Why Newcastle Won't Bring Back John Carver Next Campaign

John Carver may have been appointed Newcastle manager until the end of the current Premier League campaign, but he could prove as disastrous as Joe Kinnear if kept beyond that.

As a manager, Carver shares two negative qualities with Kinnear: poor man-management skills and a concerning lack of professionalism.

More importantly, like the ex-Newcastle gaffer, the results on the pitch have not been forthcoming.

The temporary Newcastle boss has overseen one Premier League win in seven games, taking six points from the last 21 available.

That represents relegation form, and though the Magpies are currently in mid-table safety, defeat to Manchester City could leave the club with the second-lowest points total in the division over the last six games.

Only Aston Villa, a club who recently sacked manager Paul Lambert, will have fared worse regardless of the result on Saturday, and that is a cause for concern.

More worrying has been the way in which Carver has championed his own cause when it comes to landing the job over the needs of the team.

After Newcastle’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, a game in which the Toon started brightly before fading, only one topic dominated his post-match interview—his interaction with Jose Mourinho:

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"It was nice. At the end of the game he said 'you deserve the job, you're ready for it now. I hope you get it'. We just laughed and he gave me another hug - he must have hugged me 10 times. He kicked the ball at me once as well, but I didn't react. I've calmed down now!"

The quotes revealed not only an underlying naivety on Carver’s part but another potential problem.

Mourinho may well have been pleased with Carver—his team had just beaten Newcastle after all—yet the time for fawning over the Special One was not then.

A 2-0 loss to Chelsea is no small feat, but rather than championing his own cause, Carver should have let the performance do the talking and asked questions as to why Newcastle lost.

His jokes about failing to "react" to Mourinho kicking the ball at him also appeared to reference another cause for concern: Carver’s temper.

Prior to his appointment at St James’ Park, the Newcastle coach had a reputation for being hot-headed.

In September 2014, Carver landed himself in hot water after reacting badly to criticism from Newcastle fans following a 4-0 defeat to Southampton.

As The Independent reported, the then-assistant manager angrily confronted Toon supporters carrying a "Pardew Out" banner, in the stadium, after the game.

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Carver is said to have sworn at the fans, who had spent much of the match voicing their discontent with the club.

The incident is not the only flashpoint from Carver’s time at Newcastle, though.

Back in March 2013, he was involved in a touchline confrontation with Callum McManaman following a robust challenge on Massadio Haidara during a league clash with Wigan.

The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson also points to a incident from Sir Bobby Robson’s time in charge involving Craig Bellamy that is chronicled in the player’s autobiography Goodfella:

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I was talking to someone else and I mentioned 'JC' loudly enough to make sure he heard me poking fun at him. He snapped and came marching over. I was yelling at him and he was yelling at me ... We ended up wrestling stupidly on the floor.

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The incident adds to the picture of Carver as a volatile individual in line with the worst traits of his predecessor.

Alan Pardew was lucky to keep his job at Newcastle following his headbutt, via the BBC, on David Meyler, not just because of the confrontation but also the results that followed.

In the immediate aftermath of that game, which the Magpies won 4-1, Newcastle lost eight of their remaining 10 Premier League fixtures.

Carver’s previous confrontation with the fans at Southampton had a similarly negative effect with Newcastle failing to pick up a win in three games against Hull, Stoke and Swansea.

These incidents highlight the important role of a manager in setting the mood of the first-team squad and why another Carver confrontation is both likely and potentially highly damaging.

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Aside from temper tantrums, Carver also needs to develop his man-management skills, as a recent confrontation with Remy Cabella highlighted.

Substituted during Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with the Potters, the Frenchman reacted badly.

Though Carver was justified in having a quiet word with the winger regarding his conduct, he opted to do this in the public eye.

"You have to respect everybody. Everybody has to be patient for their chance," he said in a post-match interview.

"If you have to come off and somebody else goes on, don't be disrespectful to your team-mates."

Disrespectful or otherwise, the comments could have been reserved for the changing room and, rather than encourage a team ethic, singled out Cabella.

This came despite a recent upturn in form from the Frenchman, who had scored on his first Premier League goal for the club in their previous game against Hull.

It was also an incident strangely reminiscent of Kinnear’s fractious relationship with Charles N’Zogbia, with Kinnear often opting to air his dirty laundry in public.

The clash also served to further highlight Carver's lack of discretion when it came to in-house discipline, something that could prove troublesome as the season progresses.

In a famous tweet sent after Pardew's exit, Gary Lineker made a rather cutting joke:

But with Carver now installed, there is a sneaking suspicion that the Match of the Day presenter may have had a point.

Despite a raft of summer signings, strikers such as Facundo Ferreyra and Emmanuel Riviere have failed to impress while Siem de Jong remains sidelined with injury and there were no new arrivals last month.

That leaves Carver with just two realistic forward-going options in Papiss Cisse and Ayoze Perez.

An injury to the Senegalese star, who has scored 10 goals so far this season, would pose a major problem, and with Cisse still recovering from a serious knee problem, it's not out of the question.

The next five games offer no respite, with the Magpies facing Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal as well as a potentially rejuvenated Villa.

Survive the season in the Premier League and major changes are required.

Newcastle need a savvy man-manager capable of staying cool under pressure, working within the confines of the Ashley regime and promoting young talent—Carver may not be any of these.

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But then maybe that has been the plan all along: Let Carver rage for the rest of the season before bringing in Remi Garde.

The manager who laid the foundations for Lyon’s success on a shoestring budget by promoting youngsters and bedding in bargain signings, the Frenchman is a gamble, but he could be the kind of appointment to help Newcastle get back to the top table of English football.

If Lyon in a league of super-rich sides like PSG and AS Monaco can do it, then Newcastle have a chance.

However, should Carver stay in charge, then Newcastle may be looking at another long season, followed by a drop down into the Championship.