Keegan, Wise, Favours to Agents & YouTube - Wise

[QPR Report]

Not that I'm suggesting...


Mirror
Kevin Keegan was ordered to scout player on YouTube: the full horror of Mike Ashley's Newcastle reign revealed
Published 22:45 02/10/09 By Simon Bird

A manager ordered to scout a player using YouTube. A player signed as a “favour“ to South American agents. And an admission that Newcastle fans were deliberately lied to by the club.

The rotten, shameful truth behind Mike Ashley’s reign at Newcastle United was exposed by Kevin Keegan yesterday as the full bitter story of his battle against Dennis Wise was laid bare.

The ex-Newcastle boss finally got to tell the inside track on his departure from St James’s Park 21 months ago, and was “delighted“ to “restore“ his reputation.

The gory details behind Keegan’s departure show in shocking detail the mismanagement, confused thinking and lack of respect to a club legend that sent Newcastle spiraling to relegation.

A farcical picture emerged, including Newcastle United admitting they deliberately misled their own fans in statements on the club website and match programme “as a public relations exercise.”

And it was revealed that Keegan was told by Director of Football Wise and transfer chief Tony Jimenez to check out a Uruguayan winger Ignacio Gonzalez, a player he was being forced to sign against his wishes, on the video sharing website YouTube.

Keegan won a devastating legal victory over Ashley winning £2 million in compensation for “constructive dismissal”, as a Premier League Arbitration Panel published its ruling on the saga after a two week hearing.

The club were criticised in the ruling for not setting out “publicly and truthfully“ their “true“ position that under their “continental“ management structure, sometimes managers do not get the final say on transfers.

The hearing’s 23 page judgement, chaired by Philip Havers QC with Lord Pannick and Ken Merrett, vindicated Keegan for walking out on the club in September last year, with the former England legend claiming his position has become “untenable.”

Keegan said: “The Tribunal has found the conduct of the club in forcing a player on me against my wishes represented a fundamental breach of my contract of employment. I do not believe that there is any manager in football who could have remained at the club in the light of their conduct.”

In his evidence Keegan revealed that it was the proposed arrival of Gonzalez on transfer deadline day 2008 that ended his reign.

Keegan said last night: “I resigned because I was being asked to sanction the signing of a player in order to “do a favour“ for two South American agents. No one at the club had seen this player play and I was asked to sign him on the basis of some clips on You Tube.

“This is something that I was not prepared to be associated with in any way. The club knew that I objected strongly to this transfer and were aware that by continuing with it I was likely to feel that I had no option but to resign. Notwithstanding this they nevertheless went on to sign the player at very substantial cost to the club.

“Contrary to the public statements made by the club at the time they did not do all that they could to retain me at the club. In particular they refused to acknowledge that I was entitled to the final say on transfers. This left me in a totally untenable position.”

The hearing found that Keegan has a “difficult relationship“ with Wise and Jimenez, who were put in charge of executing transfers.

Keegan believed he had the final say on deals because his £3 million a year contract stated his duties were those “usually associated with the position of a Manager of a Premier League Football Team.”

The club responded to questioning about whether Wise’s director of football role was above Keegan, by releasing a series of interviews with Wise on their website and match magazine including Wise saying: “I’m not gonna do things like bring players in behind his back. I’m not into that and everything that happens will be run past him and he’ll say yes, as I say, or he’ll say no.”

Only when Gonzalez arrived, it was totally against Keegan’s wishes.

The tribunal’s judgement yesterday read: “The Club’s explanation for these statements, which, on their case, were simply untrue, was that they were nothing more than an exercise in public relations. We found this explanation to be profoundly unsatisfactory.

“We do not understand why the Club could not set out publicly and truthfully what they maintain was the true position. After all, Mr Ashley’s vision for the Club involved a change to a Continental structure and it is clear from the evidence that there are managers of some Continental clubs who do not have the final say.

“We do not understand why the Club felt unable to make this clear publicly from the outset. For the Club to have made these statements, when they were, according to the Club, untrue, was, in our view, simply to store up trouble for the future.”

