Southgate’s successor…

When Gareth Southgate called time on his tenure as England soccer manager, it triggered a scrum of epic proportions. There always is when the England manager’s job is vacant.

Eventually, from that scrum will emerge a new, permanent England manager. But between now and when the white smoke finally appears emerges from the towers of St George’s Park – home of the English FA – there will be rumor, speculation, and conjecture on an industrial scale.

Howe was listed as the +300 favorite

The two early frontrunners for the job were Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and former Chelsea boss Graham Potter, both of whom had already been talked up in the English media as potential successors to Southgate. Initially, Howe was listed as the +300 favorite, with Potter only slightly longer at +400.

Other big names in the frame were ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (+600) and Pep Guardiola (+600), although both have since distanced themselves from the job. Mauricio Pochettino was another to be linked but has since taken charge of the USA national team. Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel (+600) is another who has been linked.

Carsley the favorite for England’s top job

Also included in that initial list was Lee Carsley – England‘s current Under-21s manager – who has since been handed the top job on an interim basis while the FA undertakes its recruitment process. Carsley was initially listed at +300 but his odds immediately dropped to +150 when it was announced he would be in charge for the September internationals.

It was a temporary move that made perfect sense. Carsley would be managing players who he had already coached while in the Under-21s. Also, he has more knowledge than any of those Under-21 players who were deserving of their first call-up to the senior squad.

This became clearer still when Carsley named the squad to play the Republic of Ireland and Finland and it included Angel Gomes, Tino Livramento, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Noni Madueke. All four had played for him in the England Under-21 team that won the 2023 Under-21 European Championship.

It’s a route the English FA has been down quite recently. Southgate was also the England Under-21 manager before being given the job temporarily after the resignation of Sam Allardyce.

able to play a smart hand when the opportunity presented itself

Southgate’s interim tenure produced two wins from his four games in charge – over Malta and Scotland – and was enough to convince the English FA that he was the man for the job. Like Carsley, he was not the initial favorite for the top job but was able to play a smart hand when the opportunity presented itself.

Carsley, too, has made a good start – at least on the pitch. Saturday’s 2-0 win in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland was the first time England had won the Irish capital since 1995 and was achieved amid difficult circumstances.

To sing or not to sing…

Despite being born in England, Carsley played 40 times for the Republic of Ireland and on Saturday made the mistake of heading toward the Ireland bench when he first emerged from the tunnel at the Aviva Stadium. But that was nothing compared to what the Dublin crowd had in store for Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, both of whom represented the Irish in younger age groups.    

Rice was keen not to over-celebrate his goal

Ironically, despite being booed and jeered throughout, Rice and Grealish were England’s two goal scorers. Rice was keen not to over-celebrate his goal as a mark of respect but there was no such problem for Grealish, who was only too happy to celebrate his in front of the England fans.

It was an impressive performance by the team and by Carsley but for some, it wasn’t anything like enough to suggest he was capable of being handed the job permanently. His decision not to sing the National Anthem ruffled lots of English feathers with some suggesting that fact alone should be sufficient for him to be struck off the shortlist.

For context, neither the late Sven Goran Eriksson nor Fabio Capello sang the anthem, but times have changed in England. Over the last decade, the so-called patriotism of some has peaked to such a level that the non-singing of said anthem should be a red flag for the recruitment panel.

England going for consecutive wins

It was a view supported by some high-profile figures in the English media. In the day leading up to the game, when Carsley’s stance was announced, the odds of him being made the permanent boss increased by a few percentage points.     

But England’s win, and its impressive nature, was quick to negate the swing in odds and, based on what happened on the pitch and not off it, Carsley is now the hot favorite for the job. Some bookmakers are now listing him as short as -200.

If England wins at Wembley tonight in the second of its Nations League qualifiers, we can expect the odds to plummet further, especially if the performance is one of both quality and goals.

cautiousness and unwillingness to take risks

While Southgate was, by some distance, England’s most successful manager since Sir Alf Ramsey – who led it to victory in the 1966 World Cup – some were still reticent based on his perceived cautiousness and unwillingness to take risks. If Carsley can successfully give the squad’s quality players the freedom to express themselves, then it’s hard to see the English FA looking too much further.      

But who is Lee Carsley, the coach?

Well, his playing days ended at Coventry City in 2011 and, having already completed most of his coaching badges, was handed the role of the club’s Under-18s coach. He led them to an impressive runners-up spot in the Premier Academy League and also had a brief spell as first-team manager before departing for Sheffield United.

At Bramall Lane, he joined the first-team coaching setup, but it was a brief tenure, and, in October 2014, he joined Brentford as their Development Squad Manager. During this time, he had another brief spell as caretaker manager of the first team but also had his first involvement with England – coaching some of the younger age groups on a part-time basis.

He left West London for Manchester in August 2016, where he spent a year coaching in Man City’s elite academy, but over the summer of 2017, he headed to Birmingham to become Head Professional Development Coach.

A tracksuit coach

In September 2020 he joined the FA coaching setup on a full-time basis for the first time, starting as the Under-20 Head Coach before progressing to the Under-21s, where he stayed until he got the call to be interim manager for the senior squad.

a style that is popular with the players

Carsley’s style of coaching is very hands-on, and he was seen at the Aviva Stadium putting the cones out before the England players’ pre-match warm-up. His is a style that is popular with the players and, if appointed, would be the country’s first “tracksuit” manager since Kevin Keegan in the late 1990s.

Whether Carsley will be the man to whom the English FA eventually turns is still officially an unknown, but victory against Finland will only serve to further shorten those already slim odds.  

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