Michael Thomas Keen (19 March 1940 – 12 April 2009) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the father of former

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

and Stoke City player

Kevin Keen Kevin Ian Keen (born 25 February 1967) is an English football coach and former player. Keen is currently the coach of West Ham United under-18 team. Keen began his career with Wycombe Wanderers before joining West Ham United in 1983. He spent ...

. Keen started his career at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

, making his debut in 1959 against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. He went on to play 393 league games and scored 39 goals for the club. Keen was the captain of the QPR side that won the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

and Third Division title in 1966–67. He captained the FA tour of Australia in 1971. He scored six goals as they won all nine of their games, two against Australia and seven against state sides. He played for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

from 1969 to 1972 until he was transferred to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

. He was appointed player-manager of

in 1973. He was sacked in 1977 shortly before a home game with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

, but was on the touchline during the game, which Watford won 2–0 despite having two players

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

. He later moved into full-time management with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

, between 1978 and 1979, followed by his hometown club,

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

, between January 1980 and 1984, leading them to the semi-final of the FA Trophy in 1981–82, then to the Isthmian League title in 1982–83. He went on to manage Marlow. Keen ran two sports shops in High Wycombe. In the mid 1970s he owned "Keen and Busbys" jointly with Viv and Martyn Busby. The shop was located on Oxford Road in High Wycombe. In the early 1980s his shop "Mike Keen Sports" opened in the Octagon Shopping Centre. Mike supplied a great many local youth football teams with their playing kit throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Mike died after a short illness, aged 69, on 12 April 2009.

References

Managerial positions

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keen, Mike 1940 births 2009 deaths English men's footballers English football managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Watford F.C. players Watford F.C. managers Northampton Town F.C. managers Wycombe Wanderers F.C. managers Marlow F.C. managers Footballers from High Wycombe English Football League players Men's association football midfielders