Keegan was claiming £8.6 million in wages he would have earned on his three year contract, and £16.5 million in lost earnings up to the age of 65. But the tribunal ruled a clause in his contract that stated a £2 million pay off if he was sacked, should be binding.

www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Kevin-Keegan-was-ordered-to-scout-player-on-YouTube-the-full-horror-of-Mike-Ashley-s-Newcastle-reign-revealed-article177961.html#

[FloridaR]

Wise was most probably considered as he was used to working in that type of system.

But at the end of the day...Keegan should of got more Money $$$

[QPR Report]

Or as emphasized by BBC Gossip

Former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan, who won £2m in damages after winning his case against the club for constructive dismissal, was forced to sign Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez because ex-director of football Dennis Wise wanted to keep two agents happy.

[QPR Report]

Guardian

How Kevin Keegan and Dennis Wise fell out over YouTube signing• Wise urged signing of Ignacio González against Keegan's will• Manager was advised to check out player on YouTube

An extract from the independent arbitration panel's verdict on Kevin Keegan's constructive dismissal from Newcastle United reveals how his relationship with the then director of football Dennis Wise broke down over the signing of Ignacio González. Wise, according to the verdict, contacted Keegan to recommend González on 30 August, and pushed ahead with signing the player despite strong objections from the manager.


"Mr Wise telephoned Mr Keegan and told him that he had a great player for the club to sign, namely Ignacio González, and that he should look him up," read the statement from the arbitration panel. "Mr Keegan tried to locate him on the internet but could find no reference to him. Mr Wise told him that he had been on loan at Monaco but having checked out the details, Mr Keegan was unimpressed and told Mr Wise that he did not think the player was good enough.


"Mr Wise then told him that the player was on YouTube and that Mr Keegan could look him up there, but he found that the clips were of poor quality and provided no proper basis for signing a player to a Premier League club. Moreover, no one at the club had ever seen him play.


"However, notwithstanding that he made it clear not only to Mr Wise but also to Mr Jimenez and to Mr Ashley that he very strongly objected to the signing of Mr González [he was to be signed on loan with an option to purchase], the club proceeded with the deal and the transfer was concluded the following day, on 31 August 2008.


"The club did so, according to its witnesses who gave evidence before us, because it was in the club's commercial interests to do so. It was what the club described as a 'commercial deal' by which the club meant a deal which was in the commercial interests of the club.


"The 'commercial interests', according to the club, were that the signing of the player on loan would be a 'favour' to two influential South American agents who would look favourably on the club in the future.


"The loan deal cost the club nearly £1m in wages for a player who was not expected to play for the first team but no payment was made by the club to the agents in respect of the deal."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/02/kevin-keegan-dennis-wise-youtube-newcastle

[QPR Report]

Guardian

Kevin Keegan's statement in full

The former Newcastle manager issued a statement after winning £2m from an arbitration panel for constructive dismissal

"I am delighted that the Premier League Manager's arbitration tribunal has today formally announced that it has upheld my claim for wrongful dismissal against Newcastle United. The full details of the decision are on the Premier League website and will also be added to the League Managers Association website in due course.

"I took the decision to resign in September 2008 only after very careful and anxious consideration. The decision to resign was one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever had to take in my life. I believe that anybody who knows me and my attachment to Newcastle United and the north-east in general will understand how difficult this must have been. I very much hope that the decision of the tribunal now confirms why I felt that I had no option but to resign from the position as manager of the club that I love.

"The tribunal has found the conduct of the club in forcing a player on me against my wishes represented a fundamental breach of my contract of employment. I do not believe that there is any manager in football who could have remained at the club in the light of their

"Since my departure there have been many untrue stories written about my resignation, my time at the club and these proceedings. I do not blame the press for this: I know that the journalists concerned are only doing their job but I hope that the tribunal's decision will now conclusively put to rest a number of allegations made against me.

