Article: football: Sir John proves the perfect foil for Keegan

Like everybody else, Sir John Hall was shocked at finding that Kevin Keegan wanted to sell Andy Cole. Unlike everybody else, Sir John, as chairman of Newcastle United, could have said, "No".

Instead he stuck to his guiding management principle and told Keegan: "If you think it is right for the club, go ahead."

In football, as in business, Sir John believes in appointing the best man and giving him the power to get on with it. Thus, though he was surprised by Keegan's decision to sell Newcastle's leading scorer and cult hero to Manchester United, he backed him.

"My first thought was `What!?' " Sir John admitted this week. "But now I think it is a good deal." So do the Newcastle public, ...

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