Former Newcastle United captain Geremi insists he ‘accepted’ Kevin Keegan’s decision to appoint Michael Owen as the new Magpies skipper days after his arrival. The Cameroon international was signed by Sam Allardyce in the summer of 2007 and was named captain after a four-year spell at Chelsea.
However, the former Bolton manager’s move to St James’ Park lasted just eight months, with the club announcing the future England manager’s departure had been agreed by “mutual consent”. Mike Ashley turned to legend Toon Keegan in January 2008 for what turned out to be a short-lived second spell at Newcastle.
Keegan quickly named former United record holder Owen as captain, with the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker rediscovering his goalscoring touch and helping lift the team out of the relegation zone. Asked if the Newcastle legend’s decision left him ‘upset’ in a Q&A feature with FourFourTwo, Geremi said he was respectful of his new manager’s ‘own ideas’.
READ MORE: Ex-Premier League manager passionately explains to Michael Owen why Newcastle are a ‘massive’ club
He said: “These things happen in football. When Kevin came on he brought his own mentality and his own ideas.
“All managers do that. He had a plan and said he was going to make Owen the captain instead of me – I respected that. When you’re a player, the manager is always the boss. That’s he who decides.
“Your job is to play. That’s what you’re here for. When he made that decision, I accepted it because every member of the squad has to accept the boss’s decisions.
“I wasn’t the first captain to lose his armband to someone else after a new manager arrived. I wasn’t the last either.”
