Kevin Keegan obituary
The Trust were saddened last month by the passing of former Fulham manager Kevin Keegan at the age of 75 from cancer.
It was something of a surprise when Keegan was announced as the club’s new chief operating officer eight months after he had resigned as manager of Newcastle United. His influence was key in helping Fulham bring in so many of the players who were prominent in the club’s rapid rise to the Premier League, including Chris Coleman, Rufus Brevett and Geoff Horsfield.
Keegan was promoted to be the club’s manager before the 1998 Division Two play-offs and, although Fulham lost to Grimsby Town after being reduced to ten men in both legs of that semi-final, he made up for it the following year. The Whites cruised to the Second Division title in style, playing some fantastic football, and famously reached the fifth round of the FA Cup. They beat Southampton and Aston Villa on the way to narrowly losing to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Keegan was also famously an attacking manager, regularly fielding sides with three strikers, and sending his side out with an adventurous approach. Fulham won the Second Division with a club-record 101 points, 31 wins and goalkeeper Maik Taylor kept 24 clean sheets in 46 league games. Such was his success, Keegan was lured to succeed Glenn Hoddle as the England manager, a role he briefly did alongside the Fulham job, before resigning towards the end of the domestic season.
The charismatic, genial and passionate manager had a massive impact on the game in this country after an outstanding playing career. Keegan was generous with his time and will always be fondly remembered by Fulham fans as the man who inspired one of the most successful seasons in the club’s storied history. We would like to send our deepest condolences to Kevin’s friends and family at this difficult time.
