John William Carver (born 16 January 1965) is an English

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and former player. At Newcastle United, he held assistant coaching roles under

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

and Alan Pardew, and was the interim manager following Pardew's departure. Away from Newcastle, he was also assistant coach to

Kevin Blackwell Kevin Patrick Blackwell (born 21 December 1958) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Nakhon Ratchasima. Ear ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

and

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 ...

, as well as at Plymouth Argyle under

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English football player and coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored ...

. As manager, he took charge of

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

from 2008 to 2009 and Omonoia Nicosia from 2016 to 2017.

Playing career

Carver was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, and was raised in Cruddas Park. Carver joined Montagu and North Fenham Boys Club when he was nine, which led to him being signed by his hometown club, Newcastle United, as an apprentice when he was 16. He signed a professional contract with the club in January 1983 but never made his league debut, and was released in 1985. Carver then spent a season at Cardiff City, making 13 appearances, but a thigh injury ended his professional career at the age of 20. Afterwards, he played semi-professional football for Gateshead from 1987 to 1990, whilst working his way up the coaching ladder in Newcastle, starting out in schools before landing the role of director at Newcastle's School of Excellence in 1992.

Coaching career

Newcastle United

Carver was the assistant manager to

at Newcastle United. Following Robson's sacking in August 2004, Carver was appointed caretaker manager and guided the team to a 3–0 win against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. Carver later dedicated the win to Robson. Despite the victory, Carver was not considered for the permanent job, that position going to

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...

who opted to bring in his own backroom staff; Carver left the club in September 2004.

Leeds United

In July 2005,

appointed Carver as a first team coach, replacing the departed

Adrian Boothroyd Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who is currently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur. At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was r ...

who left the club to be the new manager of

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 part of the management team of

and Sam Ellis. Following the exit of Ellis in May 2006, Carver was promoted to the position of assistant manager. Carver became a caretaker manager for the second time in his career, after Leeds fired

following a poor start to the season. Carver celebrated a win in his first game in charge after beating

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

3–2. However, a series of heavy defeats under Carver's management, culminating in a 5–1 drubbing by

, led to Leeds' chairman

Ken Bates Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United. Bate ...

opting instead to recruit the Swindon management team of

Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He is the president of Serie B side Como 1907. He is best known for having spent the majority of his ca ...

and

Gus Poyet Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer. He is currently the head coach of the Greece national football team. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his car ...

. Carver left Leeds on 23 October 2006, with David Geddis briefly taking charge of caretaker duties. Retrieved 14 January 2015.

Luton Town

subsequently became the manager of Luton Town, and he recruited Carver as his assistant, along with another ex-Leeds coach Sam Ellis. With Luton going through major financial difficulties, including the administrator's decision to sell players from under the management's feet, Carver, along with Blackwell and Ellis were sacked.

Toronto FC

On 1 February 2008, Carver became head coach of the Major League Soccer (MLS) side

, with previous coach,

Mo Johnston Maurice John Giblin Johnston (born 13 April 1963) is a Scottish football player and coach. Johnston, who played as a forward, started his senior football career with Partick Thistle in 1981. He moved to Watford in 1983, where he scored 23 leag ...

, remaining as manager and director of soccer. He was thereby reunited with an old friend from Newcastle United, since Paul Winsper had been hired in January as strength and conditioning coach. In April 2009, Carver was charged $750 by MLS for openly criticising the standard of refereeing during a 3–2 loss away to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

. He was absent from the bench during a 1–0 home win over

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

four days later and eventually resigned on 25 April 2009, one day before the team's home clash with Kansas City Wizards.

Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield United

In December 2009, Carver was appointed assistant head coach to

at Plymouth Argyle. On 14 January 2010, he rejected an approach from

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

manager

Brian Laws Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...

to join the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

club as a coach, stating his desire to repay the loyalty shown by Paul Mariner and the club as his reason for staying. In August 2010, Carver was appointed first team coach at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

by manager

Gary Speed Gary Andrew Speed (8 September 1969 – 27 November 2011) was a Welsh professional footballer and manager. As manager of Wales, Speed is often credited as being the catalyst for the change in fortunes of the national team and as setting t ...

, who had played under Carver when he was assistant manager at Newcastle United. This appointment reunited Carver with Sam Ellis, who was assistant to Speed. Following Speed's departure from Sheffield United to become coach of the Wales national team on 14 December, Carver was appointed as caretaker manager. He left the club on 30 December 2010, when

Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen-year professional career in the English ...

was appointed as manager.

Return to Newcastle United

On 18 January 2011, Newcastle United announced that Carver would be their new assistant manager until the end of the season. Manager Alan Pardew said it was only a short-term deal to see how the two worked together and if he worked well with the set-up. On 25 February, he signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract with Newcastle. On 17 March 2013, Carver was sent to the stands by the match officials at half-time during Newcastle's match at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. This was due to his reaction towards Wigan player

Callum McManaman Callum Henry McManaman (born 25 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger, most recently for Tranmere Rovers. Born in Whiston, Merseyside, lived and brought up in Rainhill, Merseyside, McManaman began his youth c ...

following a high tackle on Newcastle's defender

Massadio Haïdara Massadio Haïdara (born 2 December 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ligue 1 club Lens. Born in France, he plays for the Mali national team. Club career Nancy Haïdara made his professional debut on 11 December 201 ...

, which saw Haïdara stretchered off and McManaman escape any punishment. Carver was fined £1,000 and warned as to his future conduct as a result. Following Pardew's interest in the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

job, Carver was put in temporary charge for Newcastle's next two matches against Burnley in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. On 3 January 2015, and after Pardew's appointment at Crystal Palace was confirmed and soon after Newcastle's FA Cup exit, Carver put himself forward for the job, but urged the board to find a replacement after a 2–1 loss to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 17 January. On 26 January, it was confirmed that Carver had been appointed temporary head coach until the end of the 2014–15 season. During his spell as caretaker manager, he had accrued three losses and a draw in all competitions. Five days after Carver was named the temporary head coach until the end of the season, he won his first match on 31 January, against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

. From 4 March to 2 May, he oversaw a run of eight successive league defeats, a club record for Newcastle in the Premier League. Despite such heavy losses, Carver still believed that he was "the best coach in the Premier League", though he later claimed that his words were taken out of context by the media after receiving widespread hilarity for his statement. On the final day of the season, Newcastle beat

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 ...

2–0 to confirm their safety in the Premier League for the 2014–15 season. On 9 June, both Carver and coach Steve Stone had their contracts terminated by Newcastle ahead of the announcement of

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching caree ...

as new head coach.

Omonia

On 4 June 2016, Carver was announced as the new manager of Cypriot club Omonia. On 23 February 2017, Carver was sacked by the club.

Scotland

On 31st August 2020 it was announced that John had joined

Steve Clarke ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

's coaching team with Scotland. He replaced Alex Dyer, who had become permanent manager at

Kilmarnock F.C. Kilmarnock Football Club, commonly known as Killie, is a Scottish professional football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. The team is currently managed by Derek McInnes, who was appointed in January 2022. The club has achieve ...

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, John 1965 births Living people Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English footballers Association football defenders Newcastle United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Newcastle United F.C. managers Leeds United F.C. managers Toronto FC coaches Sheffield United F.C. managers AC Omonia managers Premier League managers English Football League managers Newcastle United F.C. non-playing staff Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff Plymouth Argyle F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff English expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Expatriate soccer managers in Canada