Lee Carsley has shocked England fans with his press conference comments following England’s unexpected 2-1 defeat to Greece, with the former midfielder saying that he will ‘hopefully’ be going back to coach the Under-21s when quizzed about his future. Long-serving boss Gareth Southgate called time on his tenure as England manager earlier this year, stepping down after the Three Lions lost to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Rather than hire a successor immediately, the FA decided to give Carsley the reins temporarily, allowing them to conduct their search for new manager over a lengthy period of time. If the former Everton man did a solid job in the gig, though, there was every bit of chance that he would be offered the job on a permanent basis.
After winning his first two games as interim head coach, it looked like Carsley had a good job of landing the role on a full-time basis. However, after the Three Lions lost to Greece on Thursday night, followed by his eyebrow-raising comments during the post-match press conference, it’s hard to imagine that will now be the case.
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Carsley Says he Wants Under-21s Return
He was asked about his future after losing to Greece
After a solid start to life as the temporary England manager, Carsley was the hot favourite to become the next Three Lions boss, but he was brought back down to earth with a bump on Thursday night as his side were deservedly beaten by Greece at Wembley Stadium. After Jude Bellingham’s 88th minute goal cancelled out Vangelis Pavlidis’ opener. it looked like England had rescued a point – but the Greek striker scored a 94th minute winner to make history for his nation.
It was a result that nobody saw coming beforehand and, afterwards, Carsley was tasked with speaking to the press. When asked about his future, he revealed that he’d ‘hopefully’ be returning to manage the Under-21 team. He said:
“My remit has been clear from the start. I’m doing three camps. There’s three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the (Under) 21s. So it’s [the result] almost had no impact.”
Pressed on his comments and the fact he hinted at wanting to go back to the Under-21s, the 50-year-old refused to rule himself in or out for the permanent senior team job. He did emphasise that the job would be one of the best in the world, but the damage was done and fans aren’t impressed. Watch the clip below:
England Fans Are Baffled
Carsley’s comments about his future were quite shocking and it’s no surprise that they’ve left England fans. Many of the Three Lions’ faithful have since jumped on social media to cast their verdict. One fan thought it showed a lack of ambition from the coach, saying on X (Twitter): “So baffled as to why he’s said this. Got to show more ambition than that.” Another thinks the incident effectively rules him out of getting the permanent job, posting: “That is an absolute PR disaster, they can’t even think to give him the gig now, very silly comment.”
His comments have some fans convinced that his heart isn’t into being England manager and one X user commented: “Not really what you want to be hearing as an England fan. Given the interim manager, surely you’d want to make a good impression? Saying hopefully he’ll be going back to the U21s doesn’t fill me with confidence that his heart’s with the role of the main team.”
With Carsley’s comments calling question about his future, one supporter revealed they had no idea what the Three Lions could do next and said: “Eeeck. This is unbelievable to listen to. Genuinely don’t know where England go from here now. He had an open net at it and seemingly fluffed his lines.” Saying he would hopefully go back to the Under-21s had another user saying: “This is an insane thing to say.”
Finally, another fan believes that Carsley’s comments were a sign that he’d already cracked under the pressure of being England boss, despite holding the role for such a short period, posting: “He’s cracked under the pressure after three games.”
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