The Return of the King ‘国王’的归来

Newcastle United fans have been surprised and delighted this week by the shock appointment of living legend 传奇人物 Kevin Keegan as team manager, following the sacking of previous coach Sam Allardyce.

Keegan, or "King Kevin" as he is known in the north-eastern city, is a hero twice over in Newcastle, having played for and managed the team successfully in the past.

As a player for the Magpies¹ 喜鹊 （纽卡斯尔队的绰号） in the early 80s, Keegan scored 48 goals, helping² Newcastle to promotion³ from the second division. He retired⁴ as a player in 1984 but returned eight years later to manage the club for five seasons 赛季.

Keegan led Newcastle to within an inch of 离胜利一步之遥 winning
the Premier⁵ League in 1996, only to be pipped at the post 最后一刻被击败 by Manchester United.

Nobody expected Keegan to return to football management, having retired in 2005 after disappointing spells managing England and Manchester City.

But the "Toon Army", Newcastle United’s fanatical supporters 狂热的球迷, are overjoyed 欣喜若狂 by the return of the man they call King.

Such is Keegan’s status with the team and fans that the Newcastle United website announced his return with the message: "Geordie messiah 苏格兰救星 to be unveiled 亮相 as new United manager", meaning that Keegan had been sent to save them.

And things do indeed seem to be on the up 蒸蒸日上.

Newcastle have played twice since Keegan’s appointment, giving Stoke City a 4-1 thrashing 惨败 in the FA Cup on Wednesday and holding Bolton to a goalless draw 没有进球的平局 in Saturday’s Premier League game.

However, all eyes are waiting to see how Keegan will cope with the immense pressure 巨大的压力 of getting results from a sub-strength team with some of the most demanding 要求高的，苛求的 fans in the world.

Keegan famously cracked 发脾气 in 1996，resulting in a wild-eyed rant⁶ 生气的大声地说话 on live television against Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.

Will he be able to cope with the demands of the Premier League, which has already seen eight managers sacked 被炒鱿鱼 this season?

Even Keegan himself seems to feel that the long-term future 长远的未来 of the club may lie with another local legend, Alan Shearer⁷, who was himself signed as a player by Keegan in the 90s.

"Alan Shearer is going to manage this football club one day," Keegan told reporters.

But in the meantime Shearer looks set for a job with Keegan’s backroom staff 幕后智囊团成员.

Shearer spoke⁸ to Keegan by phone this week but has yet to reveal exactly what his job will be at Newcastle.

"We didn't get into specific roles 特殊角色 but I'll sit down with him at the end of the week and we'll discuss it," said Shearer.