Why I have sympathy for John Carver at Newcastle United

Why I have sympathy for John Carver at Newcastle United

Injuries and suspensions

Ask yourself how many teams would be able to cope with injuries and suspensions comparable to the ones Newcastle United have currently? Whilst this seems to have been how it always is at Newcastle United and this suggests that there is something wrong with how Newcastle treat their players, this is not a problem that Carver is responsible for. Take the main 2 centre halves and a possible 4^th choice centre half, 2 left backs, 2 defensive midfielders, the top scorer and main striker, the player Newcastle were looking to build their team around at number 10 and a flair up and coming winger who was earmarked for a big role this season and had looked threatening early season out of most sides and they would fail to reach their goals. For Newcastle, this is equal to not reaching the top half, but it is not Carver who is responsible. If you imagine Chelsea losing Terry, Cahill, Ake, Luis, Azpilicueta, Matic, Mikel, Costa, Oscar and Cuadrado for matches, they would struggle to win them and would struggle to meet their objectives.  It would leave them a line-up similar to Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma , Christeansen, Kalas, Fabregas, Ramires, Willian, Hazard, Remy and Drogba. Similarly, if Man City lost Kompany, Demichelis, Boyata, Clichy, Kolarov, Fernando, Fernandinho, Silva, Aguero and Navas they also would fail to meet their objectives. Hart, Zabaleta, Sagna, Mangala, Milner, Lampard, Toure, Nasri, Jovetic, Dzeko and Bony are the only senior players they’d be left with, and whilst they are all talented, they wouldn’t fit a formation to carry Man City into the top 4. It is therefore, not a surprise that Carver’s Newcastle are struggling, given the struggle that teams with far superior budgets and players would also struggle given the same number of injuries.

Poor players

Added to the injuries conundrum, many of the players Newcastle have left are just not good enough. Newcastle have been left with 14 outfield players who have played minutes in the premier league and at least half of them are not good enough to finish in the top half of the league and many are not good enough for the league in general. Emmanuel Riviere has proved he is not good enough through failing to score for Newcastle in 17 league appearances. Gabriel Obertan has never shown enough consistency to be a premier league player, Sammy Ameobi likewise. Jonas Gutierrez, as much as he is loved on Tyneside was coming to the end of his playing days before being struck with testicular cancer and unfortunately is no longer Newcastle United standard. Yoan Gouffran flatters to deceive and rarely provides goals and assists which is the function of a winger. Vurnon Anita has proven he does not impose himself on the game enough and appears to do very little in midfield for either the defence or the attack. Mike Williamson has never been upgraded on since Newcastle returned to the premier league and he is a very limited defender who has had a very poor season. Adam Armstrong is at the beginning of his playing days and whilst clearly talented, it is clear he is not yet premier league standard, this is clear by him being selected for England U18s and not England U20s this international break and not 1 of the England u20 squad is a regular in the premier league, proving Armstrong still has much to do to be a premier league striker. This therefore, means that the job is currently impossible for Carver to perform well, and it is unlikely any manager would fare much better given the current situation. I’m  not saying Carver is the right man to take Newcastle forward after the summer, I just feel it is harsh to judge him entirely on recent affairs. 

Why signing a striker should be far from Newcastle’s top priority this summer

Why signing a striker should be far from Newcastle’s top priority this summer

Much has been made of Newcastle United’s need to sign a striker with only Ayoze Perez, Emmanuel Riviere, Papiss Cisse and Adam Armstrong available and this has only intensified since Cisse’s 7 match suspension began. However, the club has bigger problems that it must address before it reaches the striker problem. Papiss Cisse’s scoring record this season means that I would have no problem if he was the club’s number one striker next season. Furthermore, Perez has been superb since signing from Tenerife last summer and he will only improve as he matures and this gives Newcastle 2 very good options upfront. Whilst Newcastle could undoubtedly do with an extra body in the striking department, there are high hopes that Adam Armstrong could continue his development and become an option for the first team. There is a current impulse in football that if things aren’t going well, bringing in a striker will automatically fix this. This has been proved wrong in many cases however, as shown with Sunderland’s disastrous waste of money on an ageing Jermain Defoe. Whilst 4 strikers is the pinnacle number, buying an extra striker should only occur after the following have happened.

A New Head Coach has been appointed

Newcastle fans will have different opinions on who they want as their new Head Coach. However, whether it be Thomas Tuchel, Remi Garde, Christophe Galtier, Steve McClaren, Paul Clement or even someone like Eddie Howe or Mark Warburton, Newcastle fans are united in the fact that they don’t want John Carver in charge and that any of the above options would be better managers than Carver. Carver has limited management experience and what he has had has not been impressive, as shown by him managing only two wins to date in charge of Newcastle. With his regressive style of football, his insistence on starting Emmanuel Riviere and inexplicably leaving talent such as Ayoze Perez on the bench it is evident he is not the answer.

Some new centre backs have been bought

Newcastle only have the 3 centre backs that it returned to the premier league with and this is simply not enough. The fact that it has only taken 2 centre backs to be missing (when one of them is missing more than he isn’t )to lead to marauding wing-back Daryl Janmaat moving to centre half is not acceptable for a club of Newcastle’s stature. Furthermore, the first choice players are not good enough, Mike Williamson has never been good enough to start every week at this level, Steven Taylor is inconsistent and seemingly always has an injury round the corner and Fabriccio Coloccini is a shadow of the outstanding defender who led Newcastle to fifth in the 2011/12 season. Whilst Nottingham Forest’s reinvigorated defender Jamaal Lascellas will arrive in the summer, Newcastle need at least another centre back to be added to the squad and to hope that a quality centre back alongside Coloccini will lead to his resurgence in the Newcastle back line and this should be prioritised over a striker.

Some new central midfield players have to be bought

Slightly more controversial but at present I think Newcastle only have Jack Colback who is both good enough to play every week for Newcastle and that is likely to stay at the club. Vurnon Anita has had more than enough chances to prove his worth and has failed to do so and so should be moved on. Whilst Mehdi Abeid is talented, his performance against Man Utd shows that he cannot be relied upon to play every week. Cheik Tiote has declined significantly in recent years and the club should cash in when they can as the Ivorian has become a liability. I expect Moussa Sissoko to leave in the summer for a hefty fee, which must be reinvested to prevent Newcastle going backwards.

Some New Wingers have to be bought

With the exception of Remy Cabella, Newcastle’s wide options are embarrassingly poor for a team aiming to be in the top half of the division. Yoan Gouffran contributes nothing and his work rate has been overstated by both Alan Pardew and John Carver, Gabriel Obertan has pace but his decision making is not good enough for him to be a premier league player. I’d probably give Sammy Ameobi a new contract but I still don’t think he’s particularly good and is far too inconsistent. Unfortunately, as much as I respect Jonas Gutierrez for his heroic comeback from testicular cancer and love him for everything he has done for the club in previous seasons I don’t feel he is the answer going forward and I would let him go. Whilst Rolando Aarons showed glimpses earlier in the season, it is far too early to judge that he is a premier league winger.  At least two wingers need to be added to the squad in the summer.

A new captain

Fabriccio Coloccini is no longer a leader in the Newcastle squad and the leadership of the club has been stale for too long. A new captain is needed to re-vitalise the squad and for me Jack Colback should be given the armband. Whilst Siem De Jong is the club’s vice- captain, his injury record shows he should not be given the armband and for me Colback is the only realistic candidate if Moussa Sissoko moves on as expected this summer.