Sir John Hall has revealed the importance of replacing Ossie Ardiles with Kevin Keegan during the Entertainers era.
Speaking in a great new book, out this month, entitled "When the seagulls follow the trawler", the Geordie entrepreneur speaks of the ecstasy and agony of decade to remember in the 1990s.
It may seem obvious now, but back then as the Magpies languished in the old Second Division under the ex-Spurs star, Keegan was an unknown in managerial terms and his appointment raised eyebrows within the game.
Even Keegan has later admitted he knew barely any of the then Newcastle squad in 1992 after spending his life in Spain on the golf course.
In a fascinating new book about 90s football, the Magpies enjoy a chapter of their own after the club went from a laughing stock in the Second Division to near Premier League title winners.
Sir John, speaking to author Tom Whitworth, admits: "We did the deal.
"He’d been out of it for a long time, but he still had knowledge of the game, the players and all the rest of it.
"So we brought him in.
"I’m a businessman, so I sat down I asked what did we need do to take this project forward?
"What did we need to do to make it work?
"Well, we needed a manager.
"Ossie [Ardiles] wasn’t doing it for us and I was told that Kevin Keegan wanted to come back."
Sir John goes on to speak about recruiting stars like Les Ferdinand, David Ginola and Alan Shearer - who looked to be the final piece of the jigsaw at one stage.
When asked about giving Keegan the money to spend to bring in the very best, Sir John said: "Yes, we backed him
"It was just like in a business: you back your managers.
"You need somebody to run the business so you back them and we backed him fully."
Of course, United built up an astonishing 12-point lead at the top in the 1995/96 season before it slipped from their grasp.
An emotional Sir John says in the excellent new book: "When we were 12 points clear we were actually planning the victory parade.
"But it went wrong and it is one of the most disappointing moments of my life.
"If we had won the league then we would have had a greater confidence in ourselves.
"We would have progressed after that.
"We had been losing games and it had gone wrong.
"It was unfortunate, but it just went wrong."
About the author: Tom Whitworth is the author of Owls: Sheffield Wednesday Through the Modern Era. His work has appeared in When Saturday Comes and FC Business magazines. He lives in Sheffield, beside one of its five rivers.
