England set to appoint Lee Carsley as manager as FA look to follow Gareth Southgate path, claims ex-Three Lions boss

BE honest. How many of you had heard of Luis de la Fuente before his glorious Euros?

Don’t feel bad. Even Declan Rice admitted ahead of Sunday’s heartbreaking final that he was unaware of the smooth-headed 63-year-old a month or so ago.

We all certainly know who De La Fuente is now after he masterminded La Roja’s perfect Euros campaign which ended with a deserved victory over England.

That showpiece triumph in Berlin made it seven wins out of seven in the competition for his scintillating side.

It rendered De La Fuente the first boss ever to win the Under-19 Euros, Under-21 Euros, the Nations League and the European Championship.

And in so doing, it strengthened the case for another bold, bald tactician to take over as England boss now Gareth Southgate has stepped down.

Lee Carsley has trodden a similar path as De La Fuente, successfully coaching his way up his national team’s youth ranks, culminating in last summer’s Under-21 Euro success.

No doubt there would be questions about his suitability given his experience of coaching senior players is limited to brief caretaker spells at Coventry, Brentford and Birmingham.

For sure, he would not bring the same star quality as a Frank Lampard. Most fans will just about remember Carsley as that ratter of a midfielder who played alongside Thomas Gravesen for Everton in the noughties.

While there is also the thorny issue, at least for some, of the Brummie’s 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland, who ironically would be his first opponents if appointed.

But park all that for a second, focus on his qualities and the argument to give him the big job can be a convincing one. 

First off, his team does not play like he used to. 

‘Carsball’ is far sexier and heavily influenced by its creator watching Pep Guardiola’s free-flowing Barcelona train a decade ago, alongside 60 members of the public.

That study trip to Catalonia changed his philosophy to be far more front-footed and it paved the way to some fabulous fare during last summer’s triumph in Georgia.

Four of the five tournament goals boasting the most passes in the build-up belonged to his Young Lions. 

Fans bemoaning Southgate’s pragmatic style would be salivating if they watched back the build-up to Emile Smith Rowe’s strike against Israel in the group stage, or Cole Palmer’s in the semi against the same opposition.

Carsley is a tactical innovator too.

He was robbed of a centre-forward pretty much on the eve of the tournament last summer, thanks to Rhian Brewster’s injury and Flo Balogun switching to the USA.

His response was to play Gordon through the middle. The Newcastle starlet won player of the tournament.

Manchester United supporters likely remember Angel Gomes as a lightweight winger but Carsley played him as a shield in front of the back four to great effect.

Gordon used the Under-21 Euros experience as his launchpad to make the senior squad this summer. 

But talking about Carsley 12 months ago, the Toon forward said: “He is the best man-manager I’ve had so far. 

“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.”

Those powers of motivation could be crucial to unleashing Jude Bellingham, who, like Solihull-born Carsley, is from the outskirts of Birmingham, specifically Stourbridge.

Like Southgate, Carsley believes in the merits of giving them a comfortable environment to work in, particularly during tournaments.

The 50-year-old is relatively quiet on the touchline, often seen on his haunches making notes in his dugout with his assistant Ashley Cole the more vocal.

England’s greatest left-back Cole has learned a lot from Carsley despite having the far superior playing career. 

In the aftermath of the Under-21s success, which was won without conceding a goal, Cole reflected on the different attitudes players have to international duty now and in his day.

The ex-Arsenal and Chelsea defender, 43, said: “We didn’t always want to go and the club manager would pull you out.

“But I feel they truly, truly love coming here now. I think that is testament to what Lee has done here. He is kind, loving, someone that thinks about the players more than himself.”

Other names will be in the frame but the FA will have seen how De La Fuente has taken Spain to new heights, despite his relative obscurity to the wider footballing world.

The promotion of Carsley, who spent these Euros scouting England’s opponents, would take guts and faith in the much-feted ‘pathway’.

He would have to brace himself for unprecedented levels of scrutiny – but he is ambitious.

With his 50th birthday fast approaching, Carsley said in June last year: “Energy-wise, and I’m not saying the clock’s ticking, but if I don’t have a go at it then the boat is going to pass.”

Few Spaniards were bowled over when De La Fuente was appointed in 2022 but he put them on course to sensational success.

Who is to say putting Carsley at the helm could not have a similar effect?

Gareth Southgate claimed that only winning Sunday’s final would earn England the respect of the footballing world.

Spain proved a last-gasp comeback too far in Berlin, but defeat did not change the fact that Southgate’s eight-year transformation put respect back into the world of England football.

Critics will pick apart his cautious tactics, his selection choices and his record in the most high-pressurised games – with some legitimacy.

Yet what is quickly forgotten is the laughing stock our national side had become before he took over in 2016.

A shambolic Euros exit to Iceland that summer had been followed up by Sam Allardyce quitting just one game into his tenure thanks to his pint of wine with undercover reporters.

Then came Southgate, with his decency, his humility, his understated eloquence and his vision for a better, different future.

He had analysed why England had so often failed in the past, from lack of preparation at penalty shoot-outs to players being bored out of their minds during major tournaments.

Southgate took those findings and implemented a culture where players wanted to play for their country again – and it led to back-to-back finals for the first time in our history.

Instead of going to war with the media, he opened his doors to them and discovered, shock, horror, that it was met, generally, with support. 

It did not stop him from being criticised when required – we are no cheerleaders, here – but the vitriol of yesteryear – or today on social media – was largely gone.

No manager is perfect and neither was Southgate. We cannot pretend his teams played like those of Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp.

But in the fullness of time, his feats will likely be revered because the results speak for themselves.

Hopefully his successor can go one step further and bring football home. 

To do that, they must show respect to what Southgate has created and build on it, rather than rip it down.

To read more from Tom Barclay click HERE.