 Carver with Newcastle United in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John William Carver[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-01-16)16 January 1965 (age 60)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lechia Gdańsk (manager) Scotland (assistant) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1983 | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1985 | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Cardiff City | 13 | (0) |
| 1987–1990 | Gateshead | 113 | (10) |
| Total | 126 | (10) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1988 | Gateshead (caretaker) | ||
| 2004 | Newcastle United (caretaker) | ||
| 2006 | Leeds United (caretaker) | ||
| 2008–2009 | Toronto | ||
| 2010 | Sheffield United (caretaker) | ||
| 2014–2015 | Newcastle United (caretaker) | ||
| 2015 | Newcastle United (interim) | ||
| 2016–2017 | Omonia Nicosia | ||
| 2017–2018 | West Bromwich Albion (assistant) | ||
| 2020–2025 | Scotland (assistant) | ||
| 2024– | Lechia Gdańsk | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John William Carver (born 16 January 1965) is an Englishassociation football coach and former player. AtNewcastle United, he held assistant coaching roles underBobby Robson andAlan Pardew, and was the interim manager following Pardew's departure. Away from Newcastle, he was also assistant coach toKevin Blackwell atLeeds United andLuton Town, as well as atPlymouth Argyle underPaul Mariner. As manager, he took charge ofToronto from 2008 to 2009 andOmonia Nicosia from 2016 to 2017. He is the manager ofEkstraklasa clubLechia Gdańsk and the assistant coach of theScotland national team.
Carver was born inNewcastle upon Tyne,[1] and was raised in Cruddas Park.[2] 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.[2] He signed a professional contract with the club in January 1983 but never made his league debut, and was released in 1985.[1]
Carver then spent a season atCardiff City, making 13 appearances,[3] but a thigh injury ended his professional career at the age of 20.[4] Afterwards, he played semi-professional football forGateshead 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.
Carver was the assistant manager toBobby Robson at Newcastle United. Following Robson's sacking in August 2004, Carver was appointed caretaker manager and guided the team to a 3–0 win againstBlackburn Rovers.[5][6] Carver later dedicated the win to Robson. Despite the victory, Carver was not considered for the permanent job, that position going toGraeme Souness who opted to bring in his own backroom staff; Carver left the club in September 2004.[6]
In July 2005,Leeds United appointed Carver as a first team coach, replacing the departedAdrian Boothroyd who left the club to be the new manager ofWatford. He was part of the management team ofKevin Blackwell andSam 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 firedKevin Blackwell following a poor start to the season.[7] Carver celebrated a win in his first game in charge after beatingBirmingham City 3–2. However, a series of heavy defeats under Carver's management, culminating in a 5–1 drubbing byLuton Town, led to Leeds' chairmanKen Bates opting instead to recruit the Swindon management team ofDennis Wise andGus Poyet.[8] Carver left Leeds on 23 October 2006, withDavid Geddis briefly taking charge of caretaker duties.[8][9]
Kevin Blackwell 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.
On 1 February 2008, Carver became head coach of theMajor League Soccer (MLS) sideToronto FC, with previous coach,Mo Johnston, remaining as manager anddirector of soccer.[10] He was thereby reunited with an old friend from Newcastle United, since Paul Winsper had been hired in January as strength and conditioning coach.[11]
In April 2009, Carver was charged $750 by MLS for openly criticising the standard of refereeing during a 3–2 loss away toFC Dallas. He was absent from the bench during a 1–0 home win overChivas USA four days later and eventually resigned on 25 April 2009, one day before the team's home clash withKansas City Wizards.[12]
In December 2009, Carver was appointed assistant head coach toPaul Mariner atPlymouth Argyle. On 14 January 2010, he rejected an approach fromBurnley managerBrian Laws to join theLancashire club as a coach, stating his desire to repay the loyalty shown by Paul Mariner and the club as his reason for staying.[13]
In August 2010, Carver was appointed first team coach atSheffield United by managerGary Speed, 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 theWales national team on 14 December, Carver was appointed as caretaker manager.[14] He left the club on 30 December 2010, whenMicky Adams was appointed as manager.[15][16]
On 18 January 2011, Newcastle United announced that Carver would be their new assistant manager until the end of the season.[17] ManagerAlan 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.[18]
On 17 March 2013, Carver was sent to the stands by the match officials at half-time during Newcastle's match atWigan Athletic. His reaction towards Wigan playerCallum McManaman followed a high tackle on Newcastle's defenderMassadio Haïdara, which saw Haïdara stretchered off and McManaman escape any punishment.[19] Carver was fined£1,000 and warned as to his future conduct as a result.
Following Pardew's interest in theCrystal Palace job, Carver was put in temporary charge for Newcastle's next two matches against Burnley in thePremier League andLeicester City in theFA Cup.[20] 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,[21] but urged the board to find a replacement after a 2–1 loss toSouthampton on 17 January.[22]
On 26 January, it was confirmed that Carver had been appointed temporary head coach until the end of the2014–15 season.[23] 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, againstHull City.[24] 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",[25] though he later claimed that his words were taken out of context by the media after receiving widespread hilarity for his statement.[26]
On the final day of the season, Newcastle beatWest Ham United 2–0 to confirm their safety in the Premier League for the2014–15 season. On 9 June, both Carver and coachSteve Stone had their contracts terminated by Newcastle ahead of the announcement ofSteve McClaren as new head coach.[27]
On 4 June 2016, Carver was announced as the new manager of Cypriot clubOmonia.[28] On 23 February 2017, Carver was sacked by the club.[29]
On 31 August 2020, it was announced that Carver had joinedSteve Clarke's coaching team with theScotland national team. He replacedAlex Dyer, who had become permanent manager atKilmarnock.
On 30 November 2024, Carver was announced as the new manager of PolishEkstraklasa clubLechia Gdańsk, placed 17th out of 18 teams at the time of his appointment, where he was reunited withKevin Blackwell, the club's technical director. Carver signed a deal until the end of the season with an option for a further year. As part of Lechia's agreement with theScottish Football Association, he would continue in his role as an assistant of the Scotland national team until the March 2025 international break.[30]
Despite a transfer ban, financial arrears and an organizational turmoil within the club,[31][32][33] Carver led Lechia out of the relegation zone and secured their survival with two games left to go.[34] For his efforts, he was nominated for theEkstraklasa Coach of the Season award.[35]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Newcastle United | 30 August 2004[5][6] | 12 September 2004[6] | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 |
| Leeds United | 21 September 2006[7] | 23 October 2006[8] | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 020.0 |
| Toronto FC | 1 February 2008[10] | 25 April 2009[12] | 40 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 030.0 |
| Sheffield United | 14 December 2010[14] | 30 December 2010[15] | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 033.3 |
| Newcastle United | 1 January 2015[23] | 9 June 2015[36] | 20 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 015.0 |
| Omonia | 4 June 2016[28][37] | 23 February 2017 | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 056.7 |
| Lechia Gdańsk | 30 November 2024 | Present | 35 | 15 | 6 | 14 | 042.9 |
| Total | 134 | 50 | 30 | 54 | 037.3 | ||
