Carver: I predicted Souness would take United backwards

[Besty 4]

JOHN CARVER’S take on where Newcastle United should be on the football map is simple: “In the top four of the Premier League and in the Champions League.”

 

And the Geordie is more than entitled to his opinion after helping to take them there TWICE alongside Sir Bobby Robson.

 

United pulled off a fourth-place finish in 2002 and then followed it up with third place 12 months later, taking in glamour games against Juventus, Barcelona and Inter Milan and trips to a host of other continental venues along the way.

 

In fact, even putting the excellent top-four finishes to one side for just a minute, amazingly Carver and Sir Bobby were replaced by Graeme Souness at St James’s Park for finishing fifth back just four short years ago!

 

Many felt that Souness destroyed everything Robson and Carver had built up in five years, and within 12 months United had plummeted to 14th, the club’s lowest ever Premier League finish.

 

Within 18 months, Newcastle appeared to be heading for the Championship, with Souness axed and United a million miles from the Champions League. Even Glenn Roeder’s salvage job only papered over the cracks.

 

Now, after Kevin Keegan’s admission that a top-five finish is getting harder resulted in an emergency meeting in London with Mike Ashley, Carver sits back in his office in Toronto in disbelief at how United have dropped down the pecking order in the Premier League.

 

JC, as he was known to the abundance of top Toon stars who respected him so much at St James’s Park, or Coach Carver as he’s known to his current crop of players in Major League Soccer, is still hurting now over the whole situation.

 

He told me: “The facts are there in front of everybody.

 

“Since Newcastle finished third, fourth and fifth, the club has been on a steady decline.

 

“I did predict that when Graeme Souness was appointed. So I wasn’t surprised to see what happened within 18 months.

 

“I said to Russell Cushing (then the club’s chief operating officer) at the time that the club would be where Blackburn are – and sadly I was proved to be right.

 

“That hurts me being a local lad.

 

“Being brought up with the club and loving it like I do, it hurts a lot.”

 

But Carver, who worked with Keegan as a youth coach during his first stint in charge as boss in the 1990s, is optimistic for the future under King Kev.

 

He says: “I’m not being bitter when I talk of the decline, the facts are there.

 

“Kevin has stabilised the ship and he has had a difficult job.

 

“I hope he takes them back to where he had them the first time around.

 

“The club deserve to be there and to be playing Europe every year, it’s as simple as that.

 

“I am sure that if people upstairs and within the team have the right attitude , there is no reason why they can’t get back into Europe.”

 

In August, Newcastle will come back with a clean slate and desperate for a good start.

 

Indeed, it was a good start that laid the foundations for Robson and Carver in the 2001/02 season and resulted in a fourth-place finish behind Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool and streets ahead of Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham.

 

And despite claims that this year’s top four will have the same slots sewn up again next year, Carver disagrees.

 

“It’s not impossible – look at Everton and even Villa,” he said.

 

“Spurs under-achieved last year too, I can’t believe that anybody can think about not getting in there.

 

“That has to be the goal from the start of the season

 

“It’s no good having a defeatist attitude – you should think about winning every game and think about winning the league. That’s how you need to set out.

 

“Being realistic, you might not have the finances to win the league – but you need to try and get as close as you can.

 

“I don’t see why not.

 

“Look at the support at Newcastle, it’s like having an extra player.

 

“If you win your home games you will get near fourth, especially if you pick up points away from home like we used to.

 

“It gives you a chance, so you should never just give up.”

 

And Carver feels Newcastle need to get back into the top four sooner rather than later.

 

Indeed, from a global point of view, United are becoming less and less of an attractive proposition in Asia and the US the longer they are out of the top four, meaning they miss out on huge financial windfalls.

 

He added: “That’s massive. When I was at Newcastle we went to America and Malaysia and it was good for us.

 

“But it all comes with getting back into that top four.”

Edited May 27, 2008 by Besty

[I R Toon Fan 0]

Maybe he thinks if he's nice to us we'll give him Owen.

[Fop 1]

“But it all comes with getting back into that top four.”

Catch-22

[Guest alex]

I don't think he was unique in predicting Souness wouldn't work out.

[Tooj 17]

I don't think he was unique in predicting Souness wouldn't work out.

Poor Gemmill.

[Bombadil 0]

I don't think he was unique in predicting Souness wouldn't work out.

Poor Gemmill.