.
As per talkSPORT, Mills said that Robbie Fowler didn’t show up for a match, with the striker going to a funeral. He had told a teammate to pass on the message to Keegan, but the teammate didn’t until Keegan was naming the team.
Keegan named Bradley Wright-Phillips in the starting XI instead.
On the Monday, Keegan said he was going to fine Fowler, but the striker apparently argued back. Keegan backed down and said to Fowler he wouldn’t fine him, but to tell the other players that he had.
Fowler proceeded to stitch Keegan up and tell everyone that he had let him off.
Keegan was notorious for not fining players due to his kind-hearted nature, but that trait of his helped him become one of the most popular British football figures.
And today is truly a sad day for football following his passing.
RIP King Kev.
