Keegan gets 2m damages

[JoeyB]

Keegan wins £2m Newcastle damages

Kevin Keegan

Keegan was reported to have claimed for a fee in the region of £25m

Former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has been awarded £2m damages plus interest after winning his case against the club for constructive dismissal.

The panel agreed that in signing Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez, against Keegan's wishes, the club were in breach of a term in his contract.

It was also agreed that Keegan would receive no further damages.

Keegan parted company with the club, owned by businessman Mike Ashley, in September 2008.

A relieved Keegan said in a statement: "I am delighted that the Premier League manager's arbitration tribunal has today formally announced that it has upheld my claim for wrongful dismissal against Newcastle United.

"The tribunal has found the conduct of the club in forcing a player on me against my wishes represented a fundamental breach of my contract of employment.

I also want to confirm that a central purpose of my claim has always been to clear my name and restore my reputation

Former Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan

"I do not believe that there is any manager in football who could have remained at the club in the light of their conduct.

"I also want to confirm that a central purpose of my claim has always been to clear my name and restore my reputation.

"I consider it of vital importance that I was able to let people know about the full circumstances of my resignation and the way in which I had been treated by the club. I hope that this purpose has now been achieved."

Newcastle refused to comment on the case, merely reporting the panel's decision and publishing the official report.

The transfer of Gonzalez features heavily in the report, as does the relationship between Dennis Wise, Tony Jimenez and Ashley with Keegan.

In particular, the report concludes that the deal to bring Gonzalez to the club, on a loan basis, was "in the commercial interests of the Club."

The report continued: "The 'commercial interests', according to the club, were that the signing of the player on loan would be a 'favour' to two influential South American agents who would look favourably on the club in the future.

"The loan deal cost the club nearly £1m in wages for a player who was not expected to play for the first team but no payment was made by the club to the agents in respect of the deal."

It was Ashley who brought Keegan back to Newcastle for his second spell in charge at St James' Park in January 2008, following the termination of Sam Allardyce's contract.

The report states that Keegan was offered a deal which was worth an initial £3m per annum for three-and-a-half years, a figure which was the basis behind his initial damages claim in the region of £8.5m for his agreed spell in charge, and a reported figure in the region of £25m for the length of his career in football before retirement at the presumed age of 65.

Ashley's decision proved a popular one with supporters, who recalled the former England boss's initial spell in charge on Tyneside and the cavalier football his sides played during a four year stay at the club in the 1990s.

Having retained the club's Premier League status that season, Keegan and chairman Mike Ashley appeared to have a strong relationship, but this strained when Dennis Wise was appointed as an executive director of football.

Keegan began the 2008-09 Premier League season in charge, leading the club to two wins, a draw and a defeat in four league and cup matches before leaving on the Thursday, 4 September 2008.

Gonzalez's signing was made on deadline day of Sunday, 31 August 2008, an act which prompted Keegan to tender his resignation.

Wise left the club in April 2009, former vice-president (player recruitment) Tony Jimenez left in October 2008, while owner Mike Ashley remains at the club despite a long-running bid to sell it.

Link - BBC

[Edmund]

Does this mean the messiah is having a helping hand in putting the club further into debt?

[dandannieldanok]

"I also want to confirm that a central purpose of my claim has always been to clear my name and restore my reputation"

What a spinless little toad Kevin Keegan is. This is utter bollocks, if to clear your name was the main purpose of your claim then why claim £25m!?!?

[Daggers]

if to clear your name was the main purpose of your claim then why claim £25m!?!?

Err, because the secondary reason would be to redress the breach of contract he suffered?

[Thracian]

The report continued: "The 'commercial interests', according to the club, were that the signing of the player on loan would be a 'favour' to two influential South American agents who would look favourably on the club in the future.

I wonder how rife this little gem is?

Especially when I consider some of the players who have somehow turned up in English football.

Little wonder so many home grown footballers can't break through and end up on the scrapheap.

What a singularly distasteful set-up football seems to be becoming.

[davieG]

The report continued: "The 'commercial interests', according to the club, were that the signing of the player on loan would be a 'favour' to two influential South American agents who would look favourably on the club in the future.

