Barely three weeks into the new Premier League season and the managerial quitting game is well under way. Football management is full of pot-holes and minefields but for two of football's most honest tax payers, this was a messy state of affairs.

Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley, bosses of Newcastle United and West Ham United, marched out of their clubs, picked up their belongings and then erupted with fury.

This is not the first time Keegan has walked out of Newcastle, but for Curbishley the experience is one he may never want to re-live.

The former Charlton boss, who gave heart and soul to the Addicks' cause, was stabbed in the back. During two years at West Ham, Curbishley, alongside former Hammers goalkeeper Mervyn Day, had transformed the fortunes of the club.

After a tempestuous year under Alan Pardew, West Ham lost an FA Cup Final to Liverpool, then almost crumbled under the weight of the Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano saga.

But when Curbishley took over at Upton Park, it seemed that everything was wine and roses. The club were, seemingly, back on an even keel and the former Hammer had come back to his spiritual home.

Kieron Dyer and Freddie Ljungberg were, certainly at the time, regarded as a breath of fresh air. But Ljungberg was discovered to be well past his sell-by date and Dyer seemed to be permanently injured.

When the Icelandic empire moved in, millions of pounds were quite literally thrown at the club. Debts and bills were paid, extravagant promises made, but Curbishley was overlooked.

From a neutral standpoint it does seem that Curbishley has been shabbily betrayed. We all know that football chairmen can be scheming, devious, and at times totally heartless. But when Curbishley joined West Ham, perhaps he should have read the small print.

The bottom line is that Anton Ferdinand had quite clearly expressed a desire to leave West Ham and George McCartney's wife never settled in London. Curbishley, against his wishes, wanted both players to stay.

But in the all powerful world of the football boardroom, decisions are made and discontented players are shunted on. Nobody consulted Curbishley and the rest is an all-too-familiar story.

Once again Newcastle are in a state of mourning. The curtains have been drawn, a depression has settled over Tyneside and Kevin Keegan has once again broken Toon hearts.

Keegan, the pocket battleship who played for Scunthorpe, Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton and Newcastle, walked out of St James' Park in much the same way he'd done with both England and Newcastle previously.

When Keegan doesn't get his way over the funding of new players, the only way is out. Some would call this childish behaviour but the fact remains that our Kevin's tolerance had been well and truly tested. If you don't do as Keegan says, then Keegan will simply throw a wobbler. So there!

Now Newcastle fans have to live without King Kev again and the world is an emptier place. There are times when Keegan must plead for just a little privacy and solitude. At the peak of both his playing and managerial career he was surrounded by adoring fans and possible hangers on. Now he can find peace.

When Keegan last quit the game, he headed for a sun-kissed Spanish golf course where he hoped nobody would find him. But the lure of football drew him back like a magnet. This time, though, may be the last straw for this colourful and bubbly football man.

Keegan has always lived, eaten and slept football but this time the boundless energy may just have deserted him. Perhaps he'll wake up tomorrow morning and find that football management just wasn't for him.