Kevin Keegan remembered

0:05Bela Shah:This is a production of Kaveh Solhekol and Bela Shah. passed away at the age of 75. The former England player and manager had been battling cancer and was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments. Kevin, a double Ballon d 'Or winner, was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather. The family would like to thank Kevin's incredible medical team for all their support. This is a hugely difficult time and they are requesting space and privacy. Well, now we can speak live to former Newcastle midfielder Lee Clark, who joins us. Lee, we really appreciate you joining us in such sad circumstances.

1:08Bela Shah:How will you remember your former manager, Kevin Keegan? Yeah, thanks, Bella. With unbelievable fondness. was lucky enough as a young supporter to see him revive the football club and the city in the early 80s and then for him to turn up and be my boss in the early 90s and do exactly the same again with the football club and the city was just amazing and just proud to be you know, have had him as my boss and to have been working alongside him for so long I was there the day he came in as manager I was there the day he left and that was a sad day for everybody. The players absolutely adored him.

1:53And now this news is heartbreaking for this city. This city is in mourning now.

2:01Bela Shah:Just tell us how he was different to other managers that you played under. What was it about him that made him special? Just his enthusiasm, his desire, his passion. He made you feel... like the best player in the world in your position when you went out a couple of minutes before kick-off. He gave you so much confidence. He believed in you. He took time to know about your family situation. You know, he used to always say, you know, Lee, that your best team's your team at home. And, you know, that was important to him, family. And when I had my son, my first child, him and his family bought young Jack then some gifts and nah he's just a special person a special man and you know it's just I've lost my words to be honest with you it's come as a real shock obviously he knew about the illness but it looked like he made a turn for the better and he came up to the city on a couple of occasions in the last couple of weeks to do some gigs with the supporters and he was in top form apparently.

3:18But then obviously we got recalled back into hospital and then obviously the devastating news this afternoon.

3:24Bela Shah:Yeah, what an emotional day it is for the whole world of football, Lee. You've touched on this, the impact that he has had not only on Newcastle as a football club, but also the city.

3:41Yeah, well I mean that's the thing it wasn't just the football club with Kevin it was the city and you know they say things like there's no one person bigger than a football club and that's the right scene but if ever that came close that was Kevin Keegan when you castle United you know he epitomised what the city was about that footage I'm just watching there I was in the stadium that day as he said the Gallagher then sucked the ball into the goal that was his comment after the match and I'm so proud to have obviously seen him as a sensational footballer but to have been one of his players and yeah really really really emotional day

4:23Bela Shah:As you say you were there on his first day as manager and his last day managing you must have been reflecting this afternoon Do you have a favourite memory or story that you could share with us? I've got many stories about him and memories. I mean, he gave us some of the greatest days of my career, playing for my hometown club and taking us from the bottom part of the championship to being genuine title challengers and into Europe. So they were special. And to tell you about the passion and how, you know, the entertainers came about and what Kevin was about in terms of how we wanted this team to play and play for the fans and entertain them.

5:07When we won the championship in the early 90s on a Tuesday night at Grimsby Town, the season was ending the following weekend, but we had a game in hand to catch up on and we had to play Oxford United on the Thursday at St James'. And obviously we'd celebrated getting promoted on the Tuesday probably a bit too much, so we weren't in tip-top condition on the Thursday to play the game. We came in 1-0 down, and Kevin had just basically said to us, you're letting down your supporters, you're not entertaining them, you're not playing in the right way. And he said, in fact, you're not entertaining me, I'm going home.

5:41And he left and went home because he wasn't happy with our performance. Thankfully, myself and Andy Cole scored a goal each to win the game 2-1. And then we went on to win the last game of the season, beating Leicester 7-1 to then get promotion. And so there's some of all that great stories. our first game in Europe against Antwerp and obviously Kevin and Terry McDermott, his assistant, had massive experience playing in Europe. So he said to us, you know, obviously with the away leg, you have to play tight and if you come away with a draw, it's not a bad result. You can win the game at home, but we ended up winning the game by a high scoreline.