"In particular I believe that the tribunal's decision makes it clear that:

"I did not have the final say on transfers and the club's allegation that I did, which was publicised widely at the time of my resignation and subsequently, was simply untrue.

"The club admitted to the tribunal that it repeatedly and intentionally misled the press, public and the fans of Newcastle United.

"I resigned because I was being asked to sanction the signing of a player in order to "do a favour" for two South American agents. No one at the club had seen this player play and I was asked to sign him on the basis of some clips on YouTube. This is something that I was not prepared to be associated with in any way. The club knew that I objected strongly to this transfer and were aware that by continuing with it I was likely to feel that I had no option but to resign. Notwithstanding this they nevertheless went on to sign the player at very substantial cost to the club.

"Contrary to the public statements made by the club at the time they did not do all that they could to retain me at the club. In particular they refused to acknowledge that I was entitled to the final say on transfers. This left me in a totally untenable position.

A number of the allegations made against me by the club at the hearing in order to support their £2m claim against me were totally without foundation and should never have been raised in the proceedings.

I very much regret that this claim ever had to go to the hearing as it did. "I want to state categorically that the allegation that has been made in the press that I turned down an offer of £4m to settle the claim is simply untrue. No such offer was made to me.

"I also want to confirm that a central purpose of my claim has always been to clear my name and restore my reputation. I consider it of vital importance that I was able to let people know about the full circumstances of my resignation and the way in which I had been treated by the club. I hope that this purpose has now been achieved.

There are a number of technical issues that still need to be resolved by the tribunal and I obviously will not be in a position to comment on them until after those issues have been resolved.

I would like to thank my family, friends, legal team and the LMA who have all offered me their unstinting support throughout this very challenging period. I would also like to thank the members of the tribunal itself who have given such fair, able and meticulous consideration to my case.

Finally "I would like to thank the fans of Newcastle United for their continued support and wish them and the club continued in the current season success in their goal of reaching the Premier League."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/02/kevin-keegan-newcastle-united-statement

[QPR Report]

David Conn/The Guardian

Previous Blog home Kevin Keegan's case at Newcastle sheds light on the grubby deals we seldom seeNewcastle's signing of a player as a 'favour' to his agents is reflective of the grimmest whisperings about how football really works

Today's decision by the Premier League's arbitration panel that Kevin Keegan was constructively dismissed at St James' Park in September 2008, and should receive the maximum £2m compensation allowable under his contract, has shone a blinding light on the farcical insides of Mike Ashley's Newcastle United. The key finding of this published judgment, by a legal tribunal including two QCs, is astonishing.

Newcastle United, then a Premier League football club, signed a player on loan, the Uruguayan Ignacio González, whom not one person at the club had ever seen play, as a "favour" to two South American agents. "The loan deal cost the club nearly £1m in wages," the judgment records, "for a player who was not expected to play in the first team."

This is the sort of deal which is rumoured and whispered about in the grimmest conversations about how football really works, yet here it is, advocated by key Newcastle people, including Ashley himself, as a valid way to do business.

Some interpreted Keegan's exit as another walkout by a man with a tendency to flounce, but the judgment vindicates him as a man of pride and principle. As the manager he was not prepared to sanction that signing, which was being urged on him by Dennis Wise, the man Ashley appointed as executive director (football).

The judgment throws up a motley cast of characters arrayed against Keegan, a Newcastle legend as a player and manager, whom Ashley brought back in the hope of reproducing the renaissance of Keegan's first spell. Ashley bought Newcastle then appointed inexperienced people to key positions because, it is said, they were his friends and he trusted them.

Tony Jimenez appears in the judgment to remind us of his short-lived term as vice president (player recruitment). Jeff Vetere, formerly a scout for Real Madrid, Charlton and West Ham, had joined in January 2008 as Newcastle's technical co-ordinator.

The roles of these men combined with Wise, the judgment tells us, into a "structure" which Ashley's people carefully explained to Keegan would be "the continental model" for how to run a football club. The executive director (football) would be on the board and the manager would report to him.

