Sport
Lee Carsley preparing ‘dossier’ handover ahead of Thomas Tuchel takeover
Outgoing England interim boss Lee Carsley will prepare a “file” transfer for new manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of his January 1 appointment.
Carsley guided England back to the top tier of the Nations League on his first call after his six-match spell ended with a 5-0 win over Ireland to push Greece into second place in their group.
Eight players have made their Three Lions debuts since he temporarily took over from Gareth Southgate in July, while 37 different players have been called up during his time as manager.
The 50-year-old will return to his permanent job as U21 manager at the end of this year, but will first prepare a major handover for his permanent successor – who he wants to meet in advance to fill in his new job.
“I'm trying to set up a debriefing on the three camps with the other staff,” he said.
“I will put together a document and meet him and set out what we have found. Our job as the U21 staff is to support the senior manager, find out what he needs and how we can help.”
“I feel very comfortable in that role and I look forward to meeting him in the coming weeks.”
'Relieved' Carsley: The most important thing was getting promoted
Carsley admitted his main emotion at the end of his tenure was the “relief” after the Three Lions were promoted from Nations League Group B2.
“I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, attacking,” he told ITV. “I see them day in day out on the training pitch and now people have seen it.
“It has given the staff and myself confidence that we can do the job. You always doubt yourself whether you could do it or not.
“There are a lot of English managers in-house who pick the team and to have the responsibility to do that. Having the confidence of my bosses has been a huge confidence booster.”
Speaking about the match, Carsley said: “I think it was a good performance.
“The way we started the game we played with real intentions and it was frustrating to end 0-0 at half time but I believed we would score goals if we just kept doing what we talked about and it was great that we did.” finally got our reward.
“It was a great night for a lot of players. The most important thing was to get promoted, which is what we set out to do, so it was nice in that respect.”
Keane: Young players need to keep their feet on the ground, there are pitfalls ahead
Roy Keane on ITV Sport:
“If you listen to anything from him [Thomas Tuchel] media stuff, I think that suits him. I think he likes the idea of maybe going for a few years and that's his goal: knockout football.
“I think it suits his personality. England have some brilliant, talented players. His job is to try and put it all together. But the next World Cup will be different because of the conditions and the heat.”
“For many of these brilliant young players, they have to keep their feet on the ground. For some of them there are pitfalls ahead, but if they have good people around them, keep their feet on the ground, stay tough work, then they will have a good future.” impact on the World Cup.”
Analysis: Carsley is positioning himself as the post-Tuchel candidate
Sky Sports' Ron Walker at Wembley Stadium:
“Lee Carsley often looks uncomfortable in the spotlight. He didn't want it as a player, nor as a manager.
“It made it all the more remarkable when he puffed out his chest after leading England back to the top tier of the Nations League.
“He had no problem openly expressing his belief that he has shown he can do the job full-time. After some clumsy early missteps and inconsistent answers about whether he would want the job, Carsley has smartly convinced himself positioned as a potential Thomas Tuchel successor, given the new boss's short contract.
“He quickly learned from those self-made problems and also from other problems on the pitch, after the debacle of the match against Greece last month, which he admits still hurts.
“There were more experimental setups for the November camp – and the best result, plus the biggest win, of his short tenure followed.
“Whether he was ever really in the mix to succeed Gareth Southgate, only he and the FA board know.
“But on the whole he has done himself little harm with a group of players who are clearly keen to work for him. While some caution is needed with the huge helping hand the Republic of Ireland gave England to return to League A, it it is clear that the FA have liked what they have seen.
“Mark Bullingham's glowing comments about his tenure, and the 'important role' he will continue to play in the England team, indicate that the potential to review his position after the World Cup is something both sides are already considering.”
'Carsley has increased the English player pool'
Former England international Jay Bothroyd has praised Lee Carsley for the impact he has had as interim manager, highlighting the number of youth players he has included in his squads during the Nations League campaign.
Hallgrimsson 'lost for words' on Ireland's 'shameful' collapse
For 51 minutes, everything went to plan for Heimer Hallgrimsson and the Republic of Ireland, whose side have only taken points from Finland since he became manager in July.
They frustrated England, who had yet to have a shot on target and seemed bereft of ideas on how to play through their compact, disciplined low block.
But disaster struck after Liam Scales' red card and the penalty he gave away in the same move; Ireland were down a man, but their heads dropped too as they capitulated, scoring three goals in five minutes, and another two before full-time play.
“I'm at a loss for words. Six minutes of madness,” he told reporters. “It was a shock, getting a penalty, conceding a goal, losing a player. We lost our heads at that moment, which led to the second and third goals.
“It's easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize. After the first half it's a match we wanted. We defended compactly, they didn't find a way to play through us.”
“Giving in so early in the second half, losing one player and conceding two more, it's easy to criticize. It's normal, but excuses when you lose 5-0 are pathetic. It's embarrassing.”
Hallgrimsson also had reason to complain about a penalty that he felt should have been given before half-time, with the score 0–0, when Marc Guehi appeared to pull Evan Ferguson back into the English penalty area.
“I thought it was a penalty. I don't remember what the referee said why he didn't give it, but it would have changed the momentum in the match. I don't want to make excuses,” he added.
“The first half was good, let's take that as a positive, continue to build this team. We have to play against teams like England, who have better players than us. The first half gave us an idea of how to play against teams like them. ” “