6:22Rob Lee scoring a hat-rick. And it's funny he just said after the game, he turned to terry mcdermott he says i told you they never listen terry so um that was a special moment from him but today is is a city in mourning here in newcastle we've lost a special person i've lost someone that um a proud is a is a newcastle lad to call them boss

6:53Bela Shah:Lee we appreciate how difficult this is and we really do appreciate you joining us to share some of those memories and stories if you can put into words what will his legacy be in Newcastle

7:11what I've already touched on not just rebuilding the football club but rebuilding the city and the second time he'd done it, he'd done it with a style that the fans love. I don't think there's many teams around the country where they haven't gone on to win major honours that are still talked about at a football club. But that team from the 90s that got the nickname, the entertainers, whenever we go back to the stadium to watch matches I've seen around the city, we get stopped and we get adulation from the fans and that was all down to Kevin.

7:46Bela Shah:Lee, thank you so much for joining us and for sharing those lovely memories and stories of Kevin Keegan. We speak to you soon. Thank you. Thank you. Well, fellow Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has paid an emotional tribute on social media. This is what he has said. My hero, my manager, my friend. Sleep easy, boss.

8:13Bela Shah:OK, let's now go live to our chief correspondent, Carve Solicol, who is out in New York. Carve, how will Kevin Keegan be remembered first as a player? Well, simply, he was one of the greatest ever English players of all time. And everything that he achieved in his career, he had to fight for. You remember when he started playing at Scunthorpe United, not many people thought that he could make it as a professional footballer. He was getting paid such low wages that during the summer he had to work in the local steel mills. His talent was spotted by the Liverpool manager of the time, Bill Shankly, who signed him for around£30 ,000.

9:00and when he signed for Liverpool he was earning£50 a week. Originally he was signed as a midfielder but Shankly soon saw enough in him to convert him into a striker and he developed an extraordinary strike partnership with John Toschak probably one of the greatest strike partnerships that English football have ever seen and his goals and his commitment and his hard work and his talent helped Liverpool dominate football in the 70s and 80s. When he was at Anfield, I think he won three titles, two UEFA Cups, the FA Cup, and also he helped Liverpool win the European Cup for the first time. He left Liverpool in quite controversial circumstances, surprisingly moving to the Bundesliga to play for Hamburg.

9:54But at the time, Hamburg, one of the most commercially successful clubs in Europe. It took him a while to adapt to life in Germany but once he learned the language and got to grips with the different style of football in Germany he was a huge success. He was a cult hero in German football. People speak about him to this day. He helped Hamburg win the German title. He also got them to the European Cup final where they lost to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest. When he left Hamburg, he moved back to England to play for Southampton. Again, some people were surprised that that is where he went, but he was a fantastic success at Southampton as well, scoring lots of goals.

10:42I think he was the player of the year as well. And then it almost seemed to be written in the stars that he would one day play for Newcastle United because growing up, his father was a big Newcastle fan. When he joined Newcastle United, they were in the second division, but pretty quickly his goals helped transform the side and they were promoted back to the top flight. At international level, he had an incredible career. Anybody who remembers football in the 70s will remember him as the kind of David Beckham of his era. He was one of the most famous people in the world. I know the 70s are remembered for hippies and punks, but they're also remembered for Kevin Keegan and his iconic perm.

11:31He set fashions, he set trends, he was an extraordinary player. He was the England captain at a time when you have to say England had some fantastic players, but they didn't really succeed at the highest levels. They played in plenty of European championships where they did pretty well. But at the World Cup, I think he only ever played once. And that was in Spain in 1982. And he was actually injured. So I think he only made one appearance as a substitute. Put simply, he was somebody who had to work hard for everything that he achieved. And he was an extraordinary, extraordinary player. One of the greatest English players of all time.

12:15Bela Shah:And Carve, we've just been hearing from Lee Clark, sharing some memories of what Kevin Keegan was like as a manager. He was very special and that he was the kind of manager who made you feel so good about yourself. How will he be remembered? Well, I mean, for the kind of football that his sides played, he was not somebody who was destined to be a manager. When he retired as a footballer at the age of 33 because he thought that he wasn't as good as he used to be. He was always very, very honest, always wore his heart on his sleeve. He retired to Spain. He basically left football behind. He didn't really want to have anything to do with football.

13:00But when he got the call to return to Newcastle, he felt that that was an offer that he just could not turn down because of his family's association with the club and also the great success that he'd had as a player at St James' Park. When he took over Newcastle United, you have to remember that they were near the bottom of the second division. I just about remember those days when they were fighting relegation, but he kept them in the second division. He transformed the club's fortunes and they got back into the top flight. And then they played some of the greatest football that has ever been seen in the top flight in England.

