The story behind THAT foul-mouthed Joe Kinnear rant at Newcastle United

None, however, have been quite like Joe Kinnear, or JFK as he quickly became known at Newcastle United.

Journalistically, Kinnear was the gift that kept on giving in his two spells at the club.

Kinnear was the unlikely successor to Kevin Keegan, who had resigned early in the 2008/09 campaign after clashing with the club’s hierarchy.

The appointment, unsurprisingly, didn’t go down well on Tyneside.

And fans were still in shock when Kinnear took a seat in the stand at St James’s Park for a game against Blackburn Rovers following his appointment as interim manager.

Kinnear didn’t do a formal press conference after that game – he hadn’t taken full charge as he had had to serve the first game of a two-game touchline ban dating back to his time at Nottingham Forest – but I was told to call him the following morning.

After a later-than-planned night out in town, I did just that. Hungover, I interviewed Kinnear on his appointment, his critics and his hopes for the season.

"I know I'm going to get crucified and everything else, but I'll take it on the chin,” said Kinnear.

However, Kinnear, it soon turned out, wasn’t going to take everything on the chin.

The following day I reported that the players had been given the Monday off as Kinnear wanted to get his feet under the table before starting preparations for the next game against Everton.

This story was spun that week as Kinnear rewarding his players for a fifth straight league and cup loss with an extra day off, and he was raging by the time he strolled through the indoor barn at United’s training ground ahead of his first formal media call at Newcastle.

I spoke to Kinnear outside the club’s makeshift press room with another local journalist. Kinnear, tellingly, was clutching a pile of newspaper clippings, and he made it clear he was going to have a go at the national media at his presser.

And he did just that, swearing more than 50 times during a foul-mouthed rant. There were a lot of f-bombs, hence the JFK nickname. Kinnear also insisted that every word was on the record, and his outburst, consequently, was printed in full.

It would turn to be an extraordinary few months, even for United, a club

It was clear that the squad needed strengthening in the January window, and I remember being invited to Kinnear’s office at the training ground with another reporter. On Kinnear’s desk were piles and piles of DVDs with names of players written on them. I remember that the name of Stephane Mbia, then at Stade Rennais, was scribbled on one DVD.

Keegan, of course, had resigned early in the season in protest at the club’s recruitment that summer. Nacho Gonzalez and Xisco would turn out to be disastrous acquisitions.

Kinnear – who had confirmed on the walk to the office that Rangers’ Barry Ferguson was another January transfer target – had his team for the next game mapped out on a tactics board, and asked us what we thought of his likely XI.

That had never happened with a manager before then – and it has never happened since

Kinnear was taken to hospital hours before a game away to West Bromwich Albion in February 2009 with a heart complaint, and he had a he never returned to the post. The club was relegated at the end of a sorry season, despite the best efforts of caretaker manager Alan Shearer.

The unlikely story of Kinnear and United, however, wasn't quite over.

Kinnear recovered from a triple heart bypass operation – and returned to the club four years later.

The news of his return broke on a Sunday off. I called Kinnear on the landline I had for him in London, not expecting him to answer. He did, and gave one of the most extraordinary interviews of my time covering the club.

Kinnear talked and talked about his new role at United, which hadn’t been formally announced by the club.

"What I'm saying is that I've got my finger in the pie halfway around the world,” said Kinnear. "There's no-one I can't pick the phone up to in sports and introduce myself to and talk to them about football or any situation."

Newcastle, in Kinnear’s view, needed a director of football – and he was the best man for the job.

"Every top club in the land has got one,” said Kinnear. "I'm probably the only football manager to be a director of football.

"I don't know any other ex-managers who have. I've been a manager for 35 years. I've been manager of the year three times. I've won every award there is in football as a player.

"I think all those qualities put me head and shoulders above every other director of football.”

It was that last quote which made the headlines, and Kinnear kept on making the news that season.

Kinnear resigned in February 2014 after becoming embroiled in a series of controversies. The club didn't make a permanent signing during his time as director of football.

The sad thing is that Kinnear – who played almost 200 league games for Tottnham Hotspur, represented the Republic of Ireland and had a successful managerial spell at Wimbledon – is best remembered for THAT rant at the media on Tyneside.

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