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Shola Ameobi has admitted he never saw “eye to eye” with Newcastle United legend Kevin Keegan.
In January 2008, former owner Mike Ashley played to the gallery by appointing Keegan as Sam Allardyce’s successor. The move surged the Sports Direct tycoon’s popularity - only for that hype to come crashing down nine months later.
Keegan famously quit in September following James Milner’s sale to Aston Villa. With Dennis Wise having an intrusive say on transfers - famously signing flops Xisco and Ignacio Gonzales - the Toon icon jacked in for a second time.
The 73-year-old won an arbitration case against Ashley a year later and maintained his popularity with Newcastle fans. As for Ameobi, his focus switched to rebuilding the Magpies following Premier League relegation in 2009.
While never the most prolific striker, the academy graduate played a supporting role at St James’ Park before leaving in 2014. Ameobi made just three Premier League appearances under Keegan and almost left the Magpies during his sole summer at the helm.
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Speaking to FourFourTwo, the Fenham native opened up about a frosty relationship with the Toon icon. Ameobi said: "I played in his first match back, a 0-0 draw at home to Bolton. In hindsight I shouldn’t have played, as I was still a week away from full fitness but, of course, nobody wanted to miss the first game of what we all hoped would be a new era.
“Even though Kev was my boyhood hero, we never really saw eye-to-eye. That was probably the one period when I felt on the outside. After the highs of the Sir Bobby years, then playing some of my best football under Glenn Roeder, that was an underwhelming time for me."
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