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Keegan - Cough it up fat boy, ESPN aren't paying me enough


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Keegan wins £2m Newcastle damages Former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has been awarded £2m damages plus interest after winning his case against the club for constructive dismissal. The panel agreed that in signing Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez, against Keegan's wishes, the club were in breach of a term in his contract. It was also agreed that Keegan would receive no further damages. Keegan parted company with the club, owned by businessman Mike Ashley, in September 2008. A relieved Keegan said in a statement: "I am delighted that the Premier League manager's arbitration tribunal has today formally announced that it has upheld my claim for wrongful dismissal against Newcastle United. "The tribunal has found the conduct of the club in forcing a player on me against my wishes represented a fundamental breach of my contract of employment. The report continued: "The 'commercial interests', according to the club, were that the signing of the player on loan would be a 'favour' to two influential South American agents who would look favourably on the club in the future. "The loan deal cost the club nearly £1m in wages for a player who was not expected to play for the first team but no payment was made by the club to the agents in respect of the deal." It was Ashley who brought Keegan back to Newcastle for his second spell in charge at St James' Park in January 2008, following the termination of Sam Allardyce's contract. The report states that Keegan was offered a deal which was worth an initial £3m per annum for three-and-a-half years, a figure which was the basis behind his initial damages claim in the region of £8.5m for his agreed spell in charge, and a reported figure in the region of £25m for the length of his career in football before retirement at the presumed age of 65. Ashley's decision proved a popular one with supporters, who recalled the former England boss's initial spell in charge on Tyneside and the cavalier football his sides played during a four year stay at the club in the 1990s. Having retained the club's Premier League status that season, Keegan and chairman Mike Ashley appeared to have a strong relationship, but this strained when Dennis Wise was appointed as an executive director of football. Keegan began the 2008-09 Premier League season in charge, leading the club to two wins, a draw and a defeat in four league and cup matches before leaving on the Thursday, 4 September 2008. Gonzalez's signing was made on deadline day of Sunday, 31 August 2008, an act which prompted Keegan to tender his resignation. Wise left the club in April 2009, former vice-president (player recruitment) Tony Jimenez left in October 2008, while owner Mike Ashley remains at the club despite a long-running bid to sell it.

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