Kevin Keegan, former City manager who led the club back into the Premier League in his first season, has died at the age of 75 following a battle with cancer.
His family confirmed the news on Monday afternoon, saying he passed away “surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments.”
Best remembered nationally for his time as a player at Liverpool and Hamburg, and for two spells in charge of Newcastle, Keegan’s three-and-a-half years at City left a distinct mark on the club’s modern history — a period supporters who lived through it still speak of fondly.
An instant impact
Keegan arrived at Maine Road in May 2001, taking over from Joe Royle with City having just been relegated from the Premier League. What followed was one of the most emphatic promotion campaigns in the club’s history.
City won the First Division title in 2001/02, winning 35 of their 52 league games and scoring 124 goals along the way — a return that included a 6-2 away win at Sheffield Wednesday and a 5-2 home victory over Crewe Alexandra.
Nicolas Anelka, signed that summer, finished as his top scorer at the club with 45 goals in 103 appearances, while Shaun Wright-Phillips made more appearances under Keegan than any other player — 151 in total.
It was expansive, attacking football, very much in keeping with the reputation Keegan had built as Newcastle’s “Entertainers” manager a decade earlier.
Steadying the Premier League return
Life back in the top flight was tougher. City finished 2002/03 in mid-table, a campaign notable also for the club’s move from Maine Road to the then City of Manchester Stadium — now the Etihad — the following summer.
Keegan went on to guide City into the UEFA Cup via the Fair Play rankings in 2003/04, a modest reward but a European campaign nonetheless, before results dipped and he left the club in March 2005 after informing the board of his decision to step back from management.
Across 176 matches in charge, Keegan won 77, drew 39 and lost 60 — a record with a positive goal difference of +76, built on a brand of football that was about entertainment as much as results.
A figure supporters still speak of fondly
Tributes have been pouring in from across football since the news broke, with figures from every club he was associated with — Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton, Newcastle, Fulham, England and City — reflecting on what he meant to the game.
For City supporters specifically, Keegan’s spell remains a notable chapter: the manager who took the club straight back to the Premier League with attacking, fearless football, and oversaw its move into the stadium that remains its home to this day.
Kevin Keegan is survived by his wife and daughters.
RIP.
