Thus far, 2015 has been a year to reiterate the importance of a top-class manager.
Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion have appointed proven Premier League performers, in Alan Pardew and Tony Pulis respectively, and seen them win seven of their eight unbeaten games at their new clubs.
Then there is the opposite. Newcastle United have undergone a downgrade, both in terms of status and personnel.
Gone is Pardew, a manager. Up steps John Carver, a temporary head coach, whose record is the inverse of Pulis: one draw and three defeats in four matches.
It is understandable that disgruntled fans see Carver as the cheap option, the latest in the line of the Premier League’s over-promoted understudies.
Makeshift managers such as Stuart Gray, Steve Wigley, Les Reed, Sammy Lee, Steve Kean and Terry Connor were either culpable for relegations or had to be swiftly removed to prevent demotion.
Newcastle, eight points clear of the relegation zone with 16 games to go, can appear in a position of relative comfort. They suffered a pivotal departure last January when Yohan Cabaye was sold, though, and lost 11 of their last 16 games.
A similar run would endanger their Premier League status.
Carver’s career record, as manager of Toronto FC and four caretaker stints in England, reveals an unpromising 28 per cent win ratio.
Perhaps the sense in the boardroom is that Newcastle have sufficient margin for error that a little short-term pain can be tolerated for the long-term gain.
And while Carver’s ambitions to manage his hometown club are evident, the probability is that a candidate of higher calibre will be on the summer shortlist to replace the stopgap hire.
Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier, former Lyon manager Remi Garde, former Mainz manager Thomas Tuchel, Frank de Boer, who has led Ajax to four Dutch Eredivisie titles, and Steve McClaren, currently masterminding Derby County’s promotion push, appear the prime candidates. There is a greater chance most, if not all, will be available in the close season.
But in the meantime, it is Carver. A great enthusiast appears to have the players’ backing. He understands the club’s tradition and past better than his employers or his charges.
He served his apprenticeship during a five-year spell as assistant to Bobby Robson, Newcastle’s greatest Geordie manager in the last half-century, and speaks regularly of his debt to the man who led England to the 1990 World Cup semi-finals.
If effort, commitment and a desperate desire to do well are enough, Newcastle will be fine.
Yet Premier League management requires more than that. On Saturday, Newcastle encounter the division’s other Geordie manager.
Steve Bruce’s past as a Newcastle fan means he is forever linked with the job at St James’ Park. He has turned it down in the past, but he rejected such talk this time to concentrate on Hull.
Bruce is a straight-talking character, but he is more grounded in the subtleties of the job at the top level. This is his 11th campaign in the top flight.
Only one has culminated in demotion. Hull City kick off in the bottom three; by the final whistle, both could seem in a relegation battle.
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