Keegan's argument was that was all very well, but according to the terms on which he took the job, he had the final say on all signings. Then on 30 August 2008, two days before the transfer window closed: "Mr Wise telephoned Mr Keegan and told him that he had a great player for the club to sign, namely Ignacio González."

Keegan found that even Google had no information to impart on González, so Wise told him some footage could be found on YouTube. Keegan looked. "He found that the clips were of poor quality and provided no proper basis for signing a player to a Premier League club," the judgment states. "Moreover, no one at the club had ever seen [González] play."

After that, the judgment records: "Notwithstanding that [Keegan] made it clear not only to Mr Wise but also to Mr Jimenez and to Mr Ashley that he very strongly objected to the signing of Mr González, the club proceeded with the deal. The club did so, according to its witnesses who gave evidence, because it was in the club's commercial interests to do so. The 'commercial interests', according to the club, were that the signing of the player on loan would be a 'favour' to two influential South American agents who would look favourably on the club in the future."

Keegan suggested to the panel that the transfer was "improper and irregular", although the panel found that the club did not pay the agents, and it was not suggested it breached Premier League rules. Most importantly, however, it agreed that Keegan left because he believed, with justification, that his role as Newcastle's manager had been fundamentally undermined with the González deal.

Newcastle, in the detail, put forward an appalling argument. The panel decided that when they appointed Keegan as the manager they did guarantee him the final say on transfers. This conclusion is based partly on what the club itself said in public. The judgment quotes Wise twice, Ashley's first chairman Chris Mort, and Lee Charnley, the club secretary, making press or website statements to that effect.

Yet the club told the tribunal that these statements, that Keegan had the final say, were "simply untrue" and that those officers of the club made them as "nothing more than an exercise in public relations". The panel found that explanation "profoundly unsatisfactory".

Keegan had a contract worth £3m a year, rising to £3.2m then £3.4m for the following seasons. After Newcastle United signed a Uruguayan player whom nobody had seen play, to do a favour to two agents, he walked away. This legal judgment concludes that decision was fully justified, and poses howling questions of Ashley to which, characteristically today, his Newcastle United was making no comment at all.

www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/oct/02/kevin-keegan-newcastle-united-arbitration-panel

[QPR Report]

The Independent

Keegan v Wise: the feud files

Extraordinary details reveal extent of the rift that forced out Newcastle's 'messiah' / Ex-manager wins £2m in compensation but claim for 10 times that figure angers fans

By Jason Mellor

'No one at the club had seen Gonzalez play,' said Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan yesterday walked out of his compensation battle with Newcastle United £2m richer.

But such was the extent and magnitude of the revelations that emerged from what should prove to be the final significant scene in his long-running and intensely acrimonious fall-out with Dennis Wise, the club's former executive director of football, the seven-figure settlement was left in the shadows.

For a start there was the total Keegan and his legal team had demanded following his departure from St James' in September 2008. That figure was £25.1m – some £16.5m in lost potential earnings and "stigma" damages, and £8.6m from the remaining three-and-a-half years on his £58,000-a-week contract. But more breathtaking still is the insight given by the Premier League tribunal into the power games that tore apart Newcastle United.

The most revealing episode is the signing of the Uruguayan international Ignacio Gonzalez, who has since returned to his club Valencia. The deal went ahead despite Keegan never having seen the midfielder play. It proved to be the final straw. "I resigned because I was being asked to sanction the signing of a player in order to 'do a favour' for two South American agents," Keegan insisted.

"No one at the club had seen this player play and I was asked to sign him on the basis of some clips on YouTube. I wasn't prepared to be associated with that in any way. The club knew that I objected strongly to this transfer and were aware that by continuing with it I was likely to feel that I had no option but to resign."

The tribunal states that the Gonzalez deal was: "in the commercial interests of the Club." It continued: "The 'commercial interests', according to the club, were that the signing of the player on loan would be a 'favour' to two influential South American agents who would look favourably on the club in the future.

"The loan deal cost the club nearly £1m in wages for a player who was not expected to play for the first team but no payment was made by the club to the agents in respect of the deal."

