Reporter’s notebook: Lee Carsley’s diplomacy over anthem issue improves England job prospects in the long term | Football News

The unfortunate criticism of Lee Carsley’s refusal to sing the British national anthem may, ironically, have boosted his chances of becoming England manager in the long term.

Two national newspapers called for his resignation, saying that if he did not sign it, he would not be entitled to the highest managerial position in English football.

But the FA bosses tasked with deciding who will succeed Gareth Southgate can only have been impressed by the humility and pragmatism Carsley showed in the face of that manufactured media frenzy, even before he had played his first game in Dublin.

I get the impression that FA technical director John McDermott and his boss – FA chief executive Mark Bullingham – want to give Carsley the job.

McDermott and Carsley have worked closely together since the former was appointed by the umbrella organisation in 2020 (initially as an assistant). McDermott is known to appreciate Carsley’s style of football: an approach that promotes technical excellence and is attacking, fast and possession-oriented.

I understand that Carsley’s audition for the top job will be analysed as much on how he conducts himself off the field as on how his team performs on it.

The waters the Good Ship England sails on are constantly choppy, and Captain Carsley has so far steered a steady course.

Let’s face it, Nations League Group B games against Ireland, Finland and Greece are easy wins for any English manager with the current wealth of talent at their disposal. But the person in charge will also have to follow in the footsteps of one of the most impressive and eloquent ambassadors the FA has ever had in Southgate.

Carsley is not expected to be as skilled a politician as his predecessor. Few can be. Indeed, the FA have told him that he must be himself in all aspects of his job. But it is par for the course that the England men’s manager will be asked all sorts of sensitive and controversial subjects – often without any substantial preparation for the challenging questions that will come his way.

Conversely, Carsley was prepared for the tough questions about his heritage, having played 40 times for the Republic of Ireland. The fact that his first game as England men’s manager was in Dublin meant that such questions were inevitable, but he, like all FA managers, would have been surprised by the personal and vitriolic nature of the attack.

Carsley responded honestly and bluntly. He said he wasn’t angry about it and it didn’t affect him. He said he had never sung the Irish “The Soldier’s Song” when he was a player, and that now, as England manager, he wouldn’t sing the British national anthem.

Clearly his explanation did not sit well with some when he said he is always too focused on the game to sing. Perhaps he should have responded directly to the criticism and said that as an Irishman, born in Birmingham, he has family ties to both nations and therefore does not feel comfortable singing either anthem.

But the FA are fully behind him in their support for Carsley’s right to choose and the controversy will certainly not detract from the decision to appoint him, or any alternative manager. Indeed, the fact that Carsley remained steadfast and unflappable in the face of criticism can only have enhanced his employability.

“I’m really lucky with the people who are in charge and are my bosses,” Carsley told the papers. “They know what my strengths are and they won’t ask me to be something I’m not. My strength is coaching, being on the pitch. This (talking) is not my strength, what I’m doing now.

“It’s something that comes with the job, as I saw yesterday (with the anthem controversy). I have my own way of doing it.”

When will the FA make a decision about Carsley and whether he is the right man to step down?

Southgate played four games as interim manager (two wins and two draws) before being handed the big contract, which could be a major clue for Carsley.

McDermott and Bullingham are in no hurry and are fortunate to have someone in temporary charge who (in their own words) is “a safe pair of hands.”

McDermott is constantly updating his shortlist and scouring the football world for candidates. But you have to say that Carsley, as the man currently in possession of the ball, is in pole position. The England manager’s job is probably his to lose.