The State of England: Carsley’s Short Stint as England Manager

Lee Carsley made a positive start to life as interim England manager, which has excited fans who have a new-found hope for the England team.

Carsley first took charge of England’s U21 squad in July 2021, leading them to glory in the 2023 U21 Euros. He has been given just 6 games as interim boss. Speaking on this he said that this is something that he’s “really comfortable doing”.

Carsley’s September squad introduced the uncapped Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke, and Morgan Gibbs-White

Carsley’s September squad introduced the uncapped Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke, and Morgan Gibbs-White, who all managed to retain their places and earn themselves a spot in the more recent October squad. Furthermore, Carsley gave 22-year-old Madueke his first cap against Finland. Speaking before the match, Carsley touted his “energy and his pace and directness”. Madueke had an instant impact in this match, assisting Kane’s second just 10 minutes into his debut.

Carsley has, however, made some changes from September to October. He feels Kyle Walker can “help our younger players” and has recalled him to the squad after previously leaving him out. Additionally, Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke receives his first call-up in 7 years while Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers misses out.

England’s youthful attacking talents will be looking to make their mark in the upcoming games in an attempt to cement a position in the starting 11. Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Anthony Gordon, and captain Harry Kane occupied the four forward positions in both of the September matches, but Carsley wants to explore rotating the squad: “It is important that it is not just a copy and a paste”.

Jude Bellingham has returned to the England camp after missing out on Carsley’s first two matches with a calf injury. It remains to be seen whether he will keep the number 10 shirt or occupy a deeper midfield position to make way for Palmer. PFA’s 23/24 Premier League Player of the Year Phil Foden will also want to impress centrally, having failed to do so when kept to left-wing at the Euros.

Carsley said: “We have really gifted wide players. Our height, pace and width will come from our wide players.”

When questioned about England’s wealth of attacking talent in similar positions, Carsley said: “I try not to get too caught up in positions, it’s more the attributes”. This comment leads fans to question what the attributes that Carsley is looking for are. Speaking on those players available to him, Carsley said: “We have really gifted wide players. Our height, pace and width will come from our wide players.”

England were often accused of being ‘too defensive’ under Gareth Southgate’s reign. Carsley’s replacement of Walker at right-back with Trent Alexander-Arnold was well-received. Alexander-Arnold created seven chances and won both fan-voted Player of the Match awards across Carsley’s first two matches. Carsley was full of praise for his “ability to control a game” claiming it’s “not a surprise” having seen him do so for Liverpool over the last few seasons.

The continued absence of first choice left-back Luke Shaw, who missed most of the Euros with a hamstring injury, has been a problem for England. Manchester City’s Rico Lewis is an option there instead and Rico Lewis’ club manager, Pep Guardiola, claims “He does everything, and he does everything very well.”

Carsley has managed to bring optimism back to English football

Following Carsley’s takeover of English football, some have started to wonder if Southgate was taken for granted. Speaking to Sky News in September, Southgate said: “I don’t think you can have regrets … we made huge progress”. With a formidable 62.7% win rate after 102 games in charge, he ranks second only to Fabio Capello (66.7%). Speaking on Carsley’s start, he said football fans are seeing “the hope that change can bring”.

Carsley has managed to bring optimism back to English football, but he did not do enough to earn himself a permanent job as England manager. With Tuchel taking over, fans hold onto the hope that Carsley gave them and long for a successful experience at the English Men’s squad’s next major tournament.