Former Newcastle United midfielder Lee Bowyer says that The Magpies’ poor start to their Premier League campaign is proof that John Carver was treated poorly during his tenure as head coach last season.
Last year, Carver was appointed as Newcastle head coach until the end of the season after Alan Pardew left for Crystal Palace. From then on, an alarming set of results saw the side plummet down the table, with relegation only avoided thanks to a final-day win over West Ham United.
Carver was sacked later in the month, and ex-England boss Steve McClaren took over at St. James’ Park.
However, despite the change in management (and around £50m spent on bringing in new players), Newcastle’s form has hardly improved. They currently sit 19th in the table with only two points from their opening six games, the latest of which a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to newly-promoted Watford.
Former Newcastle star Bowyer, in an interview with talkSPORT, said:
It just shows you that the criticism John Carver was getting last year was unjustified. You can only work with the squad you’ve got.
Steve McClaren has bought in some of his own players and one or two of them look ok, but to bring in foreign players again when you already had loads there – it’s a tough league to hit running and not a lot of players get it.
McClaren’s task isn’t about to get any easier with their next two Premier League matches against last season’s top 2, Chelsea and Manchester City.
But Bowyer does believe that the appointment of McClaren will come good:
It’s just a tough time for Newcastle at the moment, but I think McClaren will get it right in the end. Hopefully the crowd will stay behind them because they’ll play a big part of their success this season.
If the players work hard and graft, and you walk off the pitch having given 100 per cent, that’s all they ask for.
Do you agree with the opinion of the former Magpie? Let us know!
