Source: Daily_Mail
EXCLUSIVE: You're Joe-king! Kinnear back at helm in latest Newcastle farce
Joe Kinnear is to make a sensational return to Newcastle as manager today.
Owner Mike Ashley has turned again to the man he asked to take charge last September as the club, whose future remains uncertain, lurched into another unpopular move.
In a crushing blow to Alan Shearer which will infuriate already angry fans, the 62-year-old is expected to step into the breach as Newcastle approach life in the Championship without a takeover imminent.
Kinnear took charge of 26 matches last season, but was forced to step away from the game when he suffered a heart attack in February which required a triple by-pass operation.
The former Wimbledon manager, whose Newcastle contract had expired, has a history of health problems but claimed recently that he was back to full fitness and prepared to become interim manager once again.
'I've gone from bad to being much, much better than I was. I've got the all-clear,' Kinnear said. 'Things are working out well. I feel as fit as a fiddle.'
Chris Hughton has been in charge of Newcastle's pre-season matters this summer while Ashley has tried, so far unsuccessfully, to sell the club. He is said to want £100million.
Shearer was initially involved in planning for life after his doomed eight-game bid to save the club from relegation but has grown frustrated at the delay of any appointment. Representatives of the former Newcastle and England No 9 insist he is still very keen on taking charge despite Ashley refusing to appoint him on the basis that he may not be the choice of prospective new owners.
However, the return of Kinnear casts doubt on his future at St James' Park because the former Match of the Day pundit is unlikely to stay on the bench once the new season is under way.
The people's choice: But Alan Shearer has been left waiting since Newcastle were relegated at the end of last season
Ashley has antagonised the Toon Army with a series of unpopular appointments but the latest one will also upset players. Goalkeeper Steve Harper claimed this week that Newcastle are 'dying a slow death' and a long list of first-team members have called for the appointment of Shearer.
With key players said to be on the verge of revolt over the chaos at the club, captain Nicky Butt admitted that relegation from the Barclays Premier League and the ensuing uncertainty has brought the toughest period of his career.
The former Manchester United and England midfielder, who has taken the armband from the departed Michael Owen, said: 'I have never experienced anything like this. I don't think anyone has, in football or at Newcastle United. We just have to wait and keep our fingers crossed.
'It's been a difficult summer. Everyone was disappointed at going down and the way we went down but we've got to try and put that behind us now. The Championship will not be easy and will be a massive challenge we have to match.
'It's difficult for some players because they don't know where their future lies and the job needs someone of Alan's stature. I do feel Alan is favoured by a lot of people and I do feel that he would do a very good job.
'But we're fed up with waiting to see what's going to happen. For the last five or six weeks it's been, "Something is happening at the end of this week, or that week", and it never does. We're all in the same position - young lads or old - no-one knows.'
Kinnear's appointment is unlikely to assuage the concerns of Butt and his team-mates unless the club are taken off hold.
Ashley had hoped a sale would have been completed by now and long-term commitments appear to have been avoided.
There is thought to have been interest in buying the club from Malaysia and America, but Kinnear's reintroduction suggests a takeover is still some way off.
