Lee Carsley should be judged on whether he gets a tune out of a supremely talented England squad, not whether he sings the national anthem.
It’s amazing that it needs to be set out in 2024 but here we are: another new era, same old tired arguments. Next stop: condemn those multi-coloured St George’s crosses on the Nike kit please, Lee.
Gareth Southgate was good at all this stuff – remember his brilliant “Dear England” letter in 2021, one of the most poignant and perfect testimonies to his nation, but it was authentic. He felt it, his patriotism came from the heart and earned respect for it.
Now we’re saying Carsley – of mixed English and Irish heritage – must do something he’s never done simply to tick a box? Or maybe the FA should devise a quiz to measure his true Englishness, and if he fails it goes straight back to Sam Allardyce (provided he sings the anthem with enough gusto)?
Carsley’s decision not to sing God Save the King is not ideological. He made it clear in his press conference that it is something he’s never done in his career because by the point the anthems are sung, he’s in “the zone”, thinking about what is to come.
“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland. The gap between your warm up, your coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems… so it’s something that I have never done,” he said when asked on Friday.
“I was always really focussed on the game and my first actions of the game.
“I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off. I was really focused on the football and I have taken that in to coaching.
“We had the national anthem with the under-21s also and I am in a zone at that point.
“I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game.
“I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.”
To some it is a first examination of his diplomacy skills failed. The theory is he’s in the big job now, just stand up straight and sing it. But actually it is a test passed: England supporters will respect him more for staying true to what he’s always done rather than putting on a show to try and convince them he’s suddenly something he’s not.
Most will probably care more about whether he can finally get the best out of Phil Foden or finally unleash the true attacking potential of this group.
Carsley has been quietly impressive in his first few weeks in the job, making it clear that he wants to do things his way.
A few have wondered whether he’ll want the role given this confected furore but I think they miss the point.
Behind the respectful, quiet exterior is a steely determination. He’s made it clear in team selection he won’t take the path of least resistance – now he’s doing the same on this ludicrous issue.
I suspect he’s taking the players with him on this one. While all sing the anthem before games – although I had to go back and check, such is the lack of notice I’ve previously taken of that – none would want to feel forced.
Gary Neville, a proud Englishman, took the decision not to sing it as a player despite an FA suit seeking him out to tell him to start doing so. It’s likely many of this group – emboldened by Southgate’s lead – would likely do the same.
The anthem isn’t some kind of litmus test of patriotism. People have different ways of showing their allegiances in a world where identity is nuanced.
One of the best feelgood videos of Euro 2024 was from the concourse of an India-Pakistan cricket match at Edgbaston where both sets of fans erupted with joy at England’s penalty win against Switzerland. It showed how far most of the country has moved on from anthem rows.
Full disclosure: I consider myself fiercely proud to be English but have never sung it. You probably don’t care, and neither should any of us give a second thought to what Carsley does until the game begins.
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