Well, he’s gone again, at least for the time being. To pose the question that we have asked ourselves many times over the last few seasons, in the wake of yet another managerial casualty - where did it all go wrong?

I thought his appointment was a strange and risky one at the time. He had been out of the game for three years, professing a lack of interest in football that extended to him barely watching a single game. Despite his successes, his managerial career had also been punctuated by collapses in confidence and walk-outs, and his last two jobs, at England and Man City, had not ended well. Keegan’s managerial career seemed well and truly over.
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I’m conscious that many will not like this article, so the easily offended should not read on. But I think the events of the last fortnight are a worry. Perhaps a minor one, but a worry none the less.

Going back to the initial incident, the tone of the post-Chelsea interview came completely out of the blue, rather like Keegan’s more famous outburst in 1996. Most of us were left scratching our heads, wondering what exactly had brought it on.
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So what are his chances?

Well there’s been plenty of scepticism in the national media. The usual observations have been made – tactically naïve, a tendency to make decisions with his emotions, an over-reliance on attacking football, a brittle confidence when things go against him, and an outdated approach that will not suit the way that the game has developed over the last 10 years.

All of this has a great deal of justification, but it’s been interesting to note that the voices of doubt have nearly always laced their comments with some get-out clauses, as though people are afraid to completely write off his chances. He’s almost done it before, so there’s naturally a reluctance to say that he can’t go one step further this time.
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Like many others, I thought that Big Sam was a good choice as manager. Excluding the fantasy choices like Scolari and Mourinho, he seemed to have the qualities that we could reasonably expect – a good record of over-achievement at smaller clubs, and experience at Premiership level. Allardyce had not been an England candidate for nothing.

Yet, only half a season later, he’s gone. I go back to the days of Joe Harvey, and no episode in our club’s turbulent recent history has me scratching my head like this one. Why did it all go wrong, so quickly?
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I was a very happy bunny when Joey Barton signed for us. I’d seen him as almost the complete central midfield player – hard-working, strong, skilful and with an eye for goal. His early injury was a big disappointment, and I was fully expecting him to re-ignite our season on his return.

Well, it’s happened, but not in the way that I’d have anticipated.

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It looks like we’re in for yet another season where the pleas for patience try in vain to drown out the voices of angry frustration. Fans of every club tend to go into the season with over-optimistic expectations, but I do feel that there is an undercurrent of bitterness about Geordie protests that make us almost unique. At times like these, I do wonder whether we are still bearing the scars of the failure of 1996.
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United slipped to a disappointing defeat, albeit to a talented Man City side who regularly opened us up with some neat passing movements.

We played the expected 4-3-3, with Viduka central, and Milner and Martins supporting. Given, after his performance against Arsenal, was restored to goal, behind N’Zogbia, Beye, Taylor and Rozenhal. The usual trio of Geremi, Butt and Smith formed the midfield.
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So he’s gone, and I, for one, am not shedding any tears. It’s not that his Chelsea team lacked the attacking verve of Man U and Arsenal. Although functional, I felt they were often much easier on the eye than they were given credit for. I also admire the sheer balls that he showed in taking that high-pressure job and stamping his own authority and personality on the task right from the very start, despite his lack of experience in the Premiership.

No, the reason I’m glad he’s gone is I’ve become increasingly annoyed by the way in which his most crass and facetious comments are greeted by large sections of the press and public as though he was the reincarnation of Oscar Wilde. How and why did the idea take hold that this bloke has a sense of humour?

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Nick Hornby once described George Graham as a wise father-figure. Whilst many Arsenal fans pleaded for brighter football, and were baffled by his decisions, George calmly imposed his own ideas, knowing full well that the road to success was often an ugly one, and there was no point in trying to please people along the way. Arsenal ground their way to two league titles, and of course no-one complained. Our relationship with Big Sam may be on similar lines.

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It’s hard to believe that it’s only been just over a month (May 23rd, to be exact) since the announcement was made that Mike Ashley had bought Sir John Hall’s shares, and was launching a takeover bid. Not only was the announcement totally unexpected, but so has been the pace with which the takeover has proceeded. Shepherd’s position had seemed so secure that his previous declaration that the club was ‘impossible to buy’ had rung depressingly true. Now, Ashley is poised to take the club back into private ownership.

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So the short reign of Glenn Roeder is over – a man who, for all his sincere efforts, never seemed to be fully established in the role. What can we make of his year in charge, and in particular, his sudden fall from favour? Well, here’s my view.

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So where did it all go wrong? We lost very comprehensively, and we didn’t
lose to a particularly good side. Over the two legs, there were elements of bad
luck and individual errors, but on reflection I think some of the explanation
lies in the battle, psychological as well as tactical, that took place between
the two managers.

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FA Cup time comes round again with an intriguing and hard-to-predict third round tie at Birmingham.

Birmingham have hit some good form over the last couple of months. After an uncertain start to the season, with manager Steve Bruce facing a lot of pressure from the media, they’ve put a good run together and soared to the top of the Championship.

I saw a good part of their recent home game against Luton. They looked like a big, strong athletic side – tailor-made to achieve promotion from the Championship, if not particularly well suited for the Premiership. However, I think we will struggle a bit against physical teams and we may have to face a good deal of pressure. The Birmingham fans will be out in force, and usually give their side a lot of support.

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On Saturday, we’re visited by the club that, in some people’s eyes, have become our rivals. Arguably, we’re the clubs with the fiercest ambitions to break into the elite group, and who have the best chances of making the transition. However, we both remain the nearly men.

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We face the Champions on Wednesday, in the quarter-final of the Carling Cup, with some reasons to be cheerful. Firstly, there is the likely absence through injury of John Terry. It’s been reported that he hasn’t travelled with the rest of the squad, and so it seems that we’ll be facing the same defence that shipped two goals against Everton on Sunday – Hilario, Geremi, Boulahrouz, Carvalho and Cole. That’s a unit to be respected, but not feared.

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