The ‘best team’ Anthony Gordon’s played in, a new role for Cole Palmer and complex tactics: What it’s REALLY like working for the cap-wearing Irishman who could be England’s next manager

The office of the manager of Coventry City’s stadium is just down the road from the dressing rooms. Eleven years ago, Lee Carsley stood there alone, listening to the players he was temporarily responsible for.

Half-time against Swindon. Coventry led by a goal, hugely against the run of play. They were overwhelmed and Carsley could not work out how their opponents were positioned. He could hear players shouting at each other and did not know what to do.

‘I knew it myself, at that moment I was miles off,’ he told Mail Sport last year. ‘I think, “My God, I can’t fix it”. You go in… “You’ve got to tighten up, work harder, play with more passion”.

‘It would have only taken one of them saying, “Well, what are they doing?” and I would have been screwed. I couldn’t have gone to the tactics board and shown them. I was aware that if I wasn’t careful I would be pushed beyond my capabilities and the game would spit me out.’

Coventry eventually lost 2-1 and that story is why Carsley is in this situation at this particular moment. Eleven years later he is a genuine and deserving candidate to succeed Gareth Southgate as leader of his country, against the likes of Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino.

Carsley is a former interim manager of Coventry City and won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship with England

Carsley is a genuine and deserving candidate to take on the likes of Newcastle manager Eddie Howe

He has shown that it wouldn’t be too difficult to bluff his way into the Championship or even the Premier League, but he realises that neither of those jobs will last forever.

Swindon made him think about how best to coach and that meant learning the craft properly, moulding players at Brentford, Manchester City, Birmingham City and then England in various guises. He has taken bits of everything with him and describes watching Pep Guardiola’s sessions as the equivalent of going behind the curtain at the end of the Wizard of Oz. He saw that there were no special tricks, just simple, to-the-point instructions.

And now he is one of the UK’s leading managers, having organised the first European Under-21 Championships since 1984.

John McDermott, the FA’s technical director, is known to be a great admirer of Carsley and has seen him remain loyal to him despite numerous offers from other clubs.

Winning is one thing, but the manner in which it was done over the course of three weeks in Georgia was another. This looked like a Carsley team, a style that England want to identify with and which justifies the millions spent on St George’s Park. Ideally, it is a place to nurture talent on the pitch and in the dugout. It seems that has been achieved in recent seasons.

The game plan was front foot, brave on the ball, stoic at the back – not conceding a single goal throughout the tournament, though helped by James Trafford’s last-minute penalty save in the final against Spain. The diminutive Angel Gomes started as a sitting midfielder; Anthony Gordon a false nine. At one point Cole Palmer operated in deep central midfield, though he disagrees on how deep.

There was an identity, fault lines through the midfield, a rotation in positioning. Tactically complex, proof that even with limited coaching time, English players can adapt to the brand of football played at the very highest level. If Carsley can do it with teenagers, he can do it with seasoned professionals. At the moment, most of the above concepts seem foreign to the Three Lions.

“This is probably the best football team I’ve played in, in terms of play and the combination of play around the box,” said Gordon, the tournament’s top scorer. “It’s really elite. For me, that’s down to Lee.”

Anthony Gordon (right) was full of praise for Carsley, previously describing the line-up as ‘the best football team I’ve ever played in’

Levi Colwill is another player who has encouraged Carsley to make the step up to the first team in recent years

Southgate stepped down as England manager after the Three Lions’ defeat to Spain at Euro 2024

Levi Colwill, who also received senior recognition, spoke about how he saw himself as a striker when in possession and the freedom he offered them. And every answer from them, at whatever point, was the same: it was because of Carsley, the man who spent every session in a trusty cap to protect him from the sun.

Few people actually saw these feats – beating Germany, knocking out Portugal, topping Spain – after no broadcaster had picked up the Euro rights. So the name of Lee Carsley, in his day a functional central midfielder and Republic of Ireland international, is unlikely to resonate with an audience that has failed to shake off suspicions of Southgate’s lack of elite experience.

He is also an FA man after seven years with them. So is Didier Deschamps, who has done well in France. Lionel Scaloni tried his hand at Argentina under-20 before winning the World Cup and Copa America.

Carsley’s journey is not dissimilar to that of Spain’s triumphant Luis de la Fuente. There is no universal definition of a successful coach in international football, but there is something to be said for someone who has already established a positive relationship with the emerging talents.