[1] A former graduate of the academy himself, whose footballing career was cut short by injury, he joined the club's staff as a youth coach in 1973.

Since then in his tenure as director, as of 2010, Carr is credited with producing talent which has earned an estimated £80 million in transfer fees for the club, while the 23-man England squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup contained no less than seven players trained by Carr – Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and John Terry.

It's very difficult to say why we've been so successful in youth terms; I suppose it's down to a number of factors but, most importantly, our recruitment area of east London and Essex is really fertile."

(Daily Telegraph interview, 14 June 2004) He was aided in his task by Chief Scout Jimmy Hampson, who is considered among the best talent-spotters in the United Kingdom.

For over thirty years Carr has arguably been the single most important member of West Ham's coaching staff.