Soccer: Stand up the real Kevin Keegan

Manchester City are pinning their future on the mercurial manager, writes NICK HARRIS.

When the editor of last season's European Football Who's Who chose one quote to define the philosophy of Kevin Keegan - then the manager of England - he could not have imagined how apt it would prove.

"I always thought managers were more involved," Keegan said, "but when it comes down to it, I just sit there and watch like everyone else."

By the time England had lost 1-0 to Germany last October, in Wembley's last game, those words were not so much the epitome of an enraptured fan-turned-manager, but a sad admission of inability.

"I've given it my best shot, but I have not been good enough," he said. "I think the players need someone who can get that extra little bit out of them. I think you need that at this level and I haven't been able to do that. Nobody is to blame but me."

Brutally honest, unfailingly passionate, but technically flawed and temperamental. As Keegan takes up his latest appointment in a career that has been characterised by glorious arrivals and premature departures, the question Manchester City fans will be asking is: "Which Kevin Keegan will we see?"

His strengths - and he has them, for all the damning evidence of his ill-fated tenure in charge of England - are his passion for the game, his relentless optimism ("That would have been a goal if it wasn't saved," is a typical line), and his ability to motivate players.

An amiable, articulate communicator, his insistence on attacking play, even at the cost of goals conceded, has also won plenty of admirers. One Manchester City supporter, seemed convincing when he said: "Keegan might not be the best tactician, but at least we can look forward to lots of goals."

Another provided balance: "We're an unstable club, and now we've got an unstable manager."

Keegan's weaknesses emerge when the chips are down, when there is no money to spend (not a problem he encountered too often at Newcastle and Fulham), when something extra is needed to turn a match around or hold on for the points.

The abiding memories of Euro 2000 are of Keegan standing helplessly on the touchline during the matches against Portugal and Romania. In the former, England contrived to lose 3-2 after being 2-0 up. In the latter a 2-1 lead at half-time was squandered 3-2 at the death.

Was Keegan seen scrabbling frantically to decide how to tighten up, who to bring on, what changes needed to be made? He was not. He stood and shouted "keep believing."

There is also the question of commitment. Football by nature is a transient profession, but Keegan has chopped and changed more than most. Only twice in his 33-year football career has he remained at a club for anywhere near as long as the five years that his new contract at Maine Rd will theoretically span.

The first time was as a player at Liverpool, when the glory days of the 1970s brought three League Championships, an FA Cup, a European Cup and two Uefa Cups. The second time was as a manager, at Newcastle. After an ignominious start (he walked out soon after being appointed, claiming: "It's not like it said in the brochure"), he kept Newcastle in the Second Division, then won promotion to the Premiership.

He agreed a new 10-year deal in 1994, led his side to the runners-up spot behind Manchester United in 1996, and then resigned eight months later.

His attachments to other clubs have not lasted as long; three years with Hamburg before a surprise move to Southampton; two years at The Dell before a sudden departure to Newcastle; retirement from playing, a break from the game and then back to Newcastle as manager; to Fulham as the "chief operating manager" and later coach; and then, in 1999, to the England job, which started with part-time prevarication and ended up with a walk-out on a Saturday afternoon last autumn.

There is also the issue of "bottle." Managerial departures from Newcastle, Fulham and England could, with a generous analysis, be put down to the kind of modern-day pressures (and opportunities) that affect everyone in the game from time-to-time.

Football is always likely to be a more colourful game when Keegan is involved, as opposed to absent. The technical flaws are less easy to discount, although maybe an astute right-hand man, adept in such matters, might help.

Ultimately, Manchester City are not bothered by the potential drawbacks, or they would not have made the appointment. They have been looking for someone with an infectious love for the game to inject some pride and passion back into a failing club. And they believe they have found him.

"This is a massive coup for us," David Bernstein, the club chairman, said. "We are bringing in one of the biggest names in football and flair is his trademark. I'm delighted we have been able to bring Kevin to Maine Road. His talent, together with our club's potential, promise an exciting and successful period ahead."

City's England Under-21 goalkeeper, Nicky Weaver, echoed those sentiments. "Kevin was in charge of the senior side when I played for the Under-21s and, while I never worked with him directly, it wasn't hard to see the effect he had on players," he said. "He is such a positive and committed man, everyone wanted to play for him and win for him. He is really well-respected by the players and is a supreme motivator."

Whether that will be enough, and whether Keegan will re-awaken City's "sleeping giants," remains to be seen. As he once said: "I know what is around the corner. I just don't know where the corner is."

- INDEPENDENT