England’s new national coach Lee Carsley: The opposite of Gareth Southgate – Sport

Lee Carsley got off to a bad start. In his debut as interim coach of the English national team, the former U21 coach triggered a storm of indignation in the country before kick-off of the Nations League match against Ireland, which was almost reminiscent of the storm surrounding the team’s uninspired style of play at the European Championships in Germany.

First, Carsley left the wrong side of the pitch and sat down in the seat of his colleague Heimir Hallgrimsson. The faux pas was a joke because Carsley, who was born in Birmingham, is of Irish descent – and once made 40 appearances for Ireland as an international player. In addition, Ireland’s FA recently wanted to put him on the national team, but Carsley refused. An Irish coach smugly patted the 50-year-old on the shoulder several times. Carsley was less in the mood to smile, however, and immediately changed sides. Later, he joked that as an Irish international, he had “spent a lot of time on the bench” – which is why he still knows exactly where it is.

After this strange introduction, Carsley decided not to sing the English national anthem. He had announced this beforehand, however. Carsley justified his decision by saying that he had always had problems with anthems, both as a player and as a coach. Although they are respected, they are anthems and we know their meaning. But he wanted his thoughts not to stray from the game during the 30 seconds of the anthem.

England’s veteran coach Harry Redknapp immediately criticised the tabloid Sunsinging the national anthem is important as a patriot. The rival newspaper Daily Mail even thought that the position of national coach was no job for an Englishman who refused to pay “even lip service to our nation”. Carsley’s reaction had shown where his heart belonged – on the green island, that is, the Irish island. The harsh email verdict: betrayal! Carsley had to be sacked, even before kick-off.

However, the English Football Association (FA), as under Carsley’s predecessor Gareth Southgate, only listened to the gossip press to a limited extent. The association naturally stuck with Carsley, perhaps because things could only get better for the coach after this dissonant start. And that’s exactly what happened: England’s 2-0 (2-0) win against Ireland with goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who also have Irish ancestors, promptly provoked more moderate tones at home.

His statement reads much bolder than that of his predecessor

The irony was that Carsley’s only concern on matchday was to make his team’s style of play attractive – as the public had demanded after Southgate’s resignation. Southgate had avoided any clumsiness during his time in charge, but some commentators saw his correct demeanor as an example of his team’s less daring performances. The initial impression is that it might be the other way round for Carsley.

The new coach appeared in a tracksuit, as he did with the U-21s, led the warm-up program and often observed the game from a crouched position on the sidelines. He left no doubt that he sees himself first and foremost as a coach, rather than as a representative of the motherland of football. And his first selection of personnel read boldly: He kept the basic structure of the line-up, but made other changes, particularly in the recently much-discussed right-back position: for the first time in four years, attacking player Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool FC was in the starting eleven for a competitive match. Alexander-Arnold actually set up both goals, the first with a sharp aerial ball across the entire pitch, the second with a quick combination on the right. The four of them played their way into the penalty area in impressive fashion, where Rice ultimately passed the ball to Grealish.

Grealish also returned to the squad after a period of poor form – and impressed just as much as Alexander-Arnold. For years, England has been looking for a pacemaker in midfield, a lack that has repeatedly affected their own dominance. Grealish, who is mainly used on the flanks at Manchester City, could be an option for the future – depending on how the coach plans to deal with the absent Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden this time. Guardian He gave a conciliatory assessment of his debut, saying that Carley’s team had “treated the ball like an old friend”.

For the English, this Nations League round is about returning to Group A. Next up is Finland at home in Wembley. If they are successful in this game, interim coach Lee Carsley will soon be facing another match against Ireland – the return match in November.