It’s a smart move to go for Lee Carsley as the new England manager over a celebrity boss like Jose Mourinho… the former U21 boss is a bright, innovative, personable man, writes OLIVER HOLT

The English Football Association has made a bold and smart decision by appointing Lee Carsley as interim manager of England, following the departure of Gareth Southgate.

So far they have managed to avoid the pitfall of hiring a failed manager like José Mourinho just because he is a celebrity and would keep the fans happy for the time being.

England has been down that road before and has gotten into trouble before.

Fabio Capello was a winner in club football, but his time as England manager was one of the most daunting in recent times.

This is the smart move. In many ways it is also the brave move, because the FA knew they would be criticised for a perceived lack of ambition.

The FA has made a bold and smart choice by appointing Lee Carsley as interim England manager

Fabio Capello was a winner in club football, but his time as England manager was one of the most daunting in recent times

There is no shortage of ambition in Carsley’s appointment.

He is a winner who led England Under-21s to victory at the 2023 European Championship, where they won the competition for the first time in 39 years.

They beat Spain in the final of that tournament with a team that included Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Gibbs-White. There aren’t many coaches who beat Spanish teams in the final of anything.

Carsley is a highly regarded coach, whose teams play smart, technical and confident football and who trusts his players to express themselves well on the ball.

Many players from the current England senior team have worked with Carsley in the Under 21s and are very positive about him.

And those who claim that England need a big name manager to command the respect of their big players, say they are talking nonsense.

The reality is that England are following the model used by the most successful countries in world football.

Lionel Scaloni had no experience as a club manager when he moved from Argentina’s youth academy to lead Lionel Messi, Alexis MacAllister and the rest to glory at the 2022 World Cup.

England U21 defeated Spain in the Euro 2023 final with a team featuring Cole Palmer

No one has tried to suggest that Rodri or Nico Williams thought less of Luis de la Fuente because he had not coached Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Lionel Scaloni had no reputation as a club manager when he moved from Argentina’s youth academy to Lionel Messi

And when Luis de la Fuente, who had spent the past 10 years as coach of the Spanish national team, led his country to victory over England at the European Championship last month, no one wanted to suggest that Rodri or Nico Williams thought less of him because he had not managed Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Carsley is an intelligent, innovative and friendly man who has worked with this talented group of English players before and knows how to weave them into a winning formula.

It would have been strange, frankly, if the FA had chosen anyone else.