Ferguson says Keegan built Newcastle's greatest team
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Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said Kevin Keegan "carried the love of the game on his sleeve" as he paid a fond tribute to his former rival.Keegan's death aged 75 was announced on Monday and Ferguson, recalling their managerial battles, praised the former Newcastle United manager for the impact he made with the Tyneside club."I had the utmost respect for him," Ferguson, whose team famously beat Newcastle to the Premier League title in 1995-96, told Track Radio."We had many duels when he was manager of Newcastle, but I have to say the job he did at Newcastle was fantastic."Keegan's first stint as Magpies boss was between 1992 and 1997. That's the job he did," said Ferguson."And he also brought three great players to the club – [David] Ginola, [Faustino] Asprilla, Philippe Albert - and added a bit of class to the team, and I must say the challenges we had with Newcastle at that time at United were huge."Kevin carried the love of the game on his sleeve, there's no question about that, and that carried right on to the fans, to the players."That period at Newcastle was of emotion, it was excitement.
He loved football and he loved Newcastle more than anything," said Shearer."I'm so honoured to have known him. He was always willing to share his wisdom, offer encouragement and provide support, and I will always be grateful for that."Former Scotland and Liverpool forward Sir Kenny Dalglish described Keegan as "one of the very best players of his generation" who "wore Liverpool's famous number seven shirt with great distinction"."His achievements on the pitch were exceptional, but he was also a wonderful person and genuine gentleman," added Dalglish, who was signed from Celtic to replace Keegan at Liverpool in 1977, and later also succeeded him as manager of Newcastle."He gave so many people wonderful memories and his teams played the game in a way that supporters loved to watch."Football has lost one of its true greats."Phil Thompson described his former England and Liverpool team-mate as the "best of all the people I have known in football and in sport"."He was a lovely man and that is above all his footballing exploits," said former defender Thompson.
"Humility poured out of Kevin's veins."He added: "When he came to Liverpool, he was a star waiting to happen. He was inspirational."Former Liverpool forward David Fairclough made his first-team debut for Liverpool in 1975 and said he "looked up" to Keegan and "started to do things the Kevin Keegan way"."I remember going home after training, having been an apprentice, and telling my friends how close I had been to Kevin Keegan," Fairclough told BBC Radio Merseyside.