“I’m back home,” was his first word to say after his official announcement as Sam Allardyce successor. Kevin Keegan, 56 years-old now, with silver hair and more mature look than the last time he left the club will help to re-build (again) the ruins of St. James’ Park.

“He’s the people’s choice,” said Les Ferdinand, “The supporters want him there and it’s great to see him back there.”

Keegan will start to set his own backstaff in the next two days, with the first job is to decide who will be his number two. Alan Shearer has send the message of “Come and get Me”. Mike Ashley is known to be keen to involve Shearer in his Tyneside new-revolution.

“I haven’t really seen myself as a number two, but yes it’s my club,” said Shearer, “First and foremost, I’m not so sure he’s (Keegan) thought about it. He’s his own man. If he was to ring me and ask to speak to me, I would certainly speak to him.”

After realising his possition was not for the manager’s job, because the United owner is only looking for someone with the experience, Shearer now hoping that he will be considered as KK assistant.

The news today are also mention the likes of Keegan’s former team mate Terry McDermott and Peter Beardsley are expected to be involved in some capacity. Meanwhile, Chris Coleman’s recent resignation from Spanish club Real Sociedad has made new speculation from the press that he could also have involve in Keegan’s Toon resurrection.

“I hope and pray that he does well because I’m a fan at the end of the day. The place will be rocking, the fans want entertainment, passion and commitment, and they haven’t seen it of late.” Shearer added more, “He failed to win a trophy for them last time but you can bet your bottom dollar he will try to win one this time around.”

Keegan appointment was a special one, in fact so special and for those outsiders, they cannot and will never understand the magic between Newcastle and Keegan, the iconic figure of him, and for all that he has done for this club. So I thank God It wasn’t Redknapp or anybody else.

The whole things about who is the next United manager is getting hotter as today’s Chronicle report the man from Pompey has stunned the football world when he turned down the chance to manage Newcastle United to stay at Portsmouth.

Mike Ashley is no mug. I seriously doubt he would have fired Allardyce if he hadn’t received assurances that Redknapp would be favourably disposed to taking the job.

What Ashley couldn’t control was the response of the Pompey owners - who are also mega-rich. Again, I feel certain that these guys will have offered Harry Redknapp a serious sweetener to get him to stay.

And about Jose Mourinho, he has a proven international record of playing ‘winning football’ almost from Day-One. Allardyce was “losing ugly”, and his team showed no signs whatsoever of getting onto the same wavelength.

That is not to say he couldn’t have improved things if he was about to given time, but his reputation and track record was such that the best we could expect was to improve from “losing ugly” to “winning a little more often, but still ugly”.

These things happen, and I don’t believe we should write Ashley off as a doughnut because of it. However, having been dropped in the clag by Redknapp, he is now under serious pressure to fill the job, and I genuinely believe his next move is the most critical. It will perhaps show us his real mettle.

I can’t influence Ashley, and I’ve had enough of all this mental masturbation. If Ashley feels Redknap is the right man to sort out the mess that is NUFC, then I guess it is his money to waste. I don’t agree with it, I don’t like it, but I’ll have no choice but to accept it.

What Ashley needs to understand is that thousands of others won’t like it either, and will not accept it. This apppointment will do nothing to dissipate the festering dissatisfaction that is eating away at the club we love. Frankly, he has missed a glorious opportunity to do just that; something that was desperately required.

We appear to be paying top dollar for Harry Redknapp; we should be appointing the very best there is. We simply aren’t doing so.

The word this morning is that we will be making an approach to Pompey about Harry Redknapp. THe regulations dictate that we should be seeking Portsmouths’ agreement to talk to Redknapp about the Toon job. In fact, we appear to have agreed a deal with Redknapp, and only then are electing to speak to his employer.

It stinks. It says everything you need to know about Redknapp, and sadly everything you need to know about Ashley. Perhaps it simply says everything about the football business, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable. It serves to sicken me, and further diminish my love for the beautiful game.

The fact we are actually getting a part-time Manager - jetting to and fro Sandbanks - at a cost of £20m (over 4 years) only serves to heighten my disappointment, frustration and angst.

I’m still struggling to come to term with what has happened, and the rationale. However, let’s be clear, Harry Redknapp is a knowledgeable, and highly experienced football man, who could make a decent fist of the job. He is certainly a proponent of a more fluid style of play than Big Sam Allardyce that may well appeal to the Toon Army.

He may be being viewed as a ‘holding’ appointment - ‘a safe pair of hands’. In this respect the appointment, could be extremely interesting. I only hope there is rather more vision applied to filling that post than appears to have gone into selecting Sam’s replacement.