Flip Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Not impressed by Gervinho thus far due to his inconsistency. But fucking hell he shows he has class at times. Give him time and I think Arsenal will have found a very good player at a reasonable price in todays market. However, with the way we're playing I don't know where he would have fit? So happy nonetheless that we didn't sign him, but he's not shit, he's just no adapting as fast as some players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Nice to see we told Gervinho to f*** off, like. Yep! What I've see of him so far I'm glad we did tell to f*** off. I heard he was excellent yesterday. Gervinho has been hit and miss really. He definitely has talent, great forward play and all that but he's too inconsistent. Bar yesterday, he has done nothing so far to convince me that he's worth £10 million+. Maybe he'll hit the heights within the next few months, maybe not but all in all think we were right not to sign him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/news/2011/11/13/the-big-interview-chief-scout-graham-carr-explains-toon-revival-102039-23557719/ IT HAS been a long journey. But Geordie boy Graham Carr is finally back home in his dream job as Newcastle United chief scout. And on Tyneside, he is even more popular than his son Alan, TV’s Chatty Man and one of Britain’s best-loved comedians. Carr senior is the supreme talent-spotter behind the French revolution which has propelled Alan Pardew’s side into the top three of the Premier League. Gallic gems Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux and Hatem Ben Arfa are all Carr discoveries, as was Ivory Coast star Chiek Tiote. Even the fans now salute his impeccable French connections by proclaiming, “In Graham Carr we trust” – imitating the Arsenal faithful’s mantra of “In Arsene we trust”. Arsenal used to have the monopoly on snapping up the finest players in France. But now Emirates boss Arsene Wenger is being outgunned in his own country by a Toon fanatic from the Northumberland village of Burradon. As a kid, Carr used to make the fortnightly pilgrimage to St James’ Park to watch Newcastle. And there was unbounded joy in the Carr household when the young Graham was invited to play for the club’s junior team. He admitted: “There was a problem. I was a defender and there was another boy vying with me in those days. Someone called Bobby Moncur.” Moncur went on to become a Newcastle United legend. After a spell as an office boy, Carr began a career around the backwaters of English football as player and then manager, before shipping up at his beloved Newcastle in Chris Hughton’s days as manager. Owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias soon realised the value of Carr and they have now tied up him on a five-year contract. They know the kind of money that was wasted in the transfer market in the spendthrift days before they took over. More than £20million went down the drain on Graeme Souness’ signings Jean-Alain Boumsong and Albert Luque alone. It’s much more sane these days. Carr said: “Our strategy is quite clear. We have realistic targets. We are not going to pay £20m for anybody. “What we are looking for are good players at the right age and at the right price.” Well, Monsieur Ben Arfa and the rest of the French influx spotted by Carr and signed by Newcastle certainly all fit the criteria. Yet at the start of the season the Toon Army were wondering: “Have we signed too many Frenchmen?” David Ginola apart, Newcastle have not enjoyed the best of fortunes when they have crossed the channel for players. Carr added: “It’s easy to get to northern France because only 60 miles from Calais are three teams, Lille, Lens and Valenciennes, and you find that you can take in two or three matches with one visit.” But it was in southern France that Carr and Newcastle picked up their first bargain in Ben Arfa, from Marseille. Carr said: “Like Johan Cabaye, Ben Arfa is a full French international and he is obviously a good player. We got a tip-off and we moved in quickly to get him first on loan. “I’ve been watching Cabaye since he was 18. I liked him so much I asked Chris Hughton to come along with me when he was boss to watch him. But the asking price by Lille was then £10m, which was out of our reach. “We heard he had a get-out clause and again that was all we needed. “Then there is Sylvain Marveaux. “We had been monitoring him for 10 months and we had a meeting on the Quayside in Newcastle and it was decided to go for him.” Midfielder Tiote was nabbed from under Arsene Wenger’s nose after playing for Dutch side FC Twente at the Emirates in a Champions League game last year. Carr said: “Whenever I saw Tiote he always impressed me. He always gave 100 per cent and he has a great attitude. He can also play a bit.” Having done his job, the life-long Toon fan has watched with satisfaction the way Newcastle have made such a great start to the season – although he is always too busy scouting to actually see them play. The 64,000-dollar question, not only on Tyneside but throughout the country, is: Why have they done so well? For Carr, the answer is simple – “Alan Pardew and the rest of the coaching staff have got them organised. We are not giving goals away like we used to. And once the defence has done its job, we have the flair players at the other end of the field. “Not only that, but we have a much stronger subs’ bench these days.” Pardew is happy to let his chief scout do the talent-spotting legwork –“Things have all changed since I was a manager,” admitted Carr. “Managers do not have the time to go scouting like we did in my day. It’s a 24-hour-a-day job for them.” Meanwhile, Carr has been putting in the overtime during the international break – when asked about any new signings, he would only say: “We are working on it.” But even that must be music to the ears of the long-suffering Newcastle supporters. Carr’s instincts for finding players have been honed over a lifetime mainly in the lower reaches of the game. He began his playing days in the 1960s at Northampton – the town where he still lives. Then it was on to York City, Bradford PA and Altrincham. He captained Telford when they won the FA Trophy at Wembley in 1971 and was back at the Twin Towers in 1974, with Tonbridge, under England World Cup-winning hero George Cohen. His playing days ended at Weymouth Town, who made Carr their boss when he was just 30. He went on to manage Dartford, Nuneaton and Northampon, who he led to the Fourth Division title in 1988, before a short spell in charge of Blackpool. His managerial career ended at Kettering. He began scouting at Coventry under Gordon Strachan and was at Spurs, Manchester City and Notts County before being welcomed back to his spiritual home of St James’ Park. He is now a key member of a high-powered committee, including Ashley, Llambias, manager Pardew and football club secretary Lee Charnley, which makes all the decisions on who Newcastle will sign. Carr said: “Everybody has their say, everything is out in the open and I have to say it has all worked out OK. “Obviously, as far as financial decisions are concerned, Mike Ashley has the final word. “I can only speak for myself but they are fantastic people to work for. “And, if I left Newcastle tomorrow, nothing could happen that would make me change my mind.” Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Praising Ashley and Llambias. Part of the mafia. Apologist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Yet at the start of the season the Toon Army were wondering: “Have we signed too many Frenchmen?” Well, no, we weren't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Yet at the start of the season the Toon Army were wondering: “Have we signed too many Frenchmen?” Well, no, we weren't. Some were. Even on here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 A couple of knobbers, perhaps. But the vast majority were happy with all of the French players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Praising Ashley and Llambias. Part of the mafia. Apologist. Oh is that so Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Yet at the start of the season the Toon Army were wondering: “Have we signed too many Frenchmen?” Well, no, we weren't. Some were. Even on here. Those comments were more a reaction to losing a top player like Nolan and replacing him with a unknown frenchman. After all who is going to replace Nolan's goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiGeordie Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Nice to hear Ashley is given credit for by some one important like Carr. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Aye, it really warms your heart. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heneage Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Yet at the start of the season the Toon Army were wondering: “Have we signed too many Frenchmen?” Well, no, we weren't. Some were. Even on here. No because that makes those people sound racist saying we had 'too many frenchmen'. They were more xenophobic than racist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto2005 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Guy deserves huge amount of credit, pretty substantial reason why we're doing so well. It's also pretty exciting to see new signings wondering what the scouting team have seen especially from players you don't see playing too often. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexf Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Nice to hear Ashley is given credit for by some one important like Carr. Heard/read a few things saying ashley is a decent bloke. Llambias on the other hand............ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 He deserves massive, massive credit. And it explains why we are able to snap up Cabaye that cheap and quick. Carr figured him out since 18 and paid close attention and that's why we knew the clause. 10m is much more reasonable but actually even at 10m he is still a bargain. “I’ve been watching Cabaye since he was 18. I liked him so much I asked Chris Hughton to come along with me when he was boss to watch him. But the asking price by Lille was then £10m, which was out of our reach. “We heard he had a get-out clause and again that was all we needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Nice to hear Ashley is given credit for by some one important like Carr. Heard/read a few things saying ashley is a decent bloke. Llambias on the other hand............ Aye I heard that as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Guy deserves huge amount of credit, pretty substantial reason why we're doing so well. It's also pretty exciting to see new signings wondering what the scouting team have seen especially from players you don't see playing too often. Aye Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliGupter Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Nice to hear Ashley is given credit for by some one important like Carr. Heard/read a few things saying ashley is a decent bloke. Llambias on the other hand............ Mike Ashley is ok, a fairly quiet and unassuming person, Llambias is a horrible little man, and constantly swearing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilko Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Amazing to think that a mere 5 years ago, our scouting system consisted of Roeder easyjetting off to watch players we had no chance of getting and Terry Mac piping up with suggestions of players he'd seen in the Pontins League on a Tuesday night. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 He did a great job managing Nuneaton Borough in the 80's, they had a canny side under him, and he is still very popular around Nuneaton,7 miles north of where I live, today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanegg Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 He did a great job managing Nuneaton Borough in the 80's, they had a canny side under him, and he is still very popular around Nuneaton,7 miles north of where I live, today. Would that explain why he was scout at Coventry? I live local round there but have never seen a mention of him in the papers, although I wasn't even born in the 80's! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiGeordie Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Does he even scout center halfs? We really short in that area it is better if he look on it.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledDog Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Does he even scout center halfs? We really short in that area it is better if he look on it.... Is that right? Out of our team of 20 odd scouts under Carr, none have been looking at a centre half? Not one? I'm absolutely livid about this! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Does he even scout center halfs? We really short in that area it is better if he look on it.... Is that right? Out of our team of 20 odd scouts under Carr, none have been looking at a centre half? Not one? I'm absolutely livid about this! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neesy111 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Just signed a 8 year contract. http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20120607/graham-carr-given-eight-year-deal_2281670_2800792 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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