Newcastle United legend Kevin Keegan has slammed former executive Dennis Wise for having ‘absolutely zero shame’ in an extract from his upcoming book.
In a newly-released section of the book, Keegan explains how the signings of Xisco and Ignacio Gonzalez were forced upon him as a ‘favour’ to two South American agents in a move which eventually led him to quit St. James’ Park.
Keegan continuously talks about Wise’s influence in the deals as executive director at the time, and detailed what he said to him after the deals went through.
In his book, as serialised in The Times, Keegan said: “I had never been asked to “park” a player in my life and this wasn’t a kid of 15 or 16 we were talking about. This was a man of 26. Maybe Dennis, when he was a manager, would have done it. But I wouldn’t. “I have my pride and my dignity,” I told him. “I do not want to be associated with this deal. It stinks.””
Keegan then quit his job and was taken to court by the club, who were seeking damages, and he goes on to talk about the trial and tear into Wise’s attempt to shake his hand at the trial.
“Every day for two weeks I would walk from my hotel in London to 70 Fleet Street, the offices of the International Dispute Resolution Centre, where the tribunal was heard. I used that walk to clear my head. It was a difficult, gruelling experience and I will never know how Dennis Wise, with absolutely zero shame, could possibly think on the day he was giving evidence that I would want to shake his hand,” he said.
OPINION
This is an explosive revelation from Keegan and it is no wonder he ended up leaving his job at St. James’ Park. It has always been known that the club’s deal for Xisco was a strange one which made no sense, and these claims from Keegan really put things into perspective. The depressing thing is that these claims do not come as a surprise at all, with Ashley having run the club horrifically ever since he arrived on Tyneside. Wise is another figure who is not thought highly of at Newcastle, with the former Chelsea midfielder continually lending his backing to Ashley in the press amid the current protests over his reign. Newcastle fans will therefore love Keegan’s book extract in which he does not hold back about Wise and Ashley and their conduct during his time at the club. Hopefully we will see the back of Ashley and his poor stewardship of the Magpies soon, but it may well be that he sticks around for a few more years and continues to milk the club for profits.
