Absolutely stunned that we haven’t a dedicated thread for this great man.
One of my favourite players ever. RIP Kevin, and my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
Can I ask posters to repost their contributions in here? Thanks!
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Could the @mods copy them from the RIP / former player threads?
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I transfering my tribute posts to Kevin Keegan here.
Absolutely devastated 
. Kevin Keegan was our first football rockstar/superstar and legend. I was so sad when he moved to SV Hamburg. He was the first Liverpool legend who made the No:7 shirt so famous.
He was such a fantastic personality off the field. I loved watching his interviews.
May Kevin Keegan rest in peace and condolences to his family. Thank you for all the wonderful memories.
Y.N.W.A
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Kevin Keegan was the only English player to win the Ballon d’Or twice when he played for Hamburg.
I am sure people at Hamburg and Bundesliga will be paying tributes to their ‘mighty mouse’ Kevin Keegan.
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I can’t believe he has gone. He was loved by everyone, you didn’t have to support the team he played for or managed in. He was just lovely, principled and kind man.
Every football mad youngster had pictures/posters of Kevin Keegan in their bedroom wall. He was a football hero to many kids.
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Absolutely 
@Rambler
His short tenure as England manager was unfortunate and he was unlucky. The players would have loved him.
He was also trendsetter in fashion as well, it was the 1970s at the time.
I am still trying to process this news.
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RIP Mighty Mouse!
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By all accounts he was a very generous man more happy talking about others than he was himself
Keegan: Sorry, I’m not doing interviews right now
Pearce: It’s for a piece about the 50th anniversary of Shanks’ appointment
Keegan: For that I’ll give you as much time as you need
https://x.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/2079305056696844303?s=20
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Legend, and most unlucky with the direct comparisons to Kenny Dalglish. And by all accounts a pure gentleman.
The notion that he wasn’t technically gifted and got to his level through hard graft is flawed and disingenuous. He was a great player, hard work alone doesn’t get you to his level. The 1974 FA Cup Final, the 1977 European Cup Final were highlights. He ran Newcastle ragged in 1974, and was living torment for Berti Vogts in Rome. One of the greatest defenders in history torn asunder by sheer brilliance.
Rest in Peace, but for The King, he would and should be in conversations for our greatest.
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Here is a clip of Keegan turning down an invitation for a European event from Maggie Thatcher.
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Rest in Peace, Mighty Mouse
A Hamburger SV legend (1977-1980)
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Kevin Keegan was the first player I remember as our star striker. He and Toshack seemed like gods. When he left, I could barely comprehend it. He was all I knew up front. How can you possibly replace him? Well we did. It turned into a lesson of looking to the future.
We could still see him playing for England. That Christmas my aunt from Glasgow bought me the Kevin Keegan annual:
I don’t think she knew that he had left but I still read the annual back to back. I suspect it had actually been written before he announced he was leaving.
My wife remembers Keegan from his time at Hamburg. She lived near Lübeck at the time which is about an hours drive away. What actually originally got her attention was this appearance on the German music show Musikladen singing a song written by Smokie (one of her favourite bands at the time). She still has the single.
(Incidentally, the bio on the YouTube clip was presumably written by an intern that didn’t do their research.)
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Keegan’s enthusiasm and sheer force of will were infectious. To his immense credit he maximized his talent, but that is not to damn him with faint praise as someone who didn’t have much talent, because clearly he did.
His double act with Toshack seemed telepathic at times. As a small fella he had a heck of a leap on him. He was built powerfully and he could stand his corner no problem. The famous punch he landed on Bremner amply shows that side.
Every club that Keegan went to holds him in the highest esteem. I think it was Scunthorpe, Liverpool, Hamburg, Newcastle and Southampton. Every single one of them loves Keegan, and that says something really important about his character, as well as his footballing ability.
I really enjoyed watching Keegan’s exciting Newcastle side, and of course we had some special battles with them at the time, too.
I was hoping that at some point the stars would align for Keegan to become the Liverpool manager but alas, that never happened. (Toshack too, for that matter).
He was a humble man who never forgot his working class roots. He was unassuming and very generous in his praise of others. He did well out of the game financially, but given his era, it was pennies compared to what many lesser players now enjoy. The wisest of them will know that it is their good fortune to be riding on the coat tails of the greats who came before.
And Kevin Keegan, double Ballon d’Or winner, was absolutely one of the greats.
RIP.
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After StJohn/Yeats/Hunt the first successful Shankly era ended. Kevin Keegan sparked the second successful era with his partner Toshack.
Keegan wasnt physically imposing nor a gifted ball player nor a man for a defence spliting pass. But by God he was a grafter. Fearless he never stopped running and he chased down every ball and harried every defender. He always gave 100%. His great gift was making things happen expecially goals by sheer persistence and non stop effort. You couldnt help but love him.
Very sad when he left controversially for Hamburg. I think the last time I saw him play in the flesh was the season after he left.
Liverpool had won the European Cup in Keegan last season at LFC. ( I think it was the final when he roasted Bertie Volks.) Hamburg had won the
European Cup Winners Cup. So LFC played Hamburg in two legged European Super Cup Final in Keegans first season at Hamburg..
We thrashed them 5 - Nil at Anfield and the crowd sang “You should have stayed at Anfield”
But a great player and by all accounts top bloke.
RIP. Very sad but a great new signing for Shanklys Heaven Top 11 team.
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To any younger forum members reading this.
Please disregard comments like this, as they are quite simply innacurate beyond words.
It’s unfortunate, to be honest that this has to be argued following his demise, but his memory is better served with some truth.
The fact is that he was a much better footballer than some suggest. This narrative of him being less skillful than his contemporaries and successfull due to “sheer hard work” isn’t entirely true. There is a Hovis ad, sepia toned fantasy of a young lad arriving at Anfield and working his way into Shank’s heart with sheer ould graft. I remember watching him play and let’s be clear here, he was a seriously good player.
Kevin Keegan was an outstanding player. And he was ALSO a hard worker. But you don’t get to be the player he was on effort alone. If that was the case 20,000 lads on the Kop would have won European Footballer of the Year. Twice.
Keegan vs Vogts 1977 is the ultimate testimony of his quality. Keegan destroyed him.
He is unfortunate as he was the number seven replaced by the King. Imagine the argument of Salah vs Suarez, except the Keegan/Dalglish debate was coloured by Keegan leaving, and Kenny being arguably our best ever player.
But for Kenny, Keegan ranks among our best ever in that position.
Take Owen vs Fowler, most supporters would say Fowler is the better. Does that make Owen a journeyman that somehow got there through hard graft?
Kevin Keegan was an outstanding player, thats his legacy. Faint praise isn’t doing that legacy justice.
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If you were at school in the 1970s in Liverpool (and elsewhere for that matter) you would often hear the parable of the two footballers, one was supremely gifted, joined the best club in the country at 15, and achieved success without ever having to try.
The other had talent, but tried hard and managed to find his way into his local 4th Division club. He did well there and eventually he was spotted by a scout from a bigger club. There he tried his hardest in the reserves and the manager thought he could excel as a striker. He took his chance and led his club to win the league, cup and in Europe. With his efforts he became the best player in the country whereas the the other player rested on his laurels and his fortunes waned.
It was always pretty obvious that it was a George Best vs Kevin Keegan inspirational tale. It actually doesn’t really do either player justice, but every kid at school wanted to be Keegan.
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100%
The parable of kid making good through graft doesn’t do Keegan justice.
The idea to pitch him as boy done good versus the waste of talent by Best was lazy and innacurate.
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