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Franz Carr had, early in his career, been considered one of English
football's brightest prospects yet, despite well over a century of
appearances for Nottingham Forest, the 24 year-old right wingers promise
remained unfulfilled. Joining Ossie Ardiles', second division,
Newcastle United for £250, 000, in June 1991, should have been a move to
give his career a boost. However, it was a bad time to become a
Newcastle player, The Magpies would be staring into the abyss of
relegation to the third division by Christmas. Franz Carr possessed
blistering pace and the ability to dribble past defenders at will, but
all too often it yielded little end product as Carr's inconsistent
crossing let him down. Nevertheless, Franz marked his Newcastle debut,
the opening game of the 1991/92 season against Charlton, with a goal - a
consolation effort in a 2-1 defeat at Upton Park. Carr's second United
goal came at the start of September, scoring the first of two late
Magpie strikes to scrape a 2-2 home draw against Plymouth - it was his
final goal of the campaign.
A serious knee injury, picked up shortly
afterwards, ruled him out of the first eleven until the final three
games of the season. When Carr returned, things on Tyneside were
radically different - Sir John Hall had taken over in the boardroom and
Kevin Keegan, who replaced manager Ossie Ardiles, had almost steered the
club from the brink of relegation. Their remarkable survival, in 20th
place, was sealed thanks to two victories in their final two games -
Franz had contributed two goals in 15 league games. Despite missing the
first game of the 1992/93 season, Carr started the next six, culminating
in a goal scoring performance in a 5-0 home victory over Bristol City.
However, the winger was not in Kevin Keegan's long-term plans. Almost
directly after the Bristol game the manager was making contact with
Carr's replacement, Robert Lee and the Charlton man's arrival restricted
Franz to just two more starts and two substitute appearances. Just 18
months after joining the club he was sold to Sheffield United for £180,
000 in January 1993, having scored three goals in 25 games. (Gordon Tait)
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