AFTER three months of uncertainty, it is now absolutely as clear as mud.
Does Lee Carsley want to be England’s permanent manager or not?
And why is he so reluctant to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to such a simple question?
Following a team selection which brought a welcome return to common sense — and an England victory which restored a certain amount of pride — came another chaotic round of post-match interviews in which Carsley contradicted himself several times.
And given that communication is such an important part of the England job, it does not help his cause when you feel as if you are disappearing down a rabbit hole every time you speak to Carsley.
He is a likeable man and a gifted coach — but he simply doesn’t sound like an England manager.
There simply isn’t enough authority or clarity about him.
At the age of 50, Carsley has never been the full-time manager of any senior football team and it shows.
That is irrespective of the tactical car crash of Thursday’s 2-1 home defeat by Greece.
After goals from Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice had comfortably defeated a limited Finland side, came another round of riddles and muddle.
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First, the Three Lions’ interim boss told ITV the England job “deserves a world-class manager who has won trophies” and admitted that he was “still on the path to that”.
This sounded like confirmation of stories Carsley does not want the job.
England player ratings vs Finland
ENGLAND secured a commanding 3-1 win over Finland following their horror show at home to Greece
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Barclay assessed the Three Lions’ stars performances.
Dean Henderson – 6
Only his second cap after long-time No1 Jordan Pickford was dropped. Not a lot to do, but pretty assured when he was called into action, including a smart, first-half stop to repel a Benjamin Kallman strike – even if the Finn was later flagged offside. Could do little to prevent Finland’s goal.
Kyle Walker – 6
After the calamity against Greece, it was no surprise to see Lee Carsley turn to his most experienced defender. Now just nine caps shy of a century, Walker was solid. Could have had an assist late on but his cushioned down header was poor.
John Stones – 6
England’s more conventional system meant the defence was far less exposed – though Carsley’s attacking approach did still see the Finns create chances. Stones made a good early block to deny Kallman after Angel Gomes gave the ball away.
Marc Guehi – 6
Our best defender in the Euros group stages, Guehi was back in here with Levi Colwill dropping out. Pretty assured for a player who by his own admission has not started the season particularly well for his club.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
We saw him in midfield at the Euros, and here the Liverpool right-back was shunted to left-back. Looked vulnerable defensively at times but who cares when he produces such quality on the ball – epitomised by his terrific free-kick to kill off this game.
Angel Gomes – 8
The big success story of the Carsley era, however long it lasts, has been bringing Gomes into the fold. He created Jack Grealish’s opener with a beautiful, flicked-pass round the corner and was excellent in possession – barring one sloppy early pass.
Declan Rice – 7
Looked far more comfortable with Gomes playing in behind him, as opposed to the one-man defensive operation he was forced to put up against the Greeks. Looked proud as punch after stroking home England’s third from Watkins’ cross.
Cole Palmer – 5
Played in a more familiar wide right position compared to his central-midfield experiment against Greece. Yet it reduced him to a peripheral figure, adding more questions than answers as to where best to deploy him, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
Jude Bellingham – 6
The Real Madrid superstar played off Harry Kane and had the occasional, exciting link-up with Grealish, but this was not one of his more memorable games overall.
Jack Grealish – 8
No doubt will be hoping Carsley does get the job full-time as his fellow Brummie seems to appreciate his talents. His composed finish was his second goal in three games under Carsley – doubling his overall haul from 39 caps.
Harry Kane – 6
Cap 101 for the captain but not one he will remember particularly fondly. He offered the presence the team lacked against Greece when they played with no striker, but did not get much of a sniff in front of goal.
Subs
Noni Madueke (for Palmer, 69) – 7
This game was made for him to make an impact off the bench and he almost teed up Watkins after one fine run but the Finns cleared.
Ollie Watkins (for Kane, 69) – 7
Low cross for Rice’s third was right on the money.
Rico Lewis (for Gomes, 80) – 6
Slotted in at centre midfield when coming on and looked busy.
