Gavin Peacock played 105 times for Newcastle United from 1990-1993 scoring 35 goals, and he was at Newcastle when Keegan took up his first management appointment at the club in 1992.
John Motson with Gavin Peacock in the BBC booth - cheer up John!
Gavin talked about Keegan today:
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people since he returned.†“And every time I’ve said to them you MUST give Kevin time to do his job.â€â€œWhen he arrived in 1992 he sat all of the players down and said: ‘We will survive and then we will take off.”
“This time it’s similar. Newcastle won’t be relegated but Kevin will be making sure they finish mid-table and then take off next season.“He will want people to judge him next season.†“He’ll then get his own players in over the summer and build his own team.â€
“Kevin came in and it was like a whirlwind at St James’s Park.†“Our first game was Bristol City and the crowd packed into the stadium.†“He’d been playing golf in Marbella for seven years and he breezed in full of confidence and without a care in the world.â€
“For the players it was great because at that time in 1992 he’d been many of the lads’ hero because we’d all been schoolboys when he was England captain.†“After he had saved us last time we went into the season in the First Division as it was then and we won 11 games from 11.†“What he did was sensational. He made players believe in themselves.â€
“He probably did something similar to what Jose Mourinho did at Chelsea.†“When he first arrived at Chelsea he pulled his players together and asked them: ‘How many of you are winners?†“Only one player answered ‘Me’ and that was Hernan Crespo.
“He then told them he was a winner with FC Porto, who’d won the Champions League, and how he would turn them into winners.†“Kevin did the same at St James’s Park.†“The players loved him for it because he made them think they could achieve anything.â€
“When you look down the list of players he signed they were good players but they became great under Kevin. People like Andy Cole, Robert Lee and John Beresford.†“And looking back in his first couple of years he laid the foundations for the club you have today.â€
“Kevin will want to play attractive football but I disagree with a lot of people who say he doesn’t care about defensive duties of his team.†“During the summer of 1992 he signed three key players and they were all defensive-minded players.â€
“He signed Barry Venison, John Beresford and Paul Bracewell.†“Kevin isn’t a silly man. He knows his football and he knows the players who will provide him with a platform and generate the momentum for the rest of the team. I am convinced he can do it once again.â€
Good words and insight from Gavin.
Peacock had a good scoring record at Newcastle but left Newcastle United for Chelsea when Newcastle were promoted to the Premier League in 1993. He still managed to score one goal in every 3 games he played for the Tyne-side club, which is not a bad record at all.
After retiring, Peacock has worked with the BBC, regularly appearing as a pundit on Football Focus, Score and Match of the Day 2. He also hosts a weekly podcast on the official Chelsea website. He turned 40 years old last November.
Here’s London-born Gavin’s playing record.
Years Club App Goals 1984–1987 Queens Park 17 1 1987 Gillingham (loan) 6 0 1987–1989 Gillingham 64 1 1989–1990 Bournemouth 56 8 1990–1993 Newcastle United 105 35 1993–1996 Chelsea 103 17 1996 QPR (loan) 5 2 1996–2002 QPR 186 34 2001 Charlton (loan) 5 0
So Gavin played 547 first class games and scored 98 goals - not a bad career at all.
Comments on Gavin’s thoughts very welcome.
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18 responses so far ↓
1 Howie // Feb 14, 2008 at 16:57
one of the few bbc pundits who dont piss me off and im not just saying that cos of what he said in this piece. pity we dont see more of him than that idiot lawro and i hate to say it shearer
2 ToonRich // Feb 14, 2008 at 17:00
Bring on next season…!
Who thinks this summers transfer activity could resemble that of a season on Champo!? lol
3 Sweardoon // Feb 14, 2008 at 17:03
Gavin quit the club as his son required treatment at a specialist clinic in London, hence his transfer to Chelsea. Top bloke, despite the born-again Christian bollocks.
4 Leo* // Feb 14, 2008 at 17:05
yeah i dont like lawro either but like the other 3 on motd
5 Hadrian // Feb 14, 2008 at 17:12
really , our players should be looking at keegan like this guy won two euro player of the year awards , like peacock looked at him and thought here’s the england captain .
it’s remarkable that keegans time in management seems to have taken the shine off what he did as a player , something no englishman bar him has done to the day .
even keegans time in club management has been sucsesfull imo , thing is he never took the easy option and walked into a top team , he always took midtable or underperforming teams and stabilised them , no hard task by any means , you get some premier managers being praised for getting their teams in the prem and keeping them their .
keegan takes more flak cos due to his england time and his comments in the media .
this is good imo , and i think keegan thinks it also , you get people saying he cant defend or has no interests in defensive players , is a poor manager .
let them all keep thinking that as the stats are there to prove them wrong if the so wish to check .
6 dragoner // Feb 14, 2008 at 17:50
“Top bloke, despite the born-again Christian bollocks.”
try not to be an ignorant pig next time you comment please
7 sparetheman // Feb 14, 2008 at 17:59
Haha, at the risk of starting a religious debate here on a Toon blog, what exactly was ignorant about that statement?
8 Tom_Toon // Feb 14, 2008 at 18:06
Dragoner - His comment is the best ive heard on here for a while, it is the most truthful aswell!
9 micepie // Feb 14, 2008 at 18:08
I was thinking of Darren Peacock for a moment and wondered where the hair had gone - scary!
I just hope he’s right about surviving this season!
We need Martins in there because he has spontaneity and no fear or caution in his game, even if he is inconsistent. If KK plays Martins and Owen against Man U, that’ll be a positive step (just so long as we can get the ball anywhere near their goal).
10 sparetheman // Feb 14, 2008 at 18:12
Am I the only one who doesn’t think Martins and Owen will play well together?
It’s gotta be Owen and Viduka for me.
11 Ian_McP // Feb 14, 2008 at 18:15
Did anyone else see Gavin Peacock on Songs of prasie over the weekend. It was priceless!!
12 GP // Feb 14, 2008 at 19:06
sparetheman - It’s called bigotry you fool. That’s the problem I have with most football supporters, thick as pig shit.
13 CJ // Feb 14, 2008 at 19:10
GP - Why you always on here having a go at people and correcting people.
14 Tom_Toon // Feb 14, 2008 at 19:17
GP stands for Grammar Patrol
15 Bill F // Feb 14, 2008 at 19:33
Typical favouritism again what about the Granda’s they never get a mention.
16 Hammy // Feb 14, 2008 at 22:07
Always liked Peacock when he played for the Toon, intelligent player who did his best work just behind the striker. He’s turned into a pretty good commentator too.
17 sparetheman // Feb 14, 2008 at 22:13
GP, bigotry and ignorance are two different things.
Bigotry - the intolerance and prejudice of a bigot
Ignorance - the lack of knowledge or education
Ironically you displayed all the characteristics of a bigot by calling me a fool and condemning millions of people (under the umbrella of “football supporters”) to being “thick as pig shit”.
Don’t be such a jerk.
18 ilkkaustoon // Feb 14, 2008 at 23:27
…god i hate born again christians i cant wait to go to hell its going to be where the party’s at lol screw hanging around with you choir boy sissies ha thats if there was a hell =)
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