S Poddar
Lee Carsley said he had to reassess tactics after England succumbed to a disastrous 2-1 defeat by Greece at Wembley. “It might be early days for me,” said Carsley. “But this period will give me some time to reassess the way we play, and I don’t think there is a better game for that than at the weekend against Finland. I’ve done a bit of thinking already, but I’ve only had two weeks of this job, so a bit more experience is needed.” Carsley met with members of the FA board who are committed to holding their internal review before the recruitment process begins.
The bold call from Carsley was an attacking 4-2-4 formation with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, and Cole Palmer in midfield, but this is the one that ultimately backfired terribly. The team looked disjointed; it really lacked solidity defensively when Greece started to look for their opportunity on the break.
The interim manager admitted his tactical gamble would have been less risky had the team captain Harry Kane been fit for this game. Kane was missing due to a minor groin injury but is expected to return for the Finland clash.
In the nature of this decision now made under heavy introspection, Carsley said: “I probably won’t try that again on Sunday. I’ve coached enough to know we need to do something different. Had Harry been fit, I might have gone down another route.”
The plan was prepared at short notice as Kane had had his injury while playing for Bayern Munich just before days of the match. Still, Carsley was pretty confident about the approach’s potential and reflected the determined commitment to attacking football.
“We tried something, it didn’t come off. It could have gone the other way and we’re talking about, ‘We’ve found another way of playing.’ I’m really wary about ruling something out so quickly when we’ve literally done it for an hour [in training], ” Carsley explained. “If any fingers get pointed, they’re at me.”
Since that defeat against Greece, hopes of Carsley for the full-time job as England manager must certainly have been dimmed a bit. However, it has said that one match would not decide the fortunes, irrespective of what may happen in that game, said Football Association.
A closed review process seems to be ongoing with any decision regarding Carsley’s future probably only after the end of his caretaker period. More opportunities for Carsley to make his case are more than likely to come in before the Finland, Greece, and Republic of Ireland games.
While he continues to dodge the permanent question, going on record that his aim was short-term and only about the Nations League campaign at hand, Carsley has earned himself a respected place in the hierarchy of the FA. His strong belief in the team coupled with the commitment to attacking football has garnered a lot of support for him.
With Finland, in a way, the starting XI for the match to be up against them is likely to undergo changes under Carsley as he will look to introduce defenders Kyle Walker and Marc Guéhi, among others. Much of the team’s hopes to bounce back from that cruel defeat against Greece rest on his shoulders as he will have to come up with a winning formula.
