I’m sure we’ve all come across the infamous Keegan rant in some form or another. Be it soundbite, reference or seeing the full thing live, Keegan inadvertently created one of football’s first-ever memes.
Endlessly replayed were the phrases of “They’ve got to go to Middlesbrough and get something!” and “I would love it, if we beat them!” as his succumbing to the pressure of a fierce title race was talked about across the nation.
While Bizzo Casino on Casino Rix offered better odds than the bookies gave of Newcastle winning the Premier League, Keegan still seemed adamant his side were well in the race.
Letting out an impassionate cry of hope, that in reality sounded like a man at the end of his rope, clutching at thin straws.
While the interview failed to achieve its intended effect, it does, in retrospect seem quite warranted.
The Context
It all came to a head after Sir Alex Ferguson made comments following a 1-0 win over Leeds accusing the opposition of playing as if stopping Man United from winning the league was the most important part of their season.
He also went on to suggest Leeds wouldn’t try in their follow-up against Newcastle.
It’s a pretty obvious and childish mind game from Fergie, and Keegan was suitably rubbed the wrong way by it.
Not only was it poor sportsmanship, but it would work to further incentivise a Leeds side to come out at full force vs Newcastle.
Not content with just accusing Leeds of a conflict of interest, Ferguson also claimed that Nottingham Forest would let The Magpies win in the league against them on account of a testimonial the two sides were due to play.
It was pretty baseless, and Keegan who would have been expecting a more professional experience battling for English dominance was foaming at the mouth when he got the chance to respond.
The Interview
On the 29th of April, 1996 Newcastle finally played Leeds, battling to a 1-0 victory, leaving Newcastle still in with a chance.
All eyes were on the post-match press conference, and Keegan was quick to raise the topic himself, holding back a couple of questions, hinting at his discontent, before launching into football’s most memorable tirade.
The steam starts to show by the second interview question, with King Kev quick to bring up the comments when asked if “tension on the night” was behind a scrappy performance.
“a lot of things have been said over the last few days, some of it almost slanderous, and we’ve never commented, we just got on working”
The interviewer quickly seized on the topic, pushing Keegan onto the topic of Fergurson’s earlier comments, causing Keegan to slip in a few asides about the Scot’s comments about the upcoming Forest game.
The seams were bulging, and the next question was all it took to finally make Keegan burst.
“That’s part and parcel of the psychological battle isn’t it, Kevin?
Mental fortitude depleted, he takes a second to try to build composure, before realising his thread has finally worn too thin.
Frustrated by Sir Alex’s comments being simply dubbed mind games, Kevin went to set the record straight.
“When you do that with footballers like he said about Leeds, and when you do things like that about a man like Stuart Pearce, I’ve kept really quiet but I’ll tell you something…
“He went down in my estimation when he said that. We have not resorted to that”
“You can tell him now: We’re still fighting for this title and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something.”
“I’ll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it.
Those two fateful phrases reverberated around British football culture, Keegan seeding to turn the heat back onto Manchester.
In his head it probably seemed a lot more powerful, pitting Newcastle as the plucky side battling the evil of United and Ferguson, who resorted to cheap tricks to win. In reality, all it really did was show everybody that the mind games had got to him.
Newcastle only managed to draw their last two matches of the season, and United went to Middlesbrough, coming back with a parmo and a side of 3 points to close out the title in the penultimate game.
