John Carver

Carver was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and was raised in Cruddas Park. 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. He signed a professional contract with the club in January 1983 but never made his league debut, and was released in 1985. Carver then spent a season at Cardiff City, making 13 appearances, but a thigh injury ended his professional career at the age of 20. Afterwards, he played semi-professional football for Gateshead 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.

Newcastle United

Carver was the assistant manager to Bobby 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 against Blackburn Rovers. Carver later dedicated the win to Robson. Despite the victory, Carver was not considered for the permanent job, that position going to Graeme Souness who opted to bring in his own backroom staff; Carver left the club in September 2004.

Leeds United

In July 2005, Leeds United appointed Carver as a first team coach, replacing the departed Adrian Boothroyd who left the club to be the new manager of Watford. He was part of the management team of Kevin Blackwell and Sam 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 fired Kevin Blackwell following a poor start to the season. Carver celebrated a win in his first game in charge after beating Birmingham City 3–2. However, a series of heavy defeats under Carver's management, culminating in a 5–1 drubbing by Luton Town, led to Leeds' chairman Ken Bates opting instead to recruit the Swindon management team of Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet. Carver left Leeds on 23 October 2006, with David Geddis briefly taking charge of caretaker duties.

Luton Town

Kevin Blackwell subsequently became the manager of Luton Town, and he recruited Carver as his assistant,…