I wonder how rife this little gem is?

Especially when I consider some of the players who have somehow turned up in English football.

Little wonder so many home grown footballers can't break through and end up on the scrapheap.

What a singularly distasteful set-up football seems to be becoming.

As always the fans are the ones that suffer and pay the ultimate priced - duped into believing it's a genuine signing and then paying the financial costs of the shitty mess.

[dandannieldanok]

Err, because the secondary reason would be to redress the breach of contract he suffered?

So that's worth £25m is it? It's a ridiculous sum and he knew it, hence why he was happy to take £2m and run, he was just being a greedy tosser.

[lou]

So that's worth £25m is it? It's a ridiculous sum and he knew it, hence why he was happy to take £2m and run, he was just being a greedy tosser.

Did he say he was happy with £2m? Thats all he was awarded so he doesnt get much choice but to accept it really.

[Daggers]

So that's worth £25m is it? It's a ridiculous sum and he knew it, hence why he was happy to take £2m and run, he was just being a greedy tosser.

Ever filled in an insurance claim form?

[dandannieldanok]

Did he say he was happy with £2m? Thats all he was awarded so he doesnt get much choice but to accept it really.

A relieved Keegan said in a statement: "I am delighted that the Premier League manager's arbitration tribunal has today formally announced that it has upheld my claim for wrongful dismissal against Newcastle United.

Might not be mentioning the money but he sounds pretty contented to me, certainly doesn't come across as unhappy with the outcome.

Ever filled in an insurance claim form?

No but why should that matter. I feel Keegan has been an arsehole claiming £25m, just my opinion.

[lou]

A relieved Keegan said in a statement: "I am delighted that the Premier League manager's arbitration tribunal has today formally announced that it has upheld my claim for wrongful dismissal against Newcastle United.

Might not be mentioning the money but he sounds pretty contented to me, certainly doesn't come across as unhappy with the outcome.

No but why should that matter. I feel Keegan has been an arsehole claiming £25m, just my opinion.

So hes happy to be vindicated then..... shows thats the main thing he was interested in

[dandannieldanok]

So hes happy to be vindicated then..... shows thats the main thing he was interested in

If you believe him then yes that is the main thing he was interested in. I personally don't believe him.

[lou]

If you believe him then yes that is the main thing he was interested in. I personally don't believe him.

I personally think hes entitled to all the money he would have earned throughout his remaining contract.

I also think Mike Ashley is a total cock

[Daggers]

No but why should that matter. I feel Keegan has been an arsehole claiming £25m, just my opinion.

Because if he simply asked for the balance of his contract without punitive damages he'd have been awarded much less; the claim would have been advised and persued by his legal team.

He was constructively dismissed: I wonder how you'd react to being called an arsehole if the same thing happens to you.

[dandannieldanok]

Because if he simply asked for the balance of his contract without punitive damages he'd have been awarded much less; the claim would have been advised and persued by his legal team.

He was constructively dismissed: I wonder how you'd react to being called an arsehole if the same thing happens to you.

And.....why would it have mattered if he'd been awarded much less, the bloke's hardly struggling for money. After all he's the one who said the claim had nothing to do with the money. I just think the way the world is at the minute and the way that money is ruining football, asking for that whopping compensation is ludicrous. What the hell would he have done with, and what the hell has he done to deserve 25 million pounds?????

If I was constructively dismissed I'd claim what I was owed, not anything like the inflation on what he was truly owed that Keegan claimed.

[DB11]

If I was constructively dismissed I'd claim what I was owed, not anything like the inflation on what he was truly owed that Keegan claimed.

But you wouldn't get that.

I think what Dagger's is saying, is that you maybe get 10% of what you claim, so you have to claim for a lot to get what you're owed.

[dandannieldanok]

But you wouldn't get that.

I think what Dagger's is saying, is that you maybe get 10% of what you claim, so you have to claim for a lot to get what you're owed.

Every case is treated singularly so I don't know why you or Daggers seem to think what you've said is a fact. You get what you deserve, Keegan came out with £2m, if he'd claimed £2m he'd have still got £2m.