Phil Foden (for Bellingham, 80) – 5
Embraced the post ruefully after Madueke opted to shoot instead of crossing to him for a tap-in seconds after Finland’s goal. Was marking Arttu Hoskonen when the Finn headed home a consolatio.
Conor Gallagher (for Rice, 89) – 6
His first appearance under Carsley but too late to make an impact.
Lee Carsley – 7
His tactical gamble backfired against Greece but he held his hands up and went more conventional here. It paid off as England were relatively comfortable – although his teams have looked defensively vulnerable at times in all four of his games and this was no different.
But the three best players, Gomes, Grealish and Alexander-Arnold, were all given starring roles by Carsley when used sparingly or not at all by predecessor Gareth Southgate – and for that, the interim boss should take credit.
Given that there are literally no English world-class trophy-winning managers, did this mean Carsley was preparing us for the imminent arrival of Thomas Tuchel?
Apparently that isn’t the case either.
When asked if this comment meant he was ruling himself out of the running, he said that was not the case.
Asked why he won’t give a straight answer, Carsley said he had talked himself out of jobs when he had been a caretaker boss at clubs and didn’t want to make the same mistake again.
So if he does want the job, why not say that?
Curiouser and curiouser.
The FA’s decision to appoint Carsley for all six Nations League fixtures — over three separate international breaks — always felt like an unnecessary stretch.
This is a long period of uncertainty to go through before the really serious business of World Cup qualification begins next year.
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Surely the FA would be better off making their long-term decision before next month’s matches against Greece in Athens and the Republic of Ireland at Wembley?
Still, there have been some genuine positives from Carsley’s reign — all three of yesterday’s goalscorers in Helsinki having benefited from his management.
The hugely-popular Grealish, who became a father for the first time last week, was a shock omission from Southgate’s Euros squad but has netted twice in three starts under Carsley.
Alexander-Arnold has started all four matches under the current regime — this one as a makeshift left-back — and he conjured a gorgeous curling free-kick for the killer second goal here.
Rice, meanwhile, has enjoyed playing in his preferred No 8 role rather than the holding job he usually performed under Southgate.
Except, of course, for Thursday’s debacle against the Greeks, when the Arsenal man was horribly exposed by a gung-ho team selection.
This was England’s first journey to Helsinki’s historic Olympic Stadium since 2000 — and that also came on the back of a Wembley shambles.
Kevin Keegan had just quit in the toilets of the old national stadium with Howard Wilkinson taking charge of a goalless World Cup qualifying draw here in the Finnish capital.
After Thursday’s fiasco, Carsley selected a much more conventional team with Harry Kane fit enough to start up front after an ankle injury.
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The interim manager’s decision to drop Jordan Pickford — something Southgate barely did — made sense too after an extremely jittery display against Greece, with Dean Henderson handed a first England start.
Angel Gomes, one of Carsley’s Under-21 European champions, was polished again on his second full international start. And after turning two defenders, the little Lille anchor man provided a gorgeous outside-of-the-boot assist for Grealish to slot home the early opener.
It was only the Manchester City man’s fourth goal from 39 caps but his second under Carsley.
England were sloppy before and after half-time, Finland centre-forward Fredrik Jensen firing over from close range either side of the interval.
Alexander-Arnold and Rice both forced saves from Lukas Hradecky but England were hardly tearing it up. Midway through the second half, Carsley freshened it up by sending on Ollie Watkins for Kane and Noni Madueke for the largely anonymous Cole Palmer.
After England won a free-kick on the left, just over 26 yards out, Alexander-Arnold sized it up and curled his effort deftly into the postage stamp, Hradecky doing well even to get a hand to the ball.
Soon, Ollie Watkins darted down the left and centred low to the near post where Rice tapped in. Arttu Hoskinen then headed home a consolation from a corner, denying Henderson his clean sheet.
That mattered little, though.
Carsley’s team had played with common sense and clarity.
As for the interim manager’s post-match comments, that is an entirely different story.
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