The outcome of the two-week hearing clearly justifies Keegan's bringing of the case, his team successfully arguing that he was left with no option but to resign when the club's owner Mike Ashley went back on the agreed "golden rule" term in his contract that the manager would have the final say on all transfer activity.

That situation, however, irrevocably changed following the appointment of Wise in a director of football role shortly after Keegan began his second spell in charge in January 2008, after swapping his Glasgow-based Soccer Circus business for the continuing circus being played out on the Gallowgate.

Yet however much Keegan is able to claim the moral high ground from his tribunal victory, the rights and wrongs of his argument cut little ice with many Newcastle supporters who are unable to look beyond the telephone-number figures involved as the latest chapter of the Newcastle United soap opera unfolded before disbelieving eyes. As Matthew Kingston, one of many disgruntled Toon Army foot-soldiers succinctly put it: "He's not the Messiah, he's a very greedy boy."

While Keegan's reputation may be forever besmirched with a significant number of supporters, that of the St James' Park hierarchy has suffered another hammering, as the tribunal delivered an at times damning verdict on the way the club is run. A statement read: "We do not believe that Mr Keegan would have accepted the job as manager if it had been implicit that he would not have the final say. We unhesitatingly accept his evidence on this point."

The tribunal added: "The club's own witnesses seemed unclear as to the position as to who would have the final say and we had, and continue to have, real difficulty in understanding the club's position on this point."

It also suggested supporters were misled in a series of interviews carried on the official club website and club programme early last year, where Wise and former chairman Chris Mort confirmed that Keegan was in sole charge of transfers. The statement continued: "For the club to have made these statements, when they were, according to the club, untrue, was in our view simply to store up trouble for the future."

Newcastle, who steadfastly maintained that Keegan was never told he would have the ultimate say on transfers in its unsuccessful £2m claim for breach of contract, failed to help their cause by last night refusing to comment, a trait that has been a common failing during Ashley's turbulent two-and-a-half year reign.

Keegan admitted it had been difficult to keep his counsel as rumour and counter-rumour have flown in the 13 months since his resignation. He refuted suggestions that he turned down a £4m out of court settlement last month. "I'm delighted the tribunal has upheld my claim," he said.

"The decision to resign was one of the most difficult that I've ever had to take. Anybody who knows me and my attachment to Newcastle United and the North-east will understand how difficult this must have been. I hope the tribunal's decision confirms why I felt I had no option.

"It found the conduct of the club in forcing a player on me against my wishes represented a fundamental breach of my contract. I don't believe there is any manager in football who could have remained at the club in the light of their conduct."

After another day where events at St James' Park fitted snugly into the category of "you really couldn't make it up", Keegan added: "The central purpose of my claim has always been to let people know the full circumstances of my resignation, the way I was treated by the club and to clear my name and restore my reputation.

"I very much regret that this claim ever had to go to the hearing as it did." That, no doubt, is a sentiment echoed by most of Tyneside.

Keegan's claim was for £25,107,534

Comprising of: £8,607,534 for the money left on his contract that ran until 30 June 2011.

£16,500,000 for what he said were "stigma damages". The tribunal described this as the earnings Keegan claimed he would potentially have lost out on because he would have been unable to get a job in the years up to his 65th birthday.

What he was awarded: £2m. As per his original contract.

Ignacio Gonzalez: In the spotlight

An attacking midfielder who started his career in his native Uruguay in 2002, Ignacio Gonzalez spent five seasons with Montevideo club Danubio where he won two league titles. In January 2008 he joined Monaco on loan for six months but played just five league games.

In August 2008 Gonzalez joined Valencia but no sooner had he passed his medical than he was sent out to Newcastle on loan. Valencia coach Unai Emery clearly didn’t want to keep the Uruguayan. He said he already had four top quality players who could play in his position and what he really needed was a centre-forward.

