Kevin Keegan, the former Newcastle United manager, once boasted that his legendary Entertainers team included superstars such as Les Ferdinand, Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley, David Ginola, Tino Asprilla, and Keith Gillespie.
That team came close to winning the Premier League title in 1996 and finished in the top three in the early 1990s. Even the side that Keegan left behind in 1997 went on to finish second and qualify for the Champions League.
As Eddie Howe’s side romped to nine wins on the trot this season, many fans started comparing the current crop with the Entertainers side from the halcyon days. Would Alexander Isak got in ahead of either Shearer or Ferdinand? Would Anthony Gordon edge past Asprilla or would Jacob Murphy get his slot ahead of Gillespie or Ginola?
However, speaking at a charity dinner for NSPCC, Keegan, whose appearance helped raise £20,000 in aid of the NSPCC and the Tiny Lives Trust, was quizzed on who out of the modern day team would bag a place in his famous side of the 90s.
Keegan told fans: “Bruno Guimaraes, he would get in definitely. I love Guimaraes and find a way of getting him in my team.”
The second player he named might be more of a shock. Faced with the likes of Europe’s most wanted man in Isak, Italian star Sandro Toanli, flying winger Gordon and full-backs like Kieran Trippier, Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, Keegan instead plumped for one of the side’s most underrated stars.
“I’d have Dan Burn in there because he gives the team a good connection with the North-East and I think that’s really, really important,” the former Newcastle boss added. “And I keep looking at him (Burn), and I have looked at him for three or four years now, and the job he does and the way he plays, he gets that connection.
“So they are two of them. I don’t get to watch them every week so I wouldn’t want people to judge me.”
Keegan was renowned for knitting together a team of talented stars with local players during his time in charge and made Lee Clark, Steve Watson and a clutch of other youth products into household names.
Keegan intimated that modern younger stars like as Stanley’s Lewis Miley are important for United, saying: “They have two or three young players coming through again now. When Eddie sits down, you feel excited as a manager.
“They’re the future. They may not be the team’s stars, but they are critical to maintaining that small connection that we had with Steve Watson, Lee Clark, and Steve Howey.
“In our situation, Steve Howey tried to be a centre-forward. I couldn’t see it, so I moved him to the back. He played the ball so effortlessly. Everyone else was hammering it, but he used to ping it with ease.”
However, Keegan was unimpressed with the way possession-based teams approach Premier League games these days. And stated that it can become so predictable that he has switched channels to watch cricket.
Keegan said: “The game is getting less and less about players who take people on. It is getting more possession based and they are more concerned about not losing the ball rather than going past people.
“I believe that came from many years ago. We used to watch French or Italian teams play, and they were wonderful, but that is not how you win here. The guys who get the majority of the ball currently are defenders, and to be fair, they are not as gifted as the midfielders or attackers.
“So I am not a massive fan, I will put the game on and watch but after 10 or 15 minutes I’ll decide to watch the cricket.”
With the funds raised on the night supporting the NSPCC’s vital work in protecting vulnerable children and Tiny Lives’ support for premature and sick newborns, Keegan said: “The generosity shown tonight is remarkable, and it’s fantastic to see the football community coming together to support children and families in need.”
“Newcastle has always been a special place for me, and nights like this remind me why.”
