England continue their search for a manager, but with interim manager Lee Carsley succeeding, have they found their answer?
After England’s harrowing defeat in the Euros 2024 final, Gareth Southgate made the mutual decision to step down as manager, after 8 years in service. Southgate definitely had his critics whilst in charge but with a 59.8% win percentage and reaching runners up twice, was he truly given credit for his true management prowess.
Southgate managed England under 21s from 2013 to 2016 and whilst many people believe he wasn’t good enough, no one can take away his man management. Fans could tell the connections he grew with his players and how much the squad believed in him, all throughout his career. Being an England manager comes with immense pressure and Gareth never flipped out at his players and always took responsibility for his results – another reason he is one of England’s greats.
Not long after his departure, speculation shortly began about who will be next for the job? All sorts of names were being mentioned, from Pep Guardiola to Klopp to Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked from Chelsea in May.
With the Nations League beginning a few months after the defeat against Spain, England have appointed Lee Carsley to lead. Carsley was Brentford manager in 2015, of which he was awarded manager of the month whilst only being interim for only a couple of months. He managed the England under 21s from 2021-2024. His experience with the under 21s will come in handy with the senior squad as it is such a young senior team anyway.
Carsley’s first game in charge was against the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League last week. The fixture saw both Jack Grealish and Declan Rice facing their former national sides and both players were starting. Trent Alexander-Arnold also made the starting lineup for the first time since the 20th of June and his first time at full back for almost four years for England.
Carsley’s first game in charge:
England nearly conceded early on when Jason Mulumby’s headed effort just sailed over the bar from a deep cross. This early chance remained one of Ireland’s best chances in the whole game and from this point onwards England looked extremely positive, whilst retaining their famous low block that makes them so hard to break down.
The three Lions played with intensity, using Trent’s long range of passing from deep to break defences apart and set our quick forwards on goal, with Antony Gordon achieving this countless times. The first goal came just 11 minutes in when Gordon picked out Rice just inside the box, who was able to guide it beyond the keeper’s reach. Rice, who has three senior appearances for Ireland, respectfully chose not to celebrate his goal.
Just 15 minutes later another former Irishman Jack Grealish got his goal after some intricate play between Rice and Saka led to a cut back to Grealish, who slotted it into the bottom corner.
The two early goals were a credit to this brilliant England performance that fans have been yearning for for so long. Even after the two goals, the three lions remained hungry. They pressed high and aggressively and were constantly making forward thinking runs, with Gordon and Saka being at the heart of that. The game reflected a lot of what England could have been in the Euros, if they had more guts and showed tenacity.
England’s domination against Finland:
Carsley’s second game in charge was just like his first, penetrative on the attacks, high pressing when not on the ball and never wasteful when in possession. Trent Alexander Arnold had a blinder picking out passes left right and centre.
Carsleys squad were all over Finland like a rash and if it wasn’t for Lukas Hradeky, they could have scored multiple goals within the first half. Harry Kane bagged 2 on the night in his 100th international appearance, having also scored on his international debut too.
One of the highlights for England was Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold creating 5 chances for England and its the third time he’s created 5 or more chances in a game for England, with no other player matching this. Carsley has helped get the most out of Trent it seems and this could seriously improve his chances of becoming permanent England manager.
Is Lee the man for the job?
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is another strong candidate for the job having proven he is one of England’s best managers at this time, helping Newcastle secure European football last season for the first time since 2002. He has more experience than Carsley as a lead coach despite being young for a manager but Howe is likely occupied at Newcastle and with their strong start to the season, he likely isn’t going anywhere.
Whilst he has only faced Ireland and Finland in the Nations League, it was the manner those games were won that has many fans backing him to lead the Three Lions. England seem to be playing much higher under Carsley, with constant attacking overloads to create countless chances. By playing so high, Rico Lewis and Trent were given all the time and space they needed whilst being unmarked for most of the game.
Carsley so far has been brilliant at shaping his tactics to suit individual players, allowing them more freedom to express their ability and this was seen in the likes of Trent, Gordon and Lewis, just to name a few. The future could be even brighter for England if they keep these performances going against tougher teams and it seems Carsley might be the man to help them do that.
