Let’s not go over the top here. There’s no need to try and glean too many profound lessons from autumn international break filler overseen by a reluctant interim manager, featuring players who – if they were being brutally honest – would rather not have been there.
England lost 2-1 to Greece on Thursday in the Nations League with a performance of epic dysfunction and the consequences of that are what?
Well, I checked the small print so you wouldn’t have to: finishing second in League B of the Nations League means a play-off with a third-placed League A country to decide whether England are back in with the big boys from 2026-27. Unless, of course, they tweak the format again (which they did in a move that rendered Germany’s 2019 relegation null and void). Can’t wait for those two games.
So before we draw too many Lee Carsley conclusions can we at least agree that if you’re going to try something bold, this was exactly the sort of low stakes fixture to do it in.
If we damned Gareth Southgate for scrabbling for solutions during the tournament itself – and not having faith in his big hitters to perform together – it surely makes sense to get the tinkering out of the way a good couple of years before the serious stuff starts.
Carsley tried something at Wembley and it didn’t work. The formation and system was a mess but, to be fair to him, there is nothing much a manager can do when a defence featuring Champions League winners can’t handle it when a forward with six goals from 40 previous internationals runs at them directly. Expect more orthodox tactics when England play group whipping boys Finland on Sunday.
And you know what, if the people who make these decisions for the Football Association really thought before Thursday night that he was the man, then they should go with that instinct. But if they do want Carsley, they’ve misunderstood the assignment completely.
This is not an England team on an upward trajectory anymore. In case you had missed it, they are in a seriously dire spot of form.
Since beating Italy so impressively 12 months ago to confirm their spot in Euro 2024, they have been held by North Macedonia and Slovenia and came within seconds of being knocked out of the tournament by Slovakia. They lost at Wembley to the worst Brazil side in decades, were bailed out against Belgium by a stoppage-time Jude Bellingham leveller and lost risibly to Iceland and now Greece. A grand total of seven wins over 90 minutes in 16 matches.
Granted they made it to Berlin for the European Championship final but aside from 45 minutes against Serbia and 60 minutes in the semi-final against the Netherlands it was an almighty struggle.
It feels like this is turning into an existential crisis. We know the players have ability, but channeling it into something that works and, crucially because this is where Southgate lost the room and perhaps the players, is entertaining feels like a much more complex body of work. A few hard truths need to be told to players who, judging by Thursday night, believe the theory that they are an irresistible attacking force just waiting to be unleashed.
Carsley isn’t the man for that job but he’ll do a job. Under him England will get to the World Cup and, by virtue of the culture he’ll instil and the players he has, will make it into the knockouts when they get there. But surely no one thinks they’ll win it, and solve these big issues, unless more profound changes are made?
If the goal is to win the World Cup the FA’s bigwigs will know that they need to do something different. They need an elite operator and if their pockets aren’t deep enough to attract one of those, they need to get the next best thing.
We’re told that no-one wants to manage at international level anymore but Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino are with Germany and the United States respectively. There’s a lot of Champions League minutes there compared to Carsley’s interim roles at Birmingham City, Coventry City and Brentford. He’s a fine coach and even better person but there are levels, aren’t there?
England need someone to find the sweet spot in between Southgate’s lack of conviction in the biggest moments and Carsley’s naive optimism and that person certainly exists. Jurgen Klopp taking a role with Red Bull counts him out but the FA should be monitoring Pep Guardiola’s possible Manchester City exit.
There are others, of course. Eddie Howe would prefer to stay at Newcastle but there is tension at St James’ Park. The FA could offering him a compelling exit route. Graham Potter feels less of a guarantee of success but has some merit.
Carsley is the safe choice. It’ll never be as bad as Thursday again, but it won’t win anything.
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