WHEN I was doing my coaching badges as a player at Watford and Birmingham, I wanted to get the best possible advice.
I asked friends and contacts up and down the country who I should speak to — and almost everyone pointed me in the direction of Lee Carsley.
Given that Lee hadn’t been the full-time manager of any senior team, I didn’t really expect that but those people were right. He is a special coach and a special man.
Two of those who gave me the most glowing references about Lee were Ashley Cole and Joleon Lescott, who are both now assisting him in his role as England’s interim manager.
I spoke to Lee at length about how to put on coaching sessions, about how everything you do as a coach all week long should ultimately be directed towards the match on a Saturday afternoon.
Lee is thorough, generous and decent. He gave me his number and insisted I called him if I ever needed anything.
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We’re from the same neck of the woods and played for the same Sunday league club, Catholic Community Centre, at different times.
And it feels as if Birmingham is the epicentre of English football right now with Lee in charge of the national team, Jude Bellingham the star player and Jack Grealish looking the part as a roaming No 10 in the victories over Ireland and Finland.
When I was a Birmingham City player, Lee’s son Callum worked in the recruitment department and his other son, Connor — a great lad, who has Down’s syndrome — was also a frequent visitor to the training ground.
If anyone is wondering whether Lee has the steeliness to do the England job, I think that dealing with the issues surrounding Connor’s condition will certainly have given him an edge and a resilience.
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Lee Carsley followed same path as De La Fuente and learned from Pep – why can’t he be England boss?
By Tom Barclay
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?
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It cannot fail to have given him a deeper understanding of real life than many in professional football possess.
I can’t now envisage a scenario in which Lee won’t get the England job full-time. The victories over Ireland and Finland were jobs well done.
England played particularly well in the first half in Dublin, players were operating with freedom, not least Grealish and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
I don’t want to be too negative about Gareth Southgate as he made huge progress as England boss, reaching two Euros finals, but the football was more attacking and Lee has so far shown greater common sense, with players operating in their natural positions.
English football can be arrogant. We think we must have a proven, world-class, trophy-winning manager in charge of the national team — but we’ve had that with Fabio Capello and the late Sven-Goran Eriksson, without winning anything.
It’s not all about having a glittering CV, it’s about knowing the players and understanding the job.
I asked friends and contacts up and down the country who I should speak to — and almost everyone pointed me in the direction of Lee Carsley.
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Lee was a successful boss of the England Under-21s, winning the European Championship last year, so he knows the emerging talent.
And he is already bringing it through with the likes of Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke and Morgan Gibbs-White getting their full international debuts.
The FA know him and trust him but I don’t agree with the idea I keep hearing that Lee is “just an FA man”.
He is anything but “just an FA man”. He is his own man who knows his own mind and he will never try to be anything he is not.
Lee was offered the Republic of Ireland job last year and many people in his position would have jumped at the chance.
But he had the courage of his convictions to stay put and wait for this opportunity.
There will be no fake airs and graces with Lee. He is a hands-on coach, first and foremost.
You will have seen him on the pitch setting out cones in the warm-ups of his first two matches in charge of England — and the players will like that.
There have been many coaches who are extremely highly rated and successful as a No 2 but far less adept at being the main man. In England terms, Steve McClaren fits into that category.
But I believe Lee does have the man- management ability, as well as the tactical expertise, to be the No 1 on a permanent basis.
These six Nations League matches, which feature Greece as well as the Irish and the Finns, will not tell us how Lee will fare managing England against elite opposition.
That is the final step for England, having reached the latter stages of four consecutive tournaments under Gareth.
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There will be huge issues to deal with going forward — not least that England have a whole host of No 10s but no obvious successor to Harry Kane as our No 9.
But I don’t think the FA will go scouring the globe for a more illustrious name to be Southgate’s full-time successor when the best man for the job is probably right beneath their noses.
England ratings vs Finland: Kane bags double on his big day… but he’s not the Three Lions’ star man
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD showed his brilliance as Harry Kane’s brace saw England beat Finland.
Interim boss Lee Carsley maintained his 100 per cent win record in charge of England.
SunSports Tom Barclay has given their ratings of the England players…
Jordan Pickford – 6
Had nothing to do.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – STAR MAN 9
England’s best player as he supplied some beautiful balls from deep that on another day would have led to a glut of assists.
He did get one in the end, although that was more thanks to Harry Kane’s lethal finishing.
Ezri Konsa – 6
Showed his ability on the ball with a super ball through for Bukayo Saka on the half hour.
Twisted his ankle early in the second half, surprisingly played on before being replaced on the hour.
John Stones – 6
Played at left-sided centre-back before shifting when Levi Colwill came on.
Solid though not much to deal with. Now 19 short of 100 caps.
Rico Lewis – 7
In the right place to snuff out early danger from ex-Norwich man Teemu Pukki.
Came close to a goal on his second England cap when prodding wide after the break.
Declan Rice – 5
Lost possession to give Finland their one and only big chance which Topi Kesinen should have squared to Pukki, but instead fired wildly over.
Angel Gomes – 7
Wanted the ball from the off, just like Lee Carsley thought he would. Deliciously drilled cross-field ball to Alexander-Arnold early doors showed his range.
Bukayo Saka – 7
Almost scored and almost assisted in a lively display.
Unlucky that Kane was millimetres offside after the centurion had headed home the Arsenal man’s wicked delivery.
Jack Grealish – 7
Enjoyed being in the heart of the action at No10 again, as he did on Saturday against the Republic of Ireland.
Carsley clearly likes him – it will be fascinating to see what happens when Mssrs Bellingham, Foden and Palmer all return.
Anthony Gordon – 7
Caused problems down the left with his rapid pace – how we needed some of that in the Euros.
But did not have on his shooting boots as he fluffed a decent chance early in the second half.
Harry Kane – 8
Two blistering finishes took the centurion to an astonishing 68 goals in 100 caps.
Was denied the chance of a hat-trick in front of his family when subbed off to a standing ovation for the final ten.
Kane said he fancies his chances of reaching a ton of international goals – and it does not seem fanciful.
SUBS
Levi Colwill (on for Konsa, 61) – 6
Next to no threat from Finland by the time he came on.
Eberechi Eze (on for Gordon, 66) – 6
Raced on to yet another special Trent pass but could not loop it over the keeper.
Noni Madueke (on for Saka, 66) – 7
Looked to make an impact every time he got the ball on debut. Excellent one-two with Trent saw the Chelsea man tee up Kane’s second.
Marc Guehi (on for Stones, 80) – 6
As with Colwill, little to do.
Jarrod Bowen (on for Kane, 81) – 6
Played up top after Kane went off for the final minutes, as he has done for West Ham.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
