Serialising excerpts of his forthcoming autobiography in The Times, Kevin Keegan did not shirk the opportunity to reveal the manner of madness permeating Newcastle United in Mike Ashley's watch.
Managing the club for little under a year during the early days of Ashley's reign, one figure that came in for particular criticism for Ashley's nominated recruitment chief, Tony Jimenez.
Highlighting Jimenez's incompetence in the most basic of transfer dealings, as well as an apparent ignorance of some of the world's better-known players, Jimenez has issued a lengthy response to Keegan's claims.
While Keegan has maintained that every detail within his autobiography is accurate, Jimenez, speaking to The Times, conceded that he is happy to help Keegan sell his book, but all that is claimed therein may not necessarily be the whole truth.
Contrary to the image Keegan painted of himself as a the sole sane figure in an asylum, Jimenez described a man prone to throwing tantrums and making outlandish, unfeasible demands.
Kevin was a great player but lives in a time-warp. He played in an era when the top managers ran every aspect of football clubs and thinks his status in the game means he should have the same control.
He didn’t understand that it doesn’t work like that anymore. Perhaps God had given him so much talent in his feet that he’d taken something else away?
Presenting an image of an authoritarian figure who balked at the prospect of being questioned by Jimenez or his like, Keegan is shown as a man completely out of touch with reality in Jimenez' alternative take.
He had £25 million to spend. ... Our list included Benzema and Ben Arfa who were young players at Lyons, as well as Samir Nasri.
Kevin took one look and called them all chancers. His list was David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Ronaldinho, Kaka among others. We added their transfer value up and it was £399 million, plus £100 million in wages.
An astonishing riposte from Jimenez, it leaves one with little confusion as to why the Newcastle United fans are clambering for an end to Ashley's reign in control of the club.
