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Kevin Keegan picked up the phone in February 1992 and listened as Newcastle United’s new owner, Sir John Hall, uttered a sentence that would change the club’s history. “There’s only two people who can save Newcastle United, and we’re talking on the telephone now”.
Newcastle were staring down the barrel of relegation to the third tier of English football, a level they had never dropped to in their history. Sir John had relieved Ossie Ardiles of his duties after a 4-3 home defeat to Charlton, proceeded by a 5-2 defeat away at Oxford.
Ardiles was a big name, but he had got the blend of youth and experience wrong during his first full season as Newcastle boss. He gambled on youth, and it had backfired.
Kevin Keegan was the saviour, but Lee Clark was still in mourning
News of his arrival in 1992 reignited spirits around the place, but talented teenager Lee Clark initially struggled to find the same enthusiasm.
“It was a fair comment. I had enjoyed an excellent relationship with Ossie and it hit me hard when he was sacked because I felt partially responsible for him losing his job.
“For the first few months of Kevin’s reign, I was in and out of the side. But, from the summer on, I began to realise how charismatic he was, and the team and I went from strength to strength.”
Coincidentally the same season Alan Shearer retired. While Clark played numerous times with both, he feels Cole’s contribution to the club is sometimes under appreciated.
“Look, Alan Shearer is rightly regarded as the greatest striker of the modern era, but I do think Coley’s time at Newcastle gets overlooked. Some fans don’t acknowledge his contribution because he moved to Manchester United, our biggest rivals back then, but his stats with us were just phenomenal – almost Erling Haaland-esque.”
