As all English football fans will be well aware, within days of losing the final of Euro 2024 to Spain, boss Gareth Southgate stood down from his job as the Three Lions manager. The FA and many supporters wanted him to stay, although there were lots of fans who felt it was time for a new man.
The search for Southgate’s replacement began straight away, but the FA are naturally keen to make sure they appoint the right person. There are concerns over whether or not the new boss should be English, and of course issues around trying to employ someone who is already working for another club or nation.
A speedy decision would have been best for all concerned but, rightly, the FA are happy to take their time rather than rush things. The Three Lions have two games early in September, on the 7th against Ireland and then three days later at home to Finland. Both clashes are in the Nations League as England compete in League B for the first time. With those fixtures rapidly approaching, it seems likely that a permanent manager will not be found and so it seems probable that Lee Carsley will step up to take charge.
Who Is Lee Carsley?
Carsley is the current manager, or rather head coach, of the England Under 21 team. Despite being born in Birmingham and living in England his whole life, the combative midfielder played 40 times for the Republic of Ireland. He qualified to play for Ireland thanks to his grandmother, a native of County Cork, and made a brief appearance from the bench for his adopted country at the 2002 World Cup.
At club level he played more games for Everton than any other side, making a total of 198 appearances for the Toffees, scoring 13 goals. One of those was a good strike against rivals Liverpool that gave the Blues a 1-0 win at Goodison in 2004 in what was the 200th Merseyside derby. The win moved Everton second and helped them to their best finish ever in the Premier League, the Toffees finishing fourth, above the Reds, in the 2004/05 campaign.
Carsley was with Everton for seven seasons, having been signed in 2002 by Walter Smith for a fee of £1.9m. Before that he played for Coventry City, having begun his career with Derby, before moving to Blackburn. In 2008 he left Merseyside to return to his native Birmingham, spending a couple of seasons there before seeing out his professional career with Coventry.
Carsley was a midfielder who always gave his all and made the most of the talent he was given. He often played as a defensive anchor, sometimes as the shield in front of the back four in a 4-1-4-1 formation at Everton. This is a position that requires football intelligence and this, combined with his leadership qualities, made him an obvious candidate for a future coaching role.
Started Badges Early
Carsley began his first footsteps on the way to a career in the dugout whilst still in his prime playing years at Everton. In 2011 he was released as a player by Coventry but immediately became coach of their Under 18 side. He guided them to second place in their league, earning him a promotion and he began working with the Sky Blues first team.
He then worked briefly at Sheffield United under another former Toffee, David Weir, before taking a coaching role with the England Under 19 team, who were managed by his former Coventry boss, Aidy Boothroyd, at that time. He impressed and then took on a specialist position working when the team was out of position with all age groups between the Under 15s and Under 21s inclusive.
In the summer of 2017, he was promoted once again to work with the Under 21s on a part-time basis. Prior to some of his work with the national age-group teams, and sometimes alongside it, Carsley also worked as a co-caretaker manager at Coventry in 2012 and then as sole caretaker in 2013, with Brentford and also with Birmingham.
Wide-Ranging Experience
#LeeCarsley will take charge of the #England🏴 men’s team for the start of its #UEFA #NationsLeague campaign while the #FootballAssociation searches for #GarethSouthgate‘s successor.
The coach is stepping up from his role as #England🏴 Under-21 boss. #MakingHistory #Soccer⚽️ pic.twitter.com/5XqeVGRUF5— tattooed goalie dad #31🇵🇹🇨🇦 (@sandropacheco71) August 12, 2024
Carsley was diligently collecting a wide range of coaching, management and development experience and had impressed key people at the FA along the way. In September 2020 he was given his most senior role, being appointed as the head coach of the national Under 20 side.
He did not stay in that job long though, and within less than a year he was promoted to the same position but with the Under 21s. After a poor showing at the Euros in 2021, Aidy Boothroyd left the job and was replaced by Carsley, with Ashley Cole as his assistant.
Carsley Turns Round Under 21s
Boothroyd lost his job after his side finished bottom of their group at the European Championship but this was a familiar story. The Under 21s failed to make it out of their group for the fifth time in six major tournaments, and this failure makes the team’s rise under the former Everton man all the more impressive.
Since taking over Carsley has seen his youngsters win 23 games, losing five and drawing just once. Three of the defeats were in friendly games, with some big wins over the likes of Italy, Germany (twice), France, Portugal and Spain. What’s more, these were not meaningless games either, with the young Lions beating Germany, Portugal and then, in the final, Spain, en route to winning the Under 21 European Championship in 2023.
At that tournament they were flawless, winning all six games without conceding a single goal, boasting a tournament goal difference of +11. They also played some very attractive football, whilst Carsley showed inventive coaching touches, such as using Angel Gomes as a defensive pivot.
Chance to Impress
It should be remembered that when Gareth Southgate first became England manager it was in an interim role. He impressed his bosses and the rest is history, and it may well be the case that the FA are hoping Carsley can do the same. There does seem to be an increasing feeling that the manager should be English and if Carsley was to impress in the short term, it could allay concerns about his lack of big-club experience.
Whilst Carsley may not have managed, or even played, at the very highest level in club football, he has three big things in his favour. First, he has delivered tournament success, and that is the number one aim for the new Three Lions boss. Second, he has produced teams able to consistently beat the other top teams. And, perhaps as important, his style of football is far more exciting and bold than Southgate delivered.
Carsley’s under 21s were incredibly brave, playing a fluid style of football, taking risks and committing men forward. Could Carsley reproduce this with the senior side? Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon were part of his winning Under 21 team and if he can get the best out of them, plus Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and all the rest, England fans really might have something to be excited about.
