Arthur Cox remains close to Newcastle supporters after building a promotion-winning side

Arthur Cox brought Kevin Keegan to Newcastle United and then put together a side capable of taking the club back to the First Division. Historian Gary Sherrard believes the scale of that achievement, and the players Cox assembled, explain why the manager still holds a special place with supporters. Yet Cox left just as his project was coming to fruition, creating one of Newcastle’s enduring what-ifs, in Sherrard’s view.

Cox was not necessarily the appointment Newcastle supporters had wanted. Arriving from Chesterfield, he set about building a team that would change the club’s direction. Sherrard recalls that, looking back while working on his first book about the club’s difficult years, he could see the pieces gradually falling into place. Patience, he says, was part of that process.

Keegan’s arrival then changed expectations. Cox had found the player who could lift Newcastle, but he also needed to build a team around him. Sherrard points to the manager’s ability to spot Chris Waddle’s potential and give him confidence. Waddle spent spells out of the side early on, he recalls, and needed to be persuaded that he could perform at that level.

The circumstances of Cox’s departure remain central to the story. The club had just secured promotion, but could not agree a new contract with him. Sherrard says he does not know exactly why the split happened. He believes, however, that contract security and the resources needed to strengthen a newly promoted team were at the heart of the dispute.

Despite that ending, affection for Cox has endured. Sherrard describes him as an honest, hardworking football man and points to his role in bringing Keegan to the club. The scale of the task Cox completed, and the timing of his departure, both continue to shape how supporters remember him.