The warning signs were there when billionaire club owner Mike Ashley decided that the best move to help Keegan turn Newcastle around was to appoint Dennis Wise in an overseer's role.
This was the Dennis Wise famously described by Sir Alex Ferguson as a man capable of starting a fight in an empty room, though Callum Davidson's fractured cheekbone in 2002 attested to the fact that the room doesn't have to be empty either.
Wise was appointed as Newcastle's executive director (football) on January 29 this year. And the cynics were out in force.
There is no satisfaction in being proved right - okay, I admit it, there is. Plenty. But that doesn't stop one feeling hugely sorry for those fans who have supported Newcastle through thick and thin.
Glenn Roeder summed it up beautifully today: "The club is a tragedy and it goes from one disaster to another. There's no stability, they go from one manager to another and the people who suffer the most are the most important people, the supporters.
"When they talk about Newcastle being a great club, it's only great for one reason - because it has great supporters."
Ashley blew it!
Forget about starting a fight in an empty room - how about starting one in a half-empty stadium because great as they are, the Newcastle fans will soon start to vote with their feet.