Keegan insisted Newcastle United's squad is ill-equipped to cope with the demands of a Premier League campaign ... and we have far too many players who never play more than half a season.
The defence picks itself, so imagine the disaster if Habib Beye (our best defender by a proverbial mile) picked up the same injury as Barton.
The midfield is strong, but only the names in the first team.
Since James Milner was sold to Aston Villa we've dropped down to the bare bones because, although Danny Guthrie is a decent replacement for Barton, the rest are kids.
If Shay Given Goes We May As Well Pull Down The Shutters!
Steve Harper is seen as an able replacement for Shay Given, but personally I don't think he is.
Given is reported to be interested in a move to Tottenham if Mike Ashley fails to sell the club by January ... and that would be like the day Supermac left for Arsenal, Gazza went to Spurs or Peter Beardsley legged it to Liverpool.
DISASTER!
In an ideal world ... the new owners will be in place next week; Kevin Keegan will have been reappointed as manager; a significant transfer kitty of £100m will be ready for the January transfer window and Shay will stay!
And I think it's about time we Geordies had a bit of luck and entered that ideal world.