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Special K will be afforded a hero's return at St James' Park but Mike Ashley's decision to bring back he of the magic perm smacks of sentimentality overuling logic.

Newcastle openly admitted it would have been impossible for them to lure the likes of Jose Mourinho or Marcello Lippi to the North East, so the only option available to Ashley was to bring in a former crowd favourite to appease the masses. And with Alan Shearer somewhat hesitant, Keegan remained the only viable choice.

'If Sam Allardyce believed he was under too much pressure then it will be nothing in comparison to what Keegan faces'


If Sam Allardyce believed he was under too much pressure, then it will be nothing in comparison to what Keegan faces. He was labelled as a Messiah on the Newcastle official website, but even Jesus could not transform the likes of David Rozenhal and Claudio Cacapa into world-class defenders. He has already called for time and patience but the hype that has surrounded his re-appointment has built him up to ridiculous levels and will only increase the stress levels.

They say "you should never go back" and this is, without doubt, sage advice. People can argue about Harry Redknapp and Portsmouth but at the end of the day, his time away was more like a sabbatical. Keegan will not be able to scale the heights he achieved last time round.

Firstly, the top four are near enough impossible to breach, and with teams like Manchester City and Everton significantly better at present, a place in Europe is but a flickering dream.

Secondly, without European football,  most good continental players will not consider a move to Newcastle. People may argue they will be enticed by Keegan but how many of the average football players abroad will remember Keegan's 'glory days' over a decade ago?

Finally, he just does not have the players he used to have - no Shearer, no Andy Cole, no Rob Lee, no David Ginola. Admittedly there are players with potential such as Charles N'Zogbia, James Milner and Steven Taylor but they are years away from the finished article and Keegan, like any other Premier League manager, is expected to produce a quick-fix solution.

Back in the '90s, Keegan's sides were renowned for their flair football and goals. Yet I defy any Newcastle fan to claim that attack is the main area that needs to be concentrated on. The problem is, as Alan Hansen has continually pointed out over the last three years, Newcastle cannot defend. Keegan's teams cannot defend and so this marriage looks dubious from the outset on a purely tactical level.

Let us not also forget that Keegan has been out of the game for a significant period of time. Some serious questions have to be asked of whether he is up-to-date with some aspects of the game. When Sven was out of work he spent his time seeking the best players in Europe and working out how much they would be worth; Keegan has spent his time running a Soccer Circus in Scotland.

This saga is strangely reminiscent of Robbie Fowler's return to Liverpool. Huge fanfare when he arrived, replica shirts sold with "GOD 9" on the back. Fowler played a few times, showed glimpses of his former greatness and rather quietly moved to Cardiff.

The main success of the move? It bought the management some time and stocked up some bonus points for the board. Maybe Ashley is thinking along these lines, a season and a half of flair football with a few memorable nights to give Shearer the time to prepare himself for the job he is destined to take.