England should definitely give Lee Carsley the job full-time after this. Not that it’s any of our business, obviously. We have our own garden to tend and the front porch might be in even worse need of a scrub than we thought. But for what it’s worth, Carsley looks a perfect fit.
Not so much because the of the result, which could feasibly have been overseen by ruminative scarecrow with a working Opta account, such was the gulf in class between the sides. But more because of how he dealt with the nonsense around the fixture, most especially finding himself on the front of the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph for the apparently heinous crime of saying he wouldn’t be singing the national anthem.
There can’t be many managerial jobs in world sport where notionally serious voices are calling for your head on the morning of your first game in charge. But that’s where Carsley found himself, a pariah before a ball had even been kicked. A disgrace, someone who should be relieved of his duties by the FA before it was too late. Jesus wept.
Anyway, after he presided over a straightforward 2-0 win over the country he used to play for, Carsley came into the press conference and faced the music. And when the anthem stuff came up, he dealt with it beautifully. He was calm, he was measured, he was reasonable. He afforded the whole farrago far more respect than it deserved. And in the process, he took all the drama out of it.
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“No, it’s definitely not affected my day or my preparations,” Carsley said. “I found out about it this morning. I fully respect people’s opinions. [Singing the anthem] something that I’ve never done, but I fully respect both national anthems.
“Today would be probably one of the proudest days of my career – to lead an England team out in Dublin. You definitely couldn’t have written it. But I don’t feel hard done by or aggrieved. I respect everyone’s opinion. I’ve played in teams out there where players are belting the anthem out next to me. But also I’ve played in teams where players don’t sing or coaches – I don’t think it makes me or anyone that does any less committed
“I was looking forward so much to today. And it’s the proudest day of my football career. You couldn’t have written, really. I saw draw a little while back and I thought to myself, ‘That’s going to be a really good game.’ And then you fast forward to two weeks ago when it sinks in that I’m going to take over the team and the first game’s in Dublin! I knew it was going to be a good experience but a bit of a test also.”
And that was that. No hard feelings, no bone to pick. The biggest day of his football life was picked at by busybody English media and still Carsley was able to rise above it and turn the other cheek. He was asked did the whole thing turn him off the job at all. He shrugged and said it was more or less part of the gig.
“I fully respect people’s opinions. You know, I would never judge anyone for, singing or not. I had a great experience when I played for the Republic of Ireland, and I’m having a really good experience now in terms of the responsibility that I’ve got of being head coach for the senior team.
“So I think you’ve probably got to accept that with that does come a bit of judgment. Like I said, I think it’s something that I don’t feel hardly done by. I respect everyone’s opinion.”
So much so that he even respects the fact that the home crowd spent a fair portion of their night booing two of his players. Jack Grealish and Declan Rice got oceans of it in the first half but dealt with it all like the seasoned professionals they are. Carsley was impressed – not just with them but with the fact that the crowd did their barracking in the right way (whatever that means).
“Yeah, I’m pleased with it,” he said. “But not surprised. I think they’re both playing football long enough now to understand that and to respect that it was going to be a little bit hostile at times.
“But in the right way. I thought the fans were really respectful with it. I thought that they both handled the atmosphere, as did the whole team we tried to speak about. It’s going to be high tempo for everyone, not just Declan and Jack. Obviously, it’s great for them too, that they’ve scored the goals, but more importantly that the team’s won and they’ve kept a clean sheet.”
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