When Kevin Keegan returned to manage Newcastle a number of pundits ridiculed Mike Ashley’s appointment.

They claimed that Keegan was tactically inept and that his time spent away from football would leave him unable to improve a Newcastle side on a downward spiral.

His performance as England manager was used as a rod to beat the Toon’s so-called Messiah. Keegan’s ability was questioned during his time as England boss especially when he played Gareth Southgate in midfield in what was to be his last game as manager in the 1-0 defeat to Germany at the old Wembley Stadium.

'Keegan may have stumbled upon a tactical plan that can keep Newcastle in the top flight'


The 12-point lead that Newcastle surrendered to an Eric Cantona-inspired Manchester United in 1995-6 was also cited as another tactical failing of King Kev. And the fact that Newcastle have endured a terrible run during Keegan’s second coming has only led to this claim being upheld.

The Toon have endured a wretched time in the nine games Keegan has been in charge. They are yet to win a game and the draw at Birmingham was the first time since the return of the former Liverpool striker that they have not folded under pressure after going a goal down.

However, Keegan may have actually figured out a way to best utilise the players available and may have stumbled upon a tactical plan that can keep Newcastle in the top flight. This is by playing all three strikers in Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins.

Of course, by starting with the triumvirate, Newcastle can look weak in other areas of the field - but against Birmingham, Joey Barton and Nicky Butt showed enough energy that the Toon posed much the greater attacking threat at St Andrews.

George Caulkin in The Times was one of many sports writers to praise Keegan for this tactical change: “Even those who have questioned Keegan’s place in the modern game - and there have been many - would surely salute his courage. In fielding three established strikers against Birmingham City, a statement was made. Call it defiance, call it desperation, but it typified the man. To a degree, it succeeded.”

Keegan may have found the solution to Newcastle’s problems. With such a leaky defence and unable to make any transfers, attack could be the best form of defence for the Toon to avoid the relegation dogfight. In this day and age this is a bold move; most teams now play one up front and arguably the partnership of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov at Spurs is the only traditional two-striker combination in the league.

In Michael Owen, Newcastle have a proven goalscorer who yet again showed at St Andrews that if there is even a sniff of an opportunity the England striker will be quickest in the box. Martins also illustrated in the second-half what a fine player he can be; his explosive pace will trouble any defence and he can be a match winner. Added to this mix is  Viduka; who secured Leeds’ safety five seasons ago by scoring 13 goals in nine games.

Some would argue that Keegan’s most important decision of the night was to start with Alan Smith on the bench. The former Manchester United striker has had a woeful season and is one of the reasons Newcastle face the threat of relegation.

For the rest of the campaign the three-striker approach could work, especially since the nine remaining matches are against the poorer sides in the Premier League - with the exception of Chelsea and Everton in the final two games.

Rumours continue to persist that Ashley and Chris Mort intend finding a new manager for next season. But if the triumvirate of strikers can keep Newcastle up, Keegan could prove the doubters wrong and establish himself as a tactical genius and re-confirm himself as the 'Messiah' the Newcastle faithful claimed he was.