Roy Keane has encouraged the FA to “go for Pep” Guardiola as England manager but, with interim boss Lee Carsley insisting the permanent job would not be too soon for him, the picture of who ultimately succeeds Gareth Southgate remains frustratingly unclear.
Carsley – who had previously said when asked about taking on the role full-time that he was “up for it” – appeared to distance himself from the position in the hours and days after the humbling defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday, when his tactics and team selection backfired.
He talked about “hopefully” returning to his post as coach of the England U21s and revealed he hadn’t actually officially applied for the senior team job anyway.
After England bounced back from that Greek defeat with a 3-1 win in Finland on Sunday, Carsley seemed to suggest the permanent role demanded a manager at the very top end of the game with a track record of success and appeared to admit he wasn’t at that level yet.
“The job deserves a world-class coach that has won trophies and has been there and done it. I’m still on the path to doing that,” he told ITV.
Yet in his press conference, when asked by Sky Sports News’ Tim Thornton if that implied the long-term post vacancy had come too soon for him, Carsley firmly retorted: “Definitely not.”
Does the European U21 title count as a qualifier for a top coach that has won trophies, in Carsley’s book? How about league wins in the third and fourth tier of Swedish football, Graham Potter might wonder. Where does his Swedish Cup success put him? And Eddie Howe’s Championship winners’ medal with Bournemouth?
Guardiolaof course, trumps everyone when it comes to that game of stacking up silverware.
The Spaniard is in place at Premier League defending champions Manchester City but his contract is up next summer and Sky Sports pundit Keane told ITV England should pursue Guardiola if his future at the end of this season is still uncertain.
“It is (a small pond in which to find Southgate’s successor) but the most important thing is to get the right man. (Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Eddie Howe) they’ve all got a chance.
“The FA have to go after the right guy, whoever that is. Whether finances play a part in it, if Lee (Carsley) rules himself out and isn’t interested… that seems to be the noises coming out… then the FA have to get busy and find the right man.
“Go for Pep (Guardiola). Go for the best. Pep’s contract is up in the summer.”
Intriguingly, when asked about whether he would be staying at Man City beyond this season, Guardiola said this month: “I’m not going to talk about this subject. What’s going to happen is going to happen.”
Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino were on the list of potential candidates when Southgate announced his resignation in the summer, however they have both taken up alternative job offers since then.
Guardiola has said he is interested in managing an international team in the future, while Tuchel’s name is also in the mix – although he has also been heavily linked with the role at Manchester United, should Erik ten Hag be relieved of his duties.
“It is one of the top jobs in the world,” added Carsley in his press conference. “I’m not part of the (selection) process but it deserves a top coach, the players we have got available have got a real chance of winning.”
That makes the uncertainty and delays even more frustrating for England fans hoping to see their side build on that run to the final of the Euros.
How has Carsley’s audition gone? If that’s what it is…
Rewind a week and Carsley’s prospects of landing the permanent job seemed to be strong – putting to one side his at times confusing comments on whether he actually wants the role.
He had been given six games in charge, won the first two and brought fresh ideas and selections to a squad which needed to be re-energised to go again after the disappointment of that Euros final defeat to Spain.
The September camp hadn’t been perfect – England slumped into some bad old ways in the second half in Ireland and were suspiciously vulnerable on the break in the first half at home to Finland.
But Carsley had fended off some strong criticism for his refusal to sing the national anthem, delivered two wins and two clean sheets, found a way to get Harry Kane looking lively in an England shirt again and generated some positive intrigue with tweaks such as the inclusion of Angel Gomes and deploying Jack Grealish as a No10.
Carsley said his first two games “couldn’t have gone any better in terms of the way the players responded to some of the concepts that we tried to put in place, the way new players have gelled with the older ones. It’s been an all-round positive camp.”
He also said of his self-admitted discomfort in front of the media that “from a (news) conference point of view, it’s shown that I can do it”.
Reports since that camp that the FA have had no contact with Klopp, Potter, Howe or Tuchel about the role seemed to increase Carsley’s chances. He was even permitted to appoint Ashley Cole as a full-time assistant.
It all seemed to be going in the right direction for Carsley, who of course is on the same pathway from the U21s to the seniors as Gareth Southgate – and Spain’s Euros-winning boss Luis de la Fuente.
However, the loss to Greece demonstrated how quickly the narrative can change for an England manager.
His ultra-attacking team selection, with Jude Bellingham as a false nine and in-form forwards Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke on the bench, despite the absence of injured Harry Kane, raised eyebrows before the match. By the end of it the selection left observers questioning whether Carsley really has what it takes to deliver at international level.
His “we tried it for 20 minutes yesterday” comment afterwards was naïve and one that will stick in the memory.
Some of that damage was mended with the routine win in Finland, although Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fine free-kick covered up Carsley’s strange decision to select him at left-back for the first time in his career. The right-back looked uncomfortable on several occasions on that side of the pitch.
There was also the vulnerability to transitions which has been a theme of each Carsley game so far, while the late goal conceded from a free header at a corner was probably deserved, given the big chance England had given up to Finland earlier in that second half. It is worth noting, though, that Jack Grealish and Declan Rice were effusive with their praise for the stand-in coach.
So Carsley finishes the October international break in a weaker position than he started it in terms of public perception. But how much of a factor in the FA’s final decision on Southgate’s successor is yet to be seen. Expect more twists and turns in this story to come through the next round of Nations League games in November…