13:41They didn't always win games, but they were involved in some spectacular matches and they almost, almost won the title in 1996. There were 12 points clear at the turn of the year. Many people thought they were going to win the title. But of course, Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Eric Cantona had different ideas and they reeled him in. Everyone will remember that incredible interview which he gave at the end of a live game on Sky Sports where he lost his cool and he was so insulted by the fact that Alex Ferguson had been playing mind games suggesting that the opposition were trying harder when they played Manchester United than when they played Newcastle United.

14:29and he snapped in that interview and there was that very, very famous outburst when he said, I would love it, I would love it if we beat Manchester United. Of course, unfortunately, they did not win the title but they were one of the most exciting sides that English football has ever seen. He also went on to manage Fulham. First of all, he joined Fulham as a sort of chief football officer in a sort of executive role and Ray Wilkins was the head coach but when they failed to win promotion he took over as the manager and after I think they lost in the playoffs he did manage to get them in the Premier League those were the days when Fulham were very very ambitious and owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed he also had a spell managing Manchester City but he will be remembered as being a quite a sort of emotional and very very honest England manager he did his best with the group of players that he had he got them into Euro 2000 where they were knocked out in the group stages and then he quit in very very remarkable circumstances he actually quit during an interview with Sky Sports an interview that was conducted by Claire Tomlinson our former colleague she was the reporter at Wembley for the final ever game at the old Wembley Stadium which was a World Cup qualifier against Germany and she interviewed him after the game and I remember speaking to Claire about this just a few months ago and she said totally out of the blue she wasn't expecting it at all Kevin Keegan just stood in front of the camera and said to her I'm going to quit as the England manager I've told the FA I've looked in the mirror and I just don't feel that I've got what it takes at this level to be a successful manager can you ever imagine a manager doing that in the modern era extraordinary what he did and extraordinary how honest he was there was then a second spell as the Newcastle United manager when he returned to St James's Park but unfortunately I don't think his relationship was too good with the owners at the time and he left the club and he retired from football.

16:54I have to say, growing up, he was one of my heroes and he was an extraordinary, extraordinary man and also an extraordinary player and manager.

17:07Bela Shah:Certainly was. Carve, thank you. So Keegan had a remarkable career, as we've been hearing, as a player and a manager, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of his generation. So much so that only five players in the history of the game have won more Ballon d 'Or awards than Kevin Keegan. Those are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten. We can cross now live to St. James's Park and join our reporter Keith Downie. Keith, incredibly sad news today. We've heard so many tributes. What have Newcastle said? Yeah, an incredibly sad day for Newcastle United Football Club, Bella, for Newcastle as a city.

17:53And I think the whole of North East, of course, he coined that phrase, the entertainers, but he was so much more than that, just football for this city. And just over behind me, the camera here, I'm just looking, There's some Newcastle fans already gathering to pay their respects and lay some flowers behind me. I think there may be a lot over the next few days. But yeah, Newcastle very quick today to pay their respects to an absolute icon, a legend of the football club. They said we are devastated to learn of the passing of Kevin Keegan, one of the most iconic, influential and deeply loved figures in our club's history.

18:35Kevin was more than a legendary footballer and manager. He was the beating heart of Newcastle United for generations of our supporters. As a player, he brought world-class talent, ambition and belief to St James' Park, helping to transform perceptions of what Newcastle United as a football club could be. As a manager, though, he ignited our city. Kevin gave supporters hope and pride and led a team whose style, spirit and passion captured the imagination of football fans around the world. he was so much more than an entertainer. At this profoundly sad time, we send our love and our deepest sympathy to Kevin's wife, Jean, his family, his daughters, his friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing and working alongside him.

19:21So that's what Newcastle United have had to say this evening. You're right, an outpouring from former teammates, of course clubs that he managed. He managed England, remember, of course. Liverpool won the Ballon d 'Or twice there as a player. but incredible that he's probably attached more to Newcastle despite winning the European Cup with Liverpool two or three times and winning the Ballon d 'Or once. That shows how much Newcastle United meant to him and how much he meant to Newcastle United and this city.

