Former Everton Striker Says Keegan Is Not The Man For Success!

Last updated : 03 October 2008 By Footy Mad - Editor
Andy Gray: The sooner that changes the better, but by the time they find out which direction they're going in, it might be too late. The only direction they might be going is down into the Championship.

They've lost their last five games and by their captain's admission, they're lower than a snake's belly in regards to confidence. Now they're coming up against an Everton side in our live game on Sunday who are also under a bit of pressure after a bad start and will be even more determined than ever to get a victory.

It's hard to say what the right answer is. The fans want Kevin Keegan back and they may be right, but personally I'm not so sure.

Going back can be difficult. People always say that Kevin had success in his first spell; well Kevin built a fantastically attractive football team but it didn't win anything. They came second in the Premier League, but plenty of teams have done that.

Is Keegan a better manager this time around? I'm not so sure that he is. I remember Howard Kendall winning league championships, European titles and FA Cups during his first spell at Everton - but when he was asked to come back again it was much more difficult.

I think the same thing applies with Newcastle, especially because Keegan won't have the huge sums of money he had to work with under Sir John Hall.

So I'm not sure if he should go back, but that's a decision for either Mike Ashley or for whoever pays hundreds of millions of pounds to buy the club to make.

Of course, those people will listen to the fans and understand their wishes but they won't be dictated to by the fans. They need to run the club in the best way possible to become successful.

We're talking about a club here that hasn't won a domestic trophy for 50 years and sometimes the Newcastle fans want somebody to come in and immediately turn them into Champions League contenders.

Unless somebody comes in with vast experience as a coach and there's a bottomless pit of money then that isn't going to happen overnight.

I simply don't know how this club is going to get out of the mess they currently find themselves in.

As the owner of Newcastle United, Mike Ashley has to take responsibility for a lot of the problems at St James' Park.

But as a player you have to accept some sort of responsibility as well. I know that from personal experience during my time at Wolves when they were going bankrupt. As hard as it is during times of turmoil, you have to roll your sleeves up.

As for putting a temporary manager in charge, I'm not so sure that's the solution.