KK's "Third Coming" at Newcastle United saw the former England ace return as manager for the second time in January 2008 following the dismissal of Sam Allardyce - but it ended unceremoniously just eight months later. Keegan's second spell as Magpies boss did not see any "fall-outs" with players per se, but it saw a massive bust-up with the club's hierarchy over the incoming and outgoing transfers during the summer transfer window. With the disastrous appointment of Dennis Wise as "Director of Football", Mike Ashley seemingly undermined his first-team manager Keegan - who claimed the arrivals of Iganacio Gonzalez on loan from Valencia and Xisco in a £5.7million permanent transfer from Deportivo la Coruna were made completely against his own wishes. In October 2009, Keegan was eventually granted £2million in compensation for "constructive dismissal" - with the former Toon boss also arguing that James Milner was also sold under his nose to Aston Villa for £12million. The fall-out may not have been directly between a manager and a player, but Keegan's exit in 2008 was brought about by the presence of Xisco and Gonzalez in his squad.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
