KEVIN Keegan smiled, shrugged then answered the Sky reporter with admirable honesty.
Asked about his hopes for next season after Newcastle’s 0-2 reverse to Chelsea in Tyneside yesterday, his words stood out from the perennial cliched football-ese churned out by coy managers.
“Maybe the owner thinks we can bridge that gap - but we can't," he said. "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world.
“The top four next year will be the same top four as this year.
"What I can say to the Newcastle fans is that we will be trying to get fifth and we will be trying to win the other league that's going on within the Premier League.
"I haven't got enough money and I wouldn't be able to get the players anyway (to do any better than that), so I will soldier on with what I've got and maybe add one or two, maybe three, depending what's available.
"I thought, 'What can I do next year to get near them' and the truth is there's nothing I can do at all,>"I was looking around thinking, 'who can I bring on' and I'm seeing (Andriy) Shevchenko and (Frank) Lampard coming on and Joe Cole thinking about coming on."
Back in the studio Sam Allardyce agreed.
He spoke admiringly about Moysie and how the Scot had “managed to do it” but added that Moyes has told him he needs a major investment to reach the next level.
That truism had been summed up for us the previous day. We’d travelled to North London and been narrowly beaten by a second-string Arsenal side with Mathieu Flamini, Cesc Fabregas and Alexandre Hleb kicking their heels and comparing wrist tattoos on the bench.
The main reason we have gate-crashed the Top Four syndicate already is because, unlike Keegan, David Moyes does not do pragmatic defeatism.
His uncompromising winner’s mentality does not recognise glass celings or footballing impossiblities.
For whatever reason Bill Kenwright did not gamble the season after we came fourth and declined to borrow the £30m necessary to give us a chance of staying there.
But it’s that same attitude which has guided us within a whisker of finishing top of the 'league within a league', ahead of better-funded clubs like Keegan’s own Newcastle and the irritatingly wealthy Spurs.
You’ve got to wonder how long it is before a winning mentality is replaced with disenchantment. It’s still rare, but Moyes does speak about his frustration more now.
The concern for Everton, if our manager feels inadequately supported in the transfer market again this summer, is that disenchantment will push him to polish up his CV.
Rangers could well win the quadruple this season and that could cause some at Parkhead to wonder about Gordon Strachan’s future.
They don’t have to worry much about glass celings around Parkhead and Ibrox.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »
Touchline Dad wrote...
I'm surprised Keegan's still around to make such statements. I had him down for walking a few weeks ago when he realised what a mistake he's made going back to Newcastle.
Sounds like he's making his excuses up front for next season?
Surely the gap between the so-called Big Four and the other clubs has narrowed this year?
Liverpool in 4th place could be within eight points of the top after the weekend games and the next five teams (Everton, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Blackburn and Man City) will all be within around 30 points of the champions.
That gives hope to everyone.
Turn the clock back just three years and Liverpool finished 37 points behind champions Chelsea in 5th place!!
I think there's scope for Aston Villa, Spurs, Everton and possibly Blackburn to get into the top four next year. But at whose expense, eh Greg?
Posted by: Touchline Dad | May 6, 2008 11:38 PM