Hi everyone, welcome back to my blog where I share my thoughts on everything related to football. Today I want to talk about Lee Carsley, the former Everton and Derby County midfielder who is now the head coach of England U21. I think he is a great choice for the job and I will explain why in this article.
Lee Carsley had a long and successful playing career that spanned 17 years and 472 appearances in the Premier League and Football League. He started his career at Derby County, where he helped them win promotion to the top-flight in 1996. He then moved to Blackburn Rovers in 1999, where he scored 11 goals in his first season in the second-tier. He joined Coventry City in 2001 and then Everton in 2003, where he spent six years and became a fan favourite for his hard-working and reliable performances in midfield. He also played for Birmingham City and Coventry City again before retiring in 2011.
Carsley also represented the Republic of Ireland at international level, earning 40 caps between 1997 and 2008. He was part of the squad that reached the last 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he played in all four games. He was also named Ireland’s Player of the Year in 2008.
After hanging up his boots, Carsley entered coaching with Coventry City, where he served as caretaker manager twice. He then held youth roles with Coventry City, Brentford, Manchester City and Birmingham City and also served as interim manager of Brentford and Birmingham City. He joined the England youth setup as a specialist coach in 2015, before being appointed head coach of England U20 in 2020 and then being promoted to England U21 in 2021.
Carsley has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the game, both as a player and a coach. He has worked with some of the best young talents in the country and has shown his ability to develop them and get results. He has also played under some of the best managers in the game, such as Jim Smith, Brian Kidd, Gary McAllister, David Moyes and Giovanni Trapattoni. He knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level and how to instil a winning mentality in his players.
Carsley also has a clear vision and philosophy for how he wants his team to play. He prefers a 4-3-3 formation with an attacking style that is based on possession, movement and creativity. He likes his players to be confident, expressive and adaptable on the pitch. He also values teamwork, discipline and professionalism off the pitch.
Carsley has a lot of strengths as a coach, but he also has some weaknesses that he needs to work on. One of them is his lack of experience at managing a senior team for a long period of time. He has only been in charge of Brentford and Birmingham City for a few months each and has never had a full season as a manager. He will face more pressure and expectations as the England U21 boss and will have to deal with more media scrutiny and criticism.
Another weakness is his lack of trophies as a coach. He has not won any silverware as a manager or as an assistant manager so far. He will have to prove himself by leading England U21 to success at major tournaments such as the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and the Olympic Games. He will also have to compete with other strong teams such as France, Spain, Germany and Italy.
Overall, I think Lee Carsley is a good appointment for England U21 and I am looking forward to seeing how he does in his new role. I think he has a lot of potential and can take this team to the next level. I hope he can bring some glory to England football and make us proud.
That’s all for today’s blog post. Thank you for reading and please leave your comments below. What do you think of Lee Carsley as England U21 head coach? Do you agree or disagree with me? Let me know your thoughts.