19:51Bela Shah:Yeah, and just on that, Keith, this attachment to Newcastle and the city, what did he mean to the city of Newcastle? Do you know what, Bella? The thing that I think is most crazy about this whole situation is Kevin Keegan was not from Newcastle. Alan Shearer, of course, was from here. Sir Bobby Robson was from here. The statues are both of those behind me. Kevin Keegan was from over 100 miles south in Yorkshire, but he got it. He got the people. We saw that goal just before the break there on his debut as a player against Queen's Park Rangers, and he threw himself into the supporters to essentially proclaim, I am one of you.

20:30and he allowed the city and these supporters to dream again and think what we could actually be. I've actually reached out to a few of my friends today because I'm Scottish, I'm not from Newcastle, but many of my close friends are and a lot of them are big Newcastle United fans and I've reached out to them to ask them, what did Kevin Keegan mean to you? And this is just a few of the things they've said to me. One of them said Newcastle signed Kevin Keegan. He was a Ballon d 'Or winner in his second division at the time. He came to Newcastle. That was the equivalent of a current championship club signing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

21:07That was what that was like at that time. Another supporter said he's the creator of our DNA. He was and always will be the Messiah. Many of them have said he made us believe again and single handedly he lifted the club off his off its knees. I think back to January, of course, when it was announced that Kevin Keegan, through his family, had cancer. Newcastle played Leeds United that night and it was just a couple of hours before kick-off. It was announced that Kevin Keegan had been diagnosed with cancer. And Newcastle then went out a couple of hours later, were 3-1 down to Leeds United here at St James' Park just six months ago.

21:47And they ended up winning the match 4-3 thanks to that Harvey Barnes late goal after 102 minutes. I think it's the latest goal in Premier League history. And it was almost as though Kevin Keegan was in charge that night. It was incredible and it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. And as I arrived at St James' Park that evening, I spoke to one or two of the supporters outside the ground just to try and get a flavour of, look, what did Kevin Keegan mean to you? And there was one supporter in particular that really struck to me. He looked round, he stood almost on the spot where I am right now, Bell, and he looked around, looked up at St James' Park around me And he said, look, this place would not be here as it is without Kevin Keegan.

22:25He created this whole place. So, look, incredibly sad news today that Kevin Keegan has sadly passed away at the age of 75.

22:35Bela Shah:Thank you, Keith. I can't believe somebody who is so pitiful of energy is no longer with us. That was Kevin. You knew he was in the room. You knew he was on the pitch. my career working with Sky Sports and before that with ITV was in parallel a little bit. It was Sky Sports actually coined the term the entertainers for Kevin's team. And whenever you were given as a commentator, you were given the chance to cover a game for Newcastle, you knew you were in for a real rollercoaster of an evening. And he lost the famous game, of course, the 4-3 at Anfield, where he slumped over the advertising hoardings when Liverpool, they were both going for the title.

23:20In fact, neither won it. But Liverpool won 4-3, Stan Collymore in the last minute. But Kevin, on the way home, it was desperately sad because it probably cost his side and himself the honour of winning the Premier League. But on the way home, he said to players, look, we've been part of one of the great games and we should be proud of that. And that was Kevin. He could see the bigger picture. He wasn't self-absorbed. He knew his strengths, he knew his weaknesses as well. He was a wonderful person to be around and it always felt special being in this company. And he never disappointed, never.

24:01Bela Shah:Well, despite being a Newcastle icon, Keegan was actually from Doncaster. So why did he fall in love with the city and the football club? And what did Newcastle mean to you? Pretty much the same, I think. My father was a Geordie, born in Hettonley Hole, which is the same place as Bob Paisley. So although I'm born in Doncaster and I'm a Yorkshireman, all his family used to come down from Durham, all from the mines. They always used to speak with this crazy accent that I learned to understand. And they always used to talk about Newcastle United and also about Huey Gallagher in those days, who was the top player at that time.

24:43So without ever being to Newcastle, I felt this thing inside me, maybe in my jeans almost, that was a pull. And every time I went up there to play, even with Liverpool, when I played against him in the cup final, it felt something really special. You know, the fans, I could relate to it. And I guess that's just because I'd had this imprinted in me from being a young boy as the family came down to Doncaster from Durham with this accent. they were talking about Newcastle, the Geordies, how big the club was, you know what it was like in the tune, which, you know, I didn't even know what it meant.

25:18So it was sort of imprinted on me from being about four or five.

25:24Bela Shah:The very sad news this evening that England, Liverpool and Newcastle legend Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75.