Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan had something that he wanted to get off his chest.
Sir Alex Ferguson had previously suggested Leeds United were 'cheating' their manager by raising their game against league leaders Manchester United. "When it comes to Newcastle, you wait and see the difference," the Scot hissed back in 1996.
If that was not a red rag to a bull, Keegan had also been irked by claims that the outcome of Newcastle United's penultimate league fixture versus Nottingham Forest could be influenced by the Magpies agreeing to play in Stuart Pearce's testimonial at the City Ground six days later. Cue one of the most iconic post-match interviews in Premier League history.
"We're still fighting for this title and he's got to go to Middlesbrough and get something," Keegan boomed after his side defeated Leeds at Elland Road. "And I tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it!"
Looking back, for the Premier League this week, Rio Ferdinand suggested Keegan's 'head had gone' while Peter Schmeichel, who played his part in Manchester United overhauling that 12-point lead, said if he had been a Newcastle player, he would have thought, 'Oh no. We can't win this. Even the manager has given up'. However, Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi was among those who saw it very differently.
"Still unbelievable," he said. "Still gives me chills. You're locked in when you're watching it hanging on to every word. It's just great."
Guehi was, of course, subject of a number of big-money offers from Newcastle last summer, but the Magpies stopped formally bidding for the England international in the final weeks of the window. Newcastle felt that Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish's demands for 'superstar money' went beyond what the club were prepared to pay, particularly given the centre-back's contract situation.
Guehi, who is fresh from lifting the FA Cup, is now approaching the final year of his current deal at Selhurst Park. So could there be movement this summer?
"Football is a game of change, isn't it?" Parish added a few days ago. "There's not a club in the division that won't have players that might go and all that kind of stuff. We're living in the moment. The summer will bring what the summer brings, but we're really confident that we can keep most of the group together."