Oh Joe he didn’t! Kinnear returns to Newcastle as Director of Football

There is certainly never a dull moment at Newcastle United and with owner Mike Ashley in charge, supporters in the Northeast have seen some unusual moving and shaking over the last few years. The appointment of former manager Joe Kinnear to the role of director of football is, even by the standard of Ashley’s antics, baffling to say the least.

Newcastle fans, and quite possibly manager Alan Pardew himself, would be forgiven for wondering what’s going on as they find themselves scratching around amongst the disbelief and bewilderment for a reason to be positive about this latest twist. Without wishing to disrespect the abilities of Joe Kinnear, this is an appointment that reeks of agenda, smacks of déjà vu and it seems “captain Ashley has turned on the seatbelt light, we’re about to run into some turbulence.”

The whole phenomenon of a director of football is something that has gradually crept into British club operations from abroad where a senior man, operating above the touchline, means the traditional manager’s role is more that of head coach. This new ideology has been greeted with suspicion by both managers and fans alike. The main worry being that the director will interfere with team matters, to the extent that it hampers the manager’s ability to do his job. The fears of course, are often justified and in search of a previous example, we should look no further than Tyneside itself.

Back in 2008, Ashley’s popularity was at an all-time high with the Toon support due to his appointment of club hero Kevin Keegan for a second spell as manager. He had, however, also recently appointed former Chelsea captain, Dennis Wise to the director of football role. Before long, rumours were circling that Keegan was unhappy with Wise meddling in team matters. He resigned by September, openly citing the interference as a reason and saying players were being bought and sold against his wishes.

So what of Joe Kinnear and his track record? The Irishman has of course, had a good degree of success as a manager. Most of this success though was with his Wimbledon crazy gang back when the Premier League was just a spring chicken two decades ago. His spell at Luton Town could also be regarded as a positive one but the majority of Magpies’ fans will be wondering how in touch Kinnear can possibly be with the modern game due to a couple of lengthy health-related absences.

Now 66 years old, Kinnear is linking up with Ashley at Newcastle for a second time, albeit in a different role. His last spell, replacing Keegan as manager, was mediocre in terms of results and ultimately cut short by his own health problems. It was however packed with controversy and included an infamous foul mouth rant by the Dubliner, aimed at a journalist form the Daily Mirror. What on earth can we expect this time around?