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Touching Distance: Kevin Keegan, the Entertainers and Newcastle's Impossible Dream
At the start of February, 1992, Newcastle United were facing relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time in their history. They were also facing bankruptcy. St James' Park had been neglected, the club's best players had been sold. In a daring move, Newcastle appointed Kevin Keegan as manager. Keegan, the two-time European Footballer of the Year, had played for the club between 1982 and 1984. He had been out of football since. His appointment as manager was as big a shock as when he arrived as a player. Exactly four years after Keegan's return to the North east of England, Newcastle were top of the Premiership, nine points clear of Manchester United, having played a game less. It would turn out to be one of the most memorable seasons in the modern history of English football. Keegan's side would play a unique brand of football and become known as the Entertainers. They would take part in a game at Anfield that became widely recognised as the best the Premier League has ever seen. Keegan would also famously square up to Sir Alex Ferguson.Touching Distance tells the story of that remarkable season, through the highs and the lows of a truly dramatic campaign. It also traces the seeds of the revival back to Keegan's first spell as a player, to his return and the dramatic impact he had on a football club, its supporters and an entire region. Touching Distance talks to the people who made it happen, the players, the coaching staff and the board and relives a truly momentous period for the club. It is a story of hopes and dreams and when, for Newcastle United, anything seemed possible.
266 pages, Hardcover
First published July 30, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 23, 2016
I'm a Newcastle United fan. There, I've admitted it. This book is a brilliant account of an exciting year in the life of a sometimes great club. It's brilliant in that it doesn't just repeat all that we already knew about the Entertainers, everybody's second team. We get to hear what the participants thought.
Most of them the players who shouldered so much hope and expectation for the period that began with the threat of relegation to Division 3 and the arrival of Kevin Keegan to a day in May 1996 when the team didn't win the Premiership, but not only. We also hear, for example, from the mother of a young girl who died of a liver disease about the support KK gave to her and her daughter's memorial charity. It's a human account.
We feel with and for the characters as the story we already know unfurls with details and observations that add colour and emotional energy to the bare statistics.
We learn about the players and their lives before joining the Toon, how they felt on finding out that Keegan had arrived and their influence on important matches. And also views of players who broke our collective heart that April. The Geordie from Whitley Bay who scored both Blackburn goals to put a major hurdle in the way of NUFC; the other Geordie who captained the eventual champions and more.
If you love football and can remember 1996 you need to read this book. If you like good writing give it a go. If you love the romance of the game and how individuals come together to form a force bigger than the sum of its parts read this book.
Most of them the players who shouldered so much hope and expectation for the period that began with the threat of relegation to Division 3 and the arrival of Kevin Keegan to a day in May 1996 when the team didn't win the Premiership, but not only. We also hear, for example, from the mother of a young girl who died of a liver disease about the support KK gave to her and her daughter's memorial charity. It's a human account.
We feel with and for the characters as the story we already know unfurls with details and observations that add colour and emotional energy to the bare statistics.
We learn about the players and their lives before joining the Toon, how they felt on finding out that Keegan had arrived and their influence on important matches. And also views of players who broke our collective heart that April. The Geordie from Whitley Bay who scored both Blackburn goals to put a major hurdle in the way of NUFC; the other Geordie who captained the eventual champions and more.
If you love football and can remember 1996 you need to read this book. If you like good writing give it a go. If you love the romance of the game and how individuals come together to form a force bigger than the sum of its parts read this book.
February 7, 2018
One of the most passionately-written football-related book that I've ever read. It involved the story of how Newcastle Football Club was transformed into an attacking force in the English Premier League and came within touching distance of winning the league in 1996-97 under manager, Kevin Keegan. One goes through the emotional rollercoaster ride, even if one doesn't support that particular club.
February 12, 2017
Absolutely brilliant account of the 'Keegan era' on Tyneside. If you had anything to do with football from '82 to '97 then you could read this book and get enjoyment out of it. If you are a Newcastle United fan like me, it is jam packed full of bittersweet moments from my childhood which harnessed the energy given to Tyneside during that time. And all thanks to that man, Kevin Keegan.
