DEMBA Ba and Papiss Cisse score the goals, Alan Pardew picks the starting line-up, Mike Ashley puts up the money. But when it comes to identifying the most influential figure at Newcastle United this season, another name leaps into the frame.

Graham Carr doesn't play, coach or deal with detailed financial issues, but his fingerprints are all over just about everything that has gone right for the Magpies this term.

As the club's chief scout, the Corbridge-born 67-year-old was responsible for the identification, monitoring and recruitment of the likes of Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Cisse, players who have already exceeded the expectations that accompanied them when they arrived in the North-East.

While plenty of other Premier League clubs have squandered countless millions on high-profile players who have dramatically under-performed, Newcastle have unearthed a series of hidden gems. So what is the secret of Carr's success?

"I've been doing the job for 14 years," said the North-Easterner, who arrived at St James' Park in February 2010 to help sort out the mess that had been bequeathed by former executive director Dennis Wise.

"I was chief scout at Tottenham for five years and chief scout at Manchester City for seven. Most of my work there was in Europe, so I've been doing the job for quite a long time.

"I also see a lot of games. I might go and pick three matches up in Holland and three matches up in France over the course of a weekend and midweek.

"That means you see a lot of players from a young age. I saw Papiss Cisse play for Metz when he first came over from Senegal."Metz have a school where they bring over a lot of Senegalese players. I was working for Manchester City, but he didn't have a passport at the time. He couldn't come over to England, so that ruled him out.

"Cheik Tiote was at a club in Holland called Roda before he went to play with Steve McClaren at FC Twente, so I've seen them over a period of time. If you watch a team every week, you soon know who the best players are."

Identifying talent is one thing though, recruiting it at a price that suits is quite another.

Having compiled a list of desirable players as soon as he arrived on Tyneside, Carr has helped deliver a string of signings that have provided value as well as talent.

He has clearly been instructed to follow a specific template - young, relatively unproven players from abroad who command lower wages than their equivalents in the Premier League and should guarantee a decent sell-on price when they eventually leave - and Newcastle's preferred model is rapidly being adopted by a number of their top-flight rivals.

Carr is not involved in the final negotiations that lead to a deal, but he is always attempting to identify a loophole or pressure point that might result in a bargain.

"Hatem Ben Arfa was a little bit temperamental in France, but he's a talented player who played for the French national side a couple of years ago," he explained.

"He had a bit of a problem - he fell asleep on the bench when he was at Lyon - but I think Alan Pardew has put an arm around him now and got him playing to his true capabilities.

"Yohan Cabaye had a get-out clause in his contract and was a major signing for us. He was valued at £10m, but we found out he had a clause in his contract for £4.5m and that gave us the green light to go out and sign him. The club worked hard to get him."Papiss Cisse scored 20-odd goals two years ago in the Bundesliga and was linked with Bayern Munich. They (Freiburg) wanted £15m when we first inquired, and then it was £12m. We eventually got him for £8m in the last window, which we thought was value for money."

Carr's role is clearly respected by Newcastle supporters, who have seen enough big-money signings flop spectacularly to appreciate that scouting players is a difficult art.

Yet the former half-back, who played in the Football League with Northampton, York and Bradford Park Avenue, is quick to praise Ashley and Derek Llambias, who remain controversial figures despite Newcastle's success both on and off the field this season.

"The club have to take a lot of credit," said Carr, during an interview with talkSPORT. "Derek Llambias, who works very hard, and Mike Ashley are the ones who have put the money up.

"They've taken some stick from the supporters, and from the outside looking in, I was a little bit (unsure) about what had happened at Newcastle in the past. But since I've been in there working for them, I can't speak too highly of them.

"I also think Alan Pardew has done a great job because he's organised the side into a winning side."