The press have gone to town on King Kev today with ever paper carrying a reference to Keegan's dilemma. Keegan stomped out of the England job when the fans turned against him and after City fans swamped phone-ins on Saturday night to demand that Keegan must go it is only a matter of time before dummies are spat.
Dave Wallace, editor of King of The Kippax, is leading the Keegan out brigade.
"The players are not reaching their potential. It has been like this for a year and if Kevin did go, I don't think there would be too many tears from the supporters. The fans look at clubs like Birmingham, Charlton and Portsmouth who only have half our support and wonder why they can do well and we can't."
"Before now Kevin has almost been viewed as a Messiah-type figure. When we beat Charlton three weeks ago, everyone thought it was a new start, but Saturday's performance was just terrible. We all want the team to win at Crystal Palace but you wonder what the point would be if all that happens is Kevin limps along for another few weeks when things are clearly not getting any better.
Things are looking bad at the moment. For whatever reason the players are not reaching their potential. It has been looking bad for a year now and, if Kevin did go, there would not be too many tears shed."Guardian:
'Kevin Keegan faces a meeting with the Manchester City directors this morning, where he will be grilled on the team's poor start to the season, knowing that his future is now uncertain.
While City's manager was yesterday reassured that he continues to enjoy the "robust backing" of John Wardle, the club's chairman, Keegan is well aware that other members of the five-man board are considerably less enamoured with him and will demand an immediate improvement in results. Should City lose at the bottom club Crystal Palace on Saturday, Keegan's position will come under severe boardroom scrutiny. In an attempt to avert such a scenario, the former England manager held a "full and frank" meeting with his players yesterday in which Saturday's defeat at home to Everton was deconstructed. Although such Monday post-mortems are routine, yesterday's was imbued with added edge.'
Keegan yesterday criticised his players for a lack of leadership and willingness to take responsibility:
"I said to the players at half-time that they were all waiting for someone else to make something happen," he explained.
"And when you have 11 players like that you are not going to win football matches. We didn't have anyone out there who was going to give us a spark. It was the most frustrating game I've been involved in for quite a while; if I'd been a paying supporter I'd have wanted my money back. That defeat hurt."
The Daily Mirror quotes a 'senior player' who had a different take on the Everton half-time talk:
"It's a shambles training is a joke and we're not as fit as we should be because we're not training properly. Keegan has lost the respect of the dressing room and although most of us want to work hard and do well for the club, there are some players who are doing whatever they want. We tried to speak to Keegan at half-time against Everton and one or two players suggested making changes, but he said he doesn't change teams at the interval."
The Times takes a historical perspective:
'For a club who change managers as frequently as Imelda Marcos ditches a pair of shoes, it should come as no surprise to learn that Manchester City may be parting company with Kevin Keegan. Over the past two decades, City have averaged more than one manager every two years, a strike rate that would be the envy of Robbie Fowler, the hapless City forward and one of several expensive flops acquired by the former England manager.
Keegan’s 3½-year tenure may be deserving of a gold watch if, as is thought, the link is severed shortly. A monthly meeting of the City board today is unlikely to expedite that departure. Nevertheless, with only one victory and three defeats in five matches this season, another defeat, away to Crystal Palace at the weekend, is certain to exacerbate Keegan’s weakening position.'