Official announcement from The FA – New England manager appointed as ‘interim’ boss

The FA have announced who the new England manager is.

Friday’s official unveiling sees, to nobody’s surprise, Lee Carsley getting promoted from the England Under 21s to the main job.

The FA claim this is an ‘interim appointment but I think surely we all know that unless he messes things up in terms of results, this will become a permanent appointment.

The FA taking the cowardly route of giving Lee Carsley a number of matches to prove himself, rather than giving him the permanent job now, or appointing somebody else.

Carsley’s probationary ‘interim’ period was rumoured to be only two matches, the Nations League games against Republic of Ireland and Finland in September.

However, it appears that he will have the full schedule of Nations League group matches as his probationary period will be ‘initially for September’s fixtures away to Republic of Ireland and at home to Finland, but with a view to remaining in the position throughout autumn while the FA’s recruitment process for a new permanent head coach continues.’

Gareth Southgate got England relegated from the top level of the Nations League set-up and so a gift really for Lee Carsley in the second tier of the competition.

England will play Greece, Finland and Republic of Ireland, home and away, ending on 17 November 2024 with the final group game at home to Republic of Ireland.

An easy set of fixtures with Lee Carsley set to be changed from ‘interim’ to ‘permanent’ once that sixth of six Nations League matches is out of the way.

The FA make England manager announcement – 9 August 2024:

‘Lee Carsley has been appointed interim head coach of England senior men ahead of the start of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign.

Carsley will step up from his role in charge of the MU21s, initially for September’s fixtures away to Republic of Ireland and at home to Finland, but with a view to remaining in the position throughout autumn while the FA’s recruitment process for a new permanent head coach continues.

The 50 year old has been MU21 head coach since July 2021 and last year led the Young Lions to a first UEFA U21 European Championship since 1984. Prior to that, Carsley held various coaching roles across England’s development teams and was briefly in charge of the MU20s.

The respected coach was involved at the last three major tournaments by supporting the wider technical team at UEFA EURO 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany.

Carsley also has extensive experience at club level having worked closely with the first teams at Coventry City, Sheffield United, Brentford, Manchester City and Birmingham City.

As a player, the Birmingham-born midfielder made 340 top flight appearances and won 40 caps for Republic of Ireland including playing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Carsley said: “It’s an honour to step up and lead this England squad on an interim basis. As I am very familiar with the players and the cycle of international football, it makes sense for me to guide the team while the FA continues the process to recruit a new manager. My main priority is to ensure continuity and our goal is to secure promotion in the UEFA Nations League.”

Mark Bullingham, FA CEO, said: “Lee is a fantastic coach who is well known to the majority of our current senior squad having worked with most at international or club level. He offers us a very strong interim solution and we are confident he will perform well in the UEFA Nations League games ahead. We are grateful to Lee for stepping up to manage the team while we continue with our recruitment process.”

In Carsley’s absence, Ben Futcher will take charge of the MU21s for September’s forthcoming 2025 U21 EURO qualifiers, with respective backroom teams for both squads to be confirmed in due course.

England are in UEFA Nations League B Group 2 alongside Finland, Greece and Republic of Ireland.’