The FA have confirmed that Lee Carlsey has been appointed as the interim England manager for the Three Lions’ upcoming Nations League doubleheader next month.
The 50-year-old will be stepping up from his role as England Under-21s boss while the FA continue their search for Gareth Southgate’s successor after the former Three Lions defender stood down following last month’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
England’s first match of the post-Southgate era comes away to the Republic of Ireland - for whom Birmingham-born Carsley won 40 international caps for - on Saturday, September 7, and then host Finland at Wembley Stadium three days later. So what can fans expect to see from Carsley’s England? FourFourTwo takes a look at ‘Carsball’ and how he likes to set his teams up…
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As a player, Carsley was a hardworking defensive midfielder, who carved out a 17-year career, mostly in the top flight for the likes of Derby County, Everton and Birmingham City, qualifying as an Ireland international via his grandmother and was a part of the 2002 World Cup squad.
After coaching stints at Coventry City and Sheffield United, Carsley joined the England youth set-up in 2015, working through various positions before being named the Three Lions’ U21s coach in July 2021.
His crowning achievement so far was winning the 2023 Under-21s European Championship, which was England’s first success in that tournament since 1984. In doing so he did something that Southgate and Sarina Wiegman have failed to do over the past 12 months, which is to beat Spain in a final.
Carsley’s teams usually set up in either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 formation and are instructed to dominate possession, but not in the static way we saw England’s senior side do too often at Euro 2024. His teams consistently look to move forward and a front-footed double pivot is often employed.
English football has been producing excellent technical players for some time now and Carsley’s tactics have allowed his teams to express themselves, fluidly linking up with each other in possession and pressing as a team without the ball.
After a summer of watching England’s senior team drop deeper and deeper, Carsley’s style could win many admirers, if he is able to effectively translate it into the senior squad.
England’s U21s didn’t concede a single goal on the way to winning the Euros and Carsley was able to get the most out of his players, even if it meant putting them in unfamiliar positions, an example of which was Anthony Gordon playing in a central striker role.
Off the pitch, Carsley is a popular figure who insists on putting the cones out before every training session and has received glowing references from the players he has managed.
“He is the best man-manager I’ve had so far,” Gordon said last year.
“I feel like I can speak to him about anything on and off the pitch. On the pitch, the way we’re playing football is a credit to him because we play the way he tells us to.
“This might be the best footballing team I’ve played in, in terms of how we play and the combination play we play around the box, it’s really at an elite level. That’s down to Lee.”
The FA have confirmed that Carsley’s appointment is very much an interim one as they continue to try and tempt a big hitter to the role, but should the former Everton man get the senior Three Lions side playing the kind of football his U21s did, he will giveFA chief executive Mark Bullingham plenty to chew on.
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