V QPR (28th August 1982) To paraphrase Moneyball, it's hard not to get romantic about football. After winning the European Footballer Of The Year award twice and starring in Liverpool and Hamburg, Kevin Keegan made a spiritual homecoming, giving up his last professional football contract to a struggling Newcastle United side who needed confidence and star power. They got that in spades, starting immediately with Keegan's debut against QPR in 1982, which saw almost 40,000 people inside St James Park to see him just months after the crowds hit as low as 9,419. He was already a hero by virtue of his decision to sign, but he made himself an even bigger one by scoring in front of the Gallowgate against the Londoners, who went on to win the league as Newcastle finished 5th. Did It Last? As a player, Keegan was the shot in the arm the Magpies needed to get out of the second division at the end of his second year. And while his time in black and white was frustratingly short, he was so instrumental in dragging them back to top flight football with 48 goals in 78 games that his hero status was always assured. Obviously what he did next also helped.