Emery added: “It’s my decision that he does not stay. I accept the fact that we sign him on the condition that he does not form part of the squad right now. I have seen him play and he has some qualities but right now we have enough players.” So “Nacho” moved to Newcastle but played in just two games as a second-half substitute: first as Newcastle lost at home to Hull on 13 September and then in another defeat away to West Ham on 20 September.

Gonzalez has not featured in a single competitive game for Valencia this season. He scored in the club’s first pre-season friendly but was then sent off, and the club spent the whole summer trying to get rid of him. Finally they gave him the No 25 shirt and he seems to be their 25th choice player as he doesn’t even feature on the bench.

Pete Jenson


www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/keegan-v-wise-the-feud-files-1796878.html

[QPR Report]

The Times
Clubs must wise up if they want to avoid executive stress
Commentary: Oliver Kay

During his brief spell as director of football at Portsmouth, Harry Redknapp soon settled into a routine. He would drive Milan Mandaric, the owner, down to the training ground, cast his eye over proceedings and, after ten minutes or so, he would feel so awkward that they would leave, usually stopping at a near-empty McDonald’s on their way back to Fratton Park.

That is one side of the story when it comes to the British experience of directors of football. Another — the one that has frequently been hinted at by disenfranchised managers, but had never before come to light so publicly — is the one that was revealed yesterday in the arbitration panel’s d***ing judgment of Newcastle United as they were ordered to pay Kevin Keegan £2 million in damages for constructive dismissal in September 2008.

Talk to certain managers in private, over a drink or two, and they might just confess to having had players foisted on them against their wishes, but the details that emerged yesterday of Keegan’s dealings with Dennis Wise, the former Newcastle executive director (football), were still fairly shocking. Although it was clear at the time that Wise had pushed through the signings of Xisco and Ignacio González despite objections from Keegan, who resigned within days, it took yesterday’s statement from the arbitration panel to reveal just how farcical that regime was and, one suspects, still is.

Even in Britain, some decent directors of football exist — Steve Coppell, the former Reading manager, cannot speak highly enough of Nicky Hammond — but it seems safe to say that Wise is not among them. Whatever Wise’s justification for wishing to sign Xisco and González — there were clips of them on YouTube, it would “do a favour” for two South American agents — Keegan’s gut instincts served him well.

It is nothing new or outrageous that managers sign players “blind”, on the say-so of agents or on the basis of highlights videos. Sven-Göran Eriksson admitted to doing it with several of the players that constituted his £40 million outlay upon taking over as manager of Manchester City, which makes it all the more peculiar that Notts County should have appointed him their director of football.

At least with Eriksson at City, though, the risk was evaluated. At Newcastle it was ignored, as were the protestations of Keegan, a man who, even if he is not quite the managerial guru that his disciples might believe, has an infinitely better grasp of and instinct for football players than those who employed him at St James’ Park — including Wise.

The problem is not so much directors of football, per se, as clubs appointing figures who are there to serve the board’s interests, rather than acting in partnership with the managers. Elsewhere in Europe, nothing could be more natural than a sporting director working with the coach — and it is almost always the former, working with the president, who determines transfer policy.

But the position is part of football culture elsewhere in Europe. The role of a sporting director is one to aspire to, not least for players reaching the end of their careers. One day, as managers such as Redknapp and Sir Alex Ferguson make way for a younger generation whose expertise lies purely in coaching, something closer to the European model will almost certainly become the norm here. And by that stage, you would hope that English football has better candidates to turn to than Wise.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/football_league/article6859574.ece

[QPR Report]

Ron Liddle/Suday Times

From The Sunday Times October 4, 2009

Mere mortals aren’t big enough for Newcastle

SOME Messiah, then. I don’t think Jesus Christ tried to claim £10m compensation when it all went tits up in the Garden of Gethsemane. But then, unlike Kevin Keegan, Jesus only had the malefactions of Judas Iscariot and the Roman occupying force with which to contend; he was not bedevilled by Dennis Wise. I like the notion of Wise being one of the disciples, though; St Dennis, the Fisher of Men (via YouTube) who betrayed his boss to curry favour with two South American agents. It seems scarcely possible that Newcastle United could be the source of even more humour this season, after they gave of themselves so selflessly last year. But then you read of what went on once Keegan was appointed, detailed with frank incredulity by the panel which adjudicated in the Keegan v Newcastle case, which ended with the Messiah being awarded £2m plus interest.

