Football FanCast columnist Rob Facey surveys the damage at St James' Park and wonders if the latest drama to engulf the club is a sign of more to come for the more traditional managers in the modern game.

Kevin Keegan proved he was the bigger man yesterday by quitting as Newcastle boss, leaving controversial owner Mike Ashley in control of a club in disarray.

Keegan's three-day stand off with the owner made interesting viewing for onlookers but for Newcastle fans it must have been excruciating.

Poor old King Kev may not have had the best of records during his second spell at the club, but it is unlikely the fans were protesting about the manager leaving and taking his brand of football away. The way in which he was treated was appalling and, more than that, this was just the latest episode in the most enthralling living soap opera that is Newcastle United.

"I've been working desperately hard to find a way forward with the directors but sadly that has not proved possible," Keegan told the LMA, as reported in the Guardian.

"It's my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that clubs should not impose upon any manager any player that he does not want. It remains my fervent wish to see Newcastle United do well in the future and I feel incredibly sorry for the players, staff and, most importantly, the supporters. I have been left with no choice other than to leave."

Keegan had put a brave face on the obviously strained relationship he had with Dennis Wise at Newcastle and by declaring that having unwanted players imposed on him was a key factor in his decision, shows that the pair just couldn't work.

Gus Poyet is the bookies favourite which, assuming he would take the job would see him and Dennis Wise working together once more.

What with Wise's popularity at St James' Park at a record low, would Poyet's arrival galvanize the former Leeds manager into making a decent fist of his current role, or is a potential reunion asking for trouble?

This week also saw Alan Curbishley leave West Ham; what does the future hold for the traditional English manager? More and more clubs use a European system, with directors, heads of football et al, so is the role of the conventional manager dead?

Are there any jobs left in the modern game for theses types of managers? Will Curbishley and Keegan simply find themselves left to rot on the scrapheap or on the Sky Sports sofa?

The way neither was able to deal with the running of a Premier League club in 2008 means they are more or less redundant unless they want to drop a few divisions where it is likely they will get more of a say in the clubs affairs.

Was Keegan right to walk out? But, perhaps more importantly for Newcastle fans, who on Earth will want to take over?

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