Lee Carsley – Football Flame

Interim boss Lee Carsley has revealed he did not formally apply to become permanent England manager. The English Football Association turned to the 50-year-old former Ireland international for autumn’s Nations League fixtures after Gareth Southgate called time on his reign following July’s Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain. Carsley has frequently sidestepped questions about whether he wants to become England boss on a full-time basis, including saying he will “hopefully” be returning to his role with the under-21s. The former midfielder swerved follow-up questions about whether he wants the senior job after Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Greece and was probed further before Sunday’s clash in Finland. Asked if he had applied for the job, Carsley told talkSPORT: “No, I didn’t formally apply for it.”...

After all the focus on the soundtrack, Lee Carsley’s first game as England manager was certainly loaded with narrative. The inevitable line is that you couldn’t script this but, well, it’s really the first thing you’d script. Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scored the goals in a 2-0 England win over Ireland, the national team they both left, to also overcome a constant chorus of boos. If anything, such a response seemed to counter-productively drive them on, in the way that often happens. At least for a time. This win really just evolved into the sort of win over a smaller country that England have long learned to expect under Gareth Southgate, albeit with one important twist. The attacking under Carsley was different throughout and, for a brief period, quite exciting. There was a sens...

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‘I did not apply for England manager’s job’ says Lee Carsley

Declan Rice and Jack Grealish give Lee Carsley winning start to England reign