The panel effectively confirmed that the club lied through its teeth, concurring with Keegan’s claim that it “repeatedly and intentionally misled the press, the public and the fans”. Having appointed Keegan, to the delight of Newcastle’s fervent-but-often-deluded following, the board clearly sat down and thought: “Now, what can we do that will really screw him up?” And as one, they arrived at the only answer possible: appoint Dennis Wise to squat on his shoulders, causing trouble. Wise’s qualifications for whatever title he acquired at St James’ Park rested on his managerial performance at Millwall, where he took Mark McGhee’s decent Championship side to the brink of relegation through the signing of some truly shocking players, and a period of copious under-achievement at Leeds United, where most people believe the clever work was done by Gus Poyet. Okay, he got Millwall to the FA Cup final. (En route, we managed to overcome Walsall, Telford, Burnley, Tranmere and Sunderland, all below Millwall in the football league at the time.) But then look what he did the next season, the season of Scott Dobie and Jo Tessem, of financial chaos, which ended with relegation a cast-iron certainty next time around. Down at The Den, we are still suffering the effects of Dennis.

Wise was brought to Newcastle to identify potential players, a task he apparently executed by watching YouTube. This was how Keegan ended up with the Uruguayan Ignacio Gonzalez; I suppose it is a small mercy Wise did not also secure the services of Shakira and some sN-Wording bloke who can fart God Save The Queen, via the same medium. Anyway, Keegan complained that he could not properly judge Gonzalez’s ability because the YouTube clips were too grainy. Maybe at this point Dennis offered to fix him up with a better server. He did, however, make clear that Keegan ought to sign the Valencia defender to “do a favour” for those South American agents I mentioned. Oddly, Keegan felt disinclined to agree and left the club to which he had returned festooned with palm fronds as his donkey made its triumphant way up the Scotswood Road.

What possessed Newcastle to believe it needed Wise? Why would anyone believe he could make things better? And remarkably, just when things seemed to be looking more optimistic, they whipped the carpet from beneath Keegan’s feet, humiliated the man and, pretty much, ensured relegation.

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It is perhaps the case that Keegan might not have been the most judicious appointment. It was, instead, a form of playing to the Gallowgate gallery, at the expense of competence and realism. But having appointed Keegan, they might at least have let the poor chap get on with doing the job. There was more playing to the gallery later when, distraught at the prospect of having to play the children of a lesser God in the Championship, they appointed the untried Alan Shearer to dig them out of a hole. The hole, as you might have guessed, remained undug.

Things are, at last, looking up for Newcastle. They sit on top of the Championship, a position many — me included — thought they would find unattainable. And it is sort of in spite of the board that they are where they are: the manager, Chris Hughton, is about as charismatic as a vacuum pack of Leerdammer cheese and the Magpies have been left with him by default. He is doing an extraordinarily good job. He is one of those managers the Newcastle board and the clamorous fans are never entirely happy with — like poor Glenn Roeder and Joe Kinnear — a decent professional with ability and determination and untrammeled by any notion of immortality. These are the managers who, over the years, have served Newcastle the best.

But you would not bet on Newcastle sticking by their man if — when — they achieve promotion. Glory will go to their heads, they will talk about Europe, they will once again demand a manager who matches up to their ambition and the view they have of their club. Someone like Jesus Christ, then.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/rod_liddle/article6860190.ece

[klr]

Yet more proof ( if any were needed ) that the "Sporting Director" system doesnt work in this country.

[QPR Report]

Although THEORETICALLY it could work I guess

If you appoint a Chief Coach (Manager) as we did with De Canio - Someone who is used to/accepts that system

And appoint a Sporting Director who works in tandem with the CHief Coach - and who actually knows about players - OR has an entire Scouting system who finds players; not just relies on agents

But it had to be cooperative; and has to have the people who can work well with such as system

[Markqpr]

I wonder if Gary Waddock has read all this and was left thinking "At least Keegan could find 'his' signings on You Tube!"

