Kevin Keegan was real-life Roy of the Rovers star who lived and breathed football

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Kevin Keegan was one of English football's all-time greats and the sport will never be the same after the desperately sad news of his death at the age of 75After such a memorable England World Cup campaign, the news about Kevin Keegan feels particularly sad.King Kev will go down as one of the greatest players England has ever produced and his international career - both as player and manager - was unforgettable.Keegan was a two-time Ballon D’Or winner, a trailblazer after he joined Hamburg, hugely successful with Liverpool and Newcastle. He was a real Roy of the Rovers player who gave absolutely everything on the pitch and a household name thanks to his starring role on the 1970s TV show Superstars.He was an icon who was back page gold because of his huge ability, his personality and he was never short of opinion which is another reason we loved him quite apart from his football ability.There was the often forgotten bust-up with the late Sir Bobby Robson which ended his England career prematurely - and also saw him quit as a player at Newcastle aged 33.Keegan quit as England manager in the toilets at Wembley in October 2000 after losing to Germany as he admitted he fell short of what was needed to manage his beloved country.

That hurt him so much and, realistically, it scarred him because he scored 21 goals in 63 appearances for England in an international career which lasted ten years from 1972 until 1982.Keegan deserved a better platform than England gave him. And his retirement from England duty hastened the end of his playing career.It is a crying shame we never saw Keegan at his peak on the biggest stage because he deserved it.

We all wanted him because we loved King Kev.Keegan’s relationship with the press was tested particularly with England. But we started chatting football - and he just forgot what I did.He couldn’t help himself.