 |
 |
 |
|
NEWCASTLE, England (AP) -Newcastle began searching for a new manager Friday amid calls for an overhaul of the structure that forced Kevin Keegan to quit for a second time in 11 years.
A fan revolt greeted Thursday's resignation - the result of the board's failure to offer Keegan assurances about ending the interference from above that was diluting his power over transfers.
"Newcastle failed to create a structure where Kevin Keegan could flourish," League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan said. "It was like having an orchestra with three conductors and sooner or later it was going to break down."
After Keegan's resignation, supporters immediately swarmed St. James' Park to protest owner Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise, whose appointment as director of football was seen as undermining Keegan.
"I think I would have liked to hear Newcastle talking about how to build a model that works, how they are going to create a clear chain of command," Bevan said.
Gus Poyet, Juande Ramos' assistant at Tottenham, was favored to take over the team, with Wise a 3-1 shot but a choice that could further incense irate fans.
Alan Shearer - another "Geordie messiah" - would likely have been one of the only coaches that could appease fans, but he said wouldn't work under the current structure. The former England striker scored 148 goals in 303 games in 10 years for the Magpies, and since retiring in 2006 has been gaining coaching qualifications.
"I would like to be a manager at some stage in my career," Shearer told the BBC. "That means managing the players who come in and managing the players who go out.
"I don't think I would be comfortable in the structure with a director of football who was picking and choosing the players for me."
David Moyes could be tempted to leave Everton after being disgruntled at the lack of major signings in the offseason. The 45-year-old Scot has failed to agree to an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of the season.
Newcastle's continental coaching structure, which shifts player recruitment to the boardroom level, could suit European prospects Roberto Mancini, who was fired by Inter Milan in May, and Didier Deschamps, who quit Juventus in 2007.
Keegan was enticed out of retirement after Sam Allardyce was fired in January to revive the optimism which thrived at Newcastle during his 1992-97 reign.
Newcastle finished second behind Manchester United in 1996 after squandering a 12-point lead, and the long-suffering fans have had no league title to celebrate since 1927 or the FA Cup since 1955.
