MARK JENSEN of ‘The Mag’, Newcastle’s longest-running fanzine

Oct 3 2008 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post

The sports presenter on BBC Breakfast last Saturday described your new manager as ‘Roy’ Kinnear – does that kind of sum up his appointment?

I don’t think Newcastle were ever going to get a credible temporary manager in and ‘Roy’ was a surprise to us all. The latest surprise of a very long list.

Mike Ashley was one of the lads – complete with his tight-fitting replica shirt – where did it all go wrong?

He cocked it up big style. People outside Newcastle don’t really understand, it wasn’t about how much money Mike Ashley hadn’t spent, or the fact he wasn’t born on the terraces of St James’ Park. It came down to the fact he brought Kevin Keegan back to Newcastle and then undermined him, the wrong people had too much power and Keegan didn’t have the final say on who was signed and sold. Ashley talked about wanting to copy the Arsenal model – Wenger not having the final say? I don’t think so.

Shouldn’t Premier League clubs be careful what they wish for when it comes to new investment?

Football today is a massive mess and Newcastle United are simply a shambles within that bigger picture. Newcastle were going down the pan when Ashley took over and he sorted some of those financial problems but then has thrown it all away with terrible errors of judgement. Foreign businessmen are clearly not in it for the love of the game and when the eventual downturn comes, it will as always be the fans who are left with massive ticket prices and overpaid ‘superstars’ with clubs having no money to pay them.

Would it be a good idea to bring Keegan back again? Doesn’t he always walk out on a job when the going gets tough?

Kevin Keegan is the one person who can instantly get everybody pulling together. When Kevin Keegan’s ‘walked out’ he’s always left that club far healthier than when he arrived, if he can be persuaded to come back then I’d certainly settle for just missing out on the Premier League title again.

Is the patience shown by Everton’s board when David Moyes was struggling an example to the likes of Newcastle?

There have certainly been many idiotic decisions made at St James’ Park and it is a case of having to give the right manager time to build, the only trouble is knowing who that right manager is!

Which Everton player do you wish you had?

Another Peter Beardsley! But currently I suppose either Arteta or Cahill because they can create and score goals.

Are the Geordies really such great fans or is it a bit of a media myth?

I don’t think Newcastle fans are necessarily better than everybody else but I don’t think there are any better than the Geordies.

Finally, what’s your prediction for Sunday?

1-1

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