Having spent his recent years as the ringmaster at a business called Soccer Circus, Kevin Keegan would appear perfectly matched in returning for his second spell as manager with Newcastle United. Indeed, reviewing recent events at St James’ Park, it is possible that the new owners first considered Charlie Caroli and Fred Karno but thought they were underqualified.

One presumes, though, that Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s financial underwriter, wishes his club to be taken seriously and this is where such a grand attempt at crowd-pleasing elicits concern. It is a long time since Keegan’s name was mentioned in the same breath as those considered capable of saving the listing supertanker that is Newcastle. His glory was of another age, another century, in fact, a time when it was unthinkable that the England manager would come from overseas or a place in the Champions League would involve beating not only 11 players on the pitch, but the richest men in the world off it.

To use a phrase of which Keegan is probably sick, those who remember the highs of his previous tenure at Newcastle would love it, absolutely love it, if he breezed back to his spiritual home on a wave of positivism and fashioned a team who could sweep aside the Barclays Premier League practitioners of turgid efficiency with football that did not know how to take a backward step. They would rejoice if he could reacquaint Newcastle with the days when a six-goal scoreline against Manchester United could have gone either way. They would be delighted if he could go a stride farther and be rewarded with a trophy for instincts that were always to the betterment of football.

And yet, as Harry Hill, the comedian, would say, what are the chances of that happening? In the days when Keegan was a force of nature on Tyneside, his presence and reputation were capable of capturing the biggest and best players. Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, David Ginola, even the much-maligned Faustino Asprilla — these were men at the top of their game, who wanted to go to Newcastle to play the Keegan way. It is different now. Arsenal and Manchester United are the dream destinations for those who value the beautiful game, Chelsea have the financial clout to compete with any club, Liverpool have a pedigree in Europe second to none. Newcastle are mired in mediocrity, with a squad that will need an injection of confidence before it is anywhere near capable of performing with the verve of Keegan teams past.

In this he is at an advantage, possessing an infectious enthusiasm that is at first inspiring — the fans found it so yesterday — but in professional terms his name alone no longer makes St James’ Park the place to be. He will first have to prove that this is a club on the rise to attract the greatest talent and who, among recent Newcastle managers, has been capable of that?

Shearer turned down Manchester United for Keegan and the prospect of coming home, yet how can he hope to replicate that coup? Would Carlos Tévez have rejected United for him? Would Fernando Torres snub Liverpool? Would Nicolas Anelka rebuff Chelsea? Given the contents of his book, would Michael Owen have left Real Madrid?

Keegan may still be worshipped on Tyneside, but in the wider world of hard-nosed professionalism he is yesterday’s man. The locals may have been smiling, but beyond the locality there was bemusement.

Coming home again is rarely a pleasant experience. The only job in which Fabio Capello failed in his career was taking charge at AC Milan a second time. Howard Kendall went back to Everton on two occasions after winning the league and each spell diminished his reputation. Terry Venables moved from being adored at Crystal Palace to being despised. On their day, Keegan’s Newcastle team were the best in the country. They took part in, and often won, epic matches that are talked about to this day and the 5-0 win over Manchester United was only one of them. There was a Monday night match at St James’ Park against West Ham United when Newcastle had close to 50 shots at goal and won 3-0. At the end of the match, Les Sealey, the beaten goalkeeper, fell to his knees like a victorious gladiator. It was probably the greatest performance of his life.

Newcastle went to Liverpool and lost a crazy game 4-3. The moment Chris Mort, the Newcastle chairman, made thrilling, attacking football the priority for the new man, we should have guessed who he had in mind. No Newcastle manager, arguably no manager of the Premier League era, is as readily associated with the cavalier style as Keegan. We shared a plane journey once during which he explained his philosophy. “Every change that has been made to the modern game is to assist the attacking side,” he said. “No passing back to the goalkeeper, straight red cards for professional fouls, giving the benefit of the doubt in offside decisions to the forward. They are telling you what to do, they are telling you to go for it. The George Graham era is over. The way we play is not so unusual. I am taking advantage of the way the game has changed.”

He was only half-right. Fast-forward a decade and, with the exception of Arsenal and Manchester United, even those clubs with the capability to take a risk too often fall back on defensive pragmatism. Keegan offers a high-wire act, his contemporaries the safety net. Still, nothing less than a rabbit from the hat would have done and Ashley has produced it. He must hope, however, that it does not freeze in the headlights like that last one.

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• Graham Spiers