Lee Carsley gives an update on his future as interim manager after putting the blame on himself for England suffering humiliation to Greece.
It was a night to forget for the Three Lions, Vangelis Pavlidis’ second-half double gave FIFA’s 48th-ranked side a 2-1 Nations League win over England at Wembley.
Jude Bellingham appeared to rescue a point with 87th-minute equaliser before the 94th minute winner, which leaves disk=jointed England three points off top spot in their group.
It could have been worse for England too, with Greece having three goals disallowed…
11th minute: Mavropanos headed the ball into the back of the net after the England goalkeeper failed to punch it clear – only to be ruled out for offside!”
60th minute: Pavlidis went forward, squared the ball to Masouras, who struck his effort into the back of the net. Celebrations halted by the offside flag…
85th minute: Giannoulis got himself onto a loose pass, sent the ball to Tzolis, who squared it to his striker Pavlidis. VAR checked the pass to Tzolis in the build-up. Goal ruled out.
England player ratings (per Sky Sports)
England: Pickford (4), Alexander-Arnold (6), Stones (5), Colwill (7), Lewis (6), Rice (5), Palmer (5), Saka (5), Gordon (5), Bellingham (7), Foden (5).
Subs: Madueke (6), Watkins (6), Solanke (5).
Player of the match: Jude Bellingham.
England interim manager Lee Carsley said to ITV Sport: “We were second best for a lot of tonight. It’s disappointing. We are going to get setbacks and it’s important we respond versus Finland.
“We tried something different and play differently. We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday and it’s disappointing it didn’t come off.
“It’s a case of trying again. With the quality we have, all the goals were from mistakes. Even at 1-1 we were quite fortunate at that point.
“It’s an option [the system]. When you have someone of Kane’s quality, it rules it out. We tried something and in the future we need that courage to try. We tried something different.”
The result was a huge dent in his hopes of permanent taking over from Gareth Southgate, having put himself in the running by starting his temporary reign with two wins.
“I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of the job’s mine and it’s mine to lose and all the rest of it,” he said.
“My remit has been clear. I’m doing three camps, there’s three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the 21s. It’s had almost no impact.”
When asked to clarify his comments on three more occasions, he continued: “I said at the start I wouldn’t rule myself in or out. That’s still the case. I’m more than comfortable in my position, where I am. The remit was clear. I’m comfortable and confident with that. After the first camp I didn’t get too excited or believe too much. I’m very aware that this job is one of the best jobs in the world.
“Nothing’s changed. My remit was to do the three camps and then to hand over. Nothing’s changed in what I said in the first press conference. It’s a fantastic job. I’m lucky I’ve got a good job as it is in the 21s. But after the first camp when we won two games and had two good performances nothing changed. It’s important that I give it everything I’ve got for the next three games. I’m really happy and comfortable with the communication I have with my bosses. Nothing’s changed in that respect.
“Hopefully I’ll be going back to the U21’s”
Lee Carsley gives an update on his future 💭 pic.twitter.com/XhOjx20VQY
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 10, 2024
Commenting again on the game: “I didn’t think we started the game great. I thought we were second best. We tried something different with the formation. We never gave ourselves a chance to see if it was the right decision or wrong.
“I think with the players we’ve got we’ve got to be courageous at times with our systems and be creative. I could have easily gone with a nine – we had two on the bench. I’m happy to take the blame. It was totally my idea. It didn’t come off tonight. It was a case of being a little bit creative.
“We tried something different, we tried to overload the midfield, play a little bit differently. It’s something we tried for 20 minutes yesterday, it’s something we experimented with and it was disappointing that it didn’t come off. But I think it was probably unrealistic to expect too much and I think it’s a case of trying again.”
🗣️ “We tried to overload the midfield… It was something that we tried for 20 minutes yesterday, it’s something we experimented with.”
Lee Carsley on England’s new system#ITVFootball | #NationsLeague | 🎙️ @gabrielclarke05 pic.twitter.com/7C39UZ3dWc
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 10, 2024
FAVOURITES TO BECOME NEW ENGLAND MANAGER
Thomas Tuchel – 6/4
Lee Carsley – 7/4
Pep Guardiola – 4/1
Graham Potter – 8/1
Eddie Howe – 8/1
Frank Lampard – 16/1
This is how fans reacted as Lee Carsley gives an update on his future after putting the blame on himself for England suffering humiliation to Greece…
@agbnufc_: Poor guy sacked himself.
@ToonMouthTyne: He’s cracked under the pressure after 3 games.
@HedgeyHedgehog: Should have just said you don’t know. Instead you effectively say you can’t wait to get back to U21s and then backtrack and say you won’t rule yourself in or out all in the space of 20 seconds.
@KentWomble: Carsley has a very impressive record with the U21s but the ‘top job’ is uniquely demanding and if he didn’t know that before, he does now. I only saw the second half last night, but his team looked like they’d been set up by a PE teacher who’d read too many coaching manuals…
@Danny_EFC6: Carsley with that sentence alone making the minds up for the FA that it won’t be him Nothing against him but if you’re going to manage a country, with this high expectations & a crop with as much pressure to finally win something as this group has To say that writes himself out
@jakeybedders: If you don’t want the job, or can’t handle it, just say, resign. Stupid comment. Off ya go. 👋
@Tommo_27: At least he’s honest about the situation. FA will have to actually do some work on finding the next manager now.
@jordanpomeroy00: One of the most awkward interviews I’ve seen in ages, blimey
@LeeAHinton95: Lee Carsley was never ever the right man for the job. Get this audition over and let’s get a proper manager in charge.
@seancrowe2001: Basically said “this isn’t for me tbh” 😭
@Jampa9: You’ve bottled it, back to the U21s you go
@jordanpindybum: This bloke is a prick 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@MightyMillers20: Greece fully deserved that, Get a proper gaffer in and stop fucking about Carsley Is way out of his depth
@geordiejosh: Palmer, Bellingham, Foden, Saka, Trent, Rice all played today but we couldn’t beat Greece. When is someone gonna realise we have one of the most gifted group of players we’ve ever had and give the job to a serious manager?
@NickBurns1983: Lacking a good manager / coach and this has been the downfall for many years. England have the players but don’t have the manager. Instead of promoting the cleaners and back room staff to the top job it’s about time they brought in a top class coach.
@ccprager: There is absolutely no way Lee Carsley just said, on live television, that he based his entire gameplan on something he tried for 20 minutes yesterday. This cant be real life?!?
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