Lee Carsley’s stint as interim boss of the senior men’s England team came to an end in positive fashion as the Three Lions hammered the Republic of Ireland 5-0 at Wembley. The result means that Carsley won five of his six games in charge. But, more importantly in the greater scheme of things, it means England have topped their Nations League group and have gained promotion back to League A in the Nations League.
This sets things up for incoming England boss, Thomas Tuchel, rather nicely; he will now avoid the potential banana skin of a Nations League play-off in March 2025. Let’s take a look back at Carsley’s impressive – if rather short – record as England boss.
Carsley’s Record as Interim England Manager
Ending his short reign with an impressive win percentage of 83.33%, Carsley can hold his head up high as he returns to the Under 21s, where he boasts an almost as impressive win percentage of 79.31%. Here are the six matches for which Carsley led the Three Lions:
England 5-0 Republic of Ireland – A fantastic win featuring five different scorers for the home side at Wembley: Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. It was the first time Gordon, Bowen, Gallagher and Harwood-Bellis had scored for their country, Harwood-Bellis on his debut.- Greece 0-3 England – This emphatic victory on the road was revenge for the home defeat Greece had inflicted on England earlier in the campaign. A million miles away from that poor performance, England looked assured and in control. Ollie Watkins and debutant Curtis Jones were on the scoresheet, along with Odysseas Vlachodimos with an own goal!
- Finland 1-3 England – Bouncing back from the home defeat to Greece, Carsley’s men looked far more coherent as Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice got the goals for the visitors.
- England 1-2 Greece – The clear low-point in Carsley’s short stint as England boss, an experimental ultra-attacking line-up backfired and the Greeks edged victory with an injury-time winner.
- England 2-0 Finland – England captain Harry Kane proved his worth for the umpteenth time in an England shirt as he scored both goals in this 2-0 victory. It was also Kane’s 100th cap, so it wasn’t a bad way to celebrate for the Three Lions’ highest scorer.
- Republic of Ireland 0-2 England – Lee Carsley’s first game in charge of the senior England team came against the side he represented as a player: Republic of Ireland. Interestingly, both England’s scorers in the 2-0 win, Jack Grealish and Declan Rice, have represented Ireland too – Rice even made three senior appearances before switching his allegiance to England.
Was Carsley’s Caretaker Role a Success?
When it comes to matters on the pitch, it has to be said that Carsley did a brilliant job as the interim England boss – the Greece game aside. He won five out of his six games, produced plenty of exciting, effective football, and gave opportunities for new players to test their mettle at senior level.
Away from the pitch, things weren’t quite so smooth for Carsley, however. After many years of Gareth Southgate’s assured press conferences and dealings with the media, at times Carsley looked like a rabbit in the headlights. This was especially apparent when asked questions about his future and whether he wanted the England job on a permanent basis. In hindsight, he was put in a difficult situation by the FA, who had already offered Tuchel a contract, and Carsley was clearly not permitted to talk about that.
Carsley will no doubt be happy that he’ll be returning to the Under-21 side – a position he excels at. He’ll also be relieved that he will be able to step out of the spotlight and let the new boss take the scrutiny that comes with one of the toughest, most talked-about jobs in football.
How Does Carsley Compare to Permanent England Managers?
Although it’s not really a fair comparison in many ways, given that Carsley never took England to a major tournament, Carsley’s record stands up very well against his predecessors.
Sam Allardyce
In fact, including caretakers and permanent England managers, there’s only one man with a better win percentage than Carsley… and that man is Sam Allardyce. Okay, Big Sam was sacked after just one game in charge, but he did win it. And he might have been one of the few England fans to have been reasonably happy that Carsley lost a game (and thus couldn’t share Allardyce’s 100% winning record!).
Fabio Capello
Next on the list, if we base it on win percentages alone, we have Fabio Capello who was in charge from 2008 to 2012 and won 66.7% of his games. He only made it to the Round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup, though, so he’s not as successful as some others.
Gareth Southgate
Notably Gareth Southgate, who took England to two Euros finals and had a very respectable win percentage of 62.7%. It’s fair to say Southgate brought hope and belief back to the England set-up and he was just a couple of penalties away from ending England’s wait for their second major trophy (after the 1966 World Cup).
Sir Alf Ramsey
Speaking of which, Sir Alf Ramsey – the only man to have actually won anything with England – is next on the list. His win percentage of 61.1% is exceptional given the opposition he faced during his reign. He also won the World Cup, of course, which counts for a lot more than any other stat you care to think of.
Where Next for England?
Thomas Tuchel begins his job as England boss on 1st January 2025. It’s fair to say that he joins at a very positive time for English football. He can thank both Southgate and Carsley for leaving a squad full of exceptional players. Whether Tuchel is the man to push the current crop to their full potential, and to that elusive trophy, remains to be seen. But England fans are hopeful that the addition of some German grit and organisation might be the missing ingredient the England team needs to go all the way at the World Cup in 2026.