[QPR Report]

If true, that's horrible way of doing things

Guardian

Newcastle signed Ignacio González to aid future transfers, says Dennis Wise• Deal was to help secure best young South American talent• Wise not convinced that Mike Ashley will sell Newcastle

Simon Williams at St James' Park guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 October 2009

Dennis Wise has said that the controversial signing which prompted Kevin Keegan's resignation at Newcastle United was pushed through against the former England manager's wishes in order to try to secure first option on the best young players from South America.

Keegan left in September 2008 after the club brought in Ignacio González on loan from Valencia, on the evidence of YouTube clips and as a "favour" to two South American agents. Wise, who was then Newcastle's executive director (football), said the club had gone ahead with the deal despite Keegan's misgivings because of potential future benefits.

He added that Newcastle's owner, Mike Ashley, had supported the move and that no regulations had been breached. The club were on Friday asked by an independent arbitration panel to pay Keegan £2m for constructive dismissal.

"The long-term idea of the relationship [with the agents] was we were going to get first option on the best South American kids," Wise said. "That was important to Newcastle. Mike knew everything about it. He was fine with it. Every deal that went through the football club he knew. It's his money and no one else's. It was all done the right way."

Keegan's £2m award from the tribunal was considerably less than the £25m for which he had lodged a claim. Wise said that Ashley had offered Keegan more than £2m to settle the case. Keegan has described as "simply untrue" reports that he rejected £4m to settle.

The resolution of the Keegan case removes one of the last barriers to Newcastle's sale but Wise believes Ashley may turn down an offer from the Tyneside businessman Barry Moat, with the team top of the Championship. "I think he will hold on to it at least until they get promoted and I don't know what he will do then," Wise said, on Sky Sports.

Alan Shearer has certainly been given no indication a takeover is imminent and he expects to be working at the BBC for the foreseeable future. Moat is likely to appoint Shearer as manager if he takes control but the former England forward has not been given cause to be optimistic that his wait may soon be over. Although Moat is the only interested party who has regular contact with Shearer he is not the only bidder, and the Mike Ashley regime has privately pushed claims it is talking to other groups who have also gone through due diligence.

Whether one of these groups has made significant progress since the conclusion of the Keegan case, which led to a far smaller pay out than many anticipated, remains to be seen, particularly as Seymour Pierce, the bank in charge of the sale process, maintains Moat is the only serious player left at the negotiating table.

Certainly, Newcastle fans will react to the latest suggestions that a takeover is close with weary cynicism. They have been frequently told a breakthrough is about to be made only to be let down as another deadline passed.

There were more anti-Ashley chants at the weekend as the Magpies drew 0-0 during Saturday's goalless home draw with Bristol City, one which kept Newcastle's lead at the top of the Championship to three points. But the caretaker manager, Chris Hughton, blamed the referee rather than any distractions caused by the Keegan case, for his side's failure to win.

Hughton – who was named manager of the month for the second successive time at the weekend – has been a calming influence ever since Ashley announced he was putting the club up for sale and was not going to appoint Shearer as permanent manager after an eight-game stint last season. But even he shed his cool exterior when Graham Salisbury failed to award a second-half penalty after Jamie McCombe had slid in clumsily on Marlon Harewood. "It was a certain penalty and I think the referee and the linesman on that side were the only two people in the stadium who didn't see it," said Hughton. "There is anger there, but you have to try to keep a lid on it."

The incident came at the end of a sustained bout of Newcastle pressure. They hit the woodwork three times and found the goalkeeper, Dean Gerken, drafted in as a late replacement for the injured Adriano Basso, in brilliant form. "It was a frustrating afternoon but not once have we even talked about Kevin Keegan," said Hughton. "This club has got used to the coverage we've had over the last year. It didn't affect anybody."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/04/alan-shearer-newcastle-united-takeover