September 24, 2016
Touching Distance by Martin Hardy
The Entertainers. That's the name that stuck. Ask any football fan they'll know who you're talking about. They may even mention names such as Ginola, Beardsley, Asprilla, Ferdinand, Batty, Cole, Gillespie, Barton, Srnicek, Lee, Clark, Albert and of course Keegan.
The year is 1982 and Kevin Keegan, two-time European footballer of the year, signs for Newcastle, and scores on his debut. Touching Distance begins with Keegan's signing, then takes the reader on a journey through the years, to one of the most memorable seasons in the English Premier League's history (1996-1997), and arguably a game at Anfield, that became widely recognised as the best the Premier League has ever seen.
If you're fan of football, but more importantly a fan on The Toon, then this is a must read. It recounts the rise and rise of Newcastle United's entertainers, so-called because they played such an attacking and exciting brand of football (you score 3, we'll score 4) under the direction of Keegan.
There are insights from directors, former players, players families and supporters. Hardy really does this justice, using the right persona at the perfect time to emobody the spirit, heartache and passion.
It tells the story of Newcastle on the brink relegation, all the way back to within touching distance of the Premier League title, and Keegan's now infamous "love it" rant on Sky News.
History, of course, shows it wasn't to be, and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and the Toon Army, some twenty years later are still without a major trophy. Perhaps that's what it means to be a Newcastle fan - nearly, almost etc.
This captures the impact that the directors, manager and team had on an entire region, and is peppered with fascinating insights into what it was like to be involved in football in the 90's, and follow a team that were riding the crest of a wave, when anything seemed possible.
The book concludes with what would be classed as an prologue to the sequel, if we were talking fiction.
Kevin Keegan turns to Terry McDermott before the squad's plane leaves for their pre-season Asian trip and says "It's the big one, we've got the big one. Don't tell them until you're in the air."
The North East's footballing son is about to return to his roots...
[gallery ids="877,860,857,856,858,859,832,847,879,880" type="circle" columns="2"]
The Entertainers. That's the name that stuck. Ask any football fan they'll know who you're talking about. They may even mention names such as Ginola, Beardsley, Asprilla, Ferdinand, Batty, Cole, Gillespie, Barton, Srnicek, Lee, Clark, Albert and of course Keegan.
The year is 1982 and Kevin Keegan, two-time European footballer of the year, signs for Newcastle, and scores on his debut. Touching Distance begins with Keegan's signing, then takes the reader on a journey through the years, to one of the most memorable seasons in the English Premier League's history (1996-1997), and arguably a game at Anfield, that became widely recognised as the best the Premier League has ever seen.
If you're fan of football, but more importantly a fan on The Toon, then this is a must read. It recounts the rise and rise of Newcastle United's entertainers, so-called because they played such an attacking and exciting brand of football (you score 3, we'll score 4) under the direction of Keegan.
There are insights from directors, former players, players families and supporters. Hardy really does this justice, using the right persona at the perfect time to emobody the spirit, heartache and passion.
It tells the story of Newcastle on the brink relegation, all the way back to within touching distance of the Premier League title, and Keegan's now infamous "love it" rant on Sky News.
History, of course, shows it wasn't to be, and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and the Toon Army, some twenty years later are still without a major trophy. Perhaps that's what it means to be a Newcastle fan - nearly, almost etc.
This captures the impact that the directors, manager and team had on an entire region, and is peppered with fascinating insights into what it was like to be involved in football in the 90's, and follow a team that were riding the crest of a wave, when anything seemed possible.
The book concludes with what would be classed as an prologue to the sequel, if we were talking fiction.
Kevin Keegan turns to Terry McDermott before the squad's plane leaves for their pre-season Asian trip and says "It's the big one, we've got the big one. Don't tell them until you're in the air."
The North East's footballing son is about to return to his roots...
[gallery ids="877,860,857,856,858,859,832,847,879,880" type="circle" columns="2"]
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews