Who is Lee Carsley?

On August 9, 2024, Lee Carsley was appointed interim head coach of the England men’s senior national football team following the departure of Gareth Southgate. Although not guaranteed the position on a permanent basis – the Football Association (FA) is apparently considering the likes of Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard – Carsley has made a perfect start to his tenure at the helm of the Three Lions, albeit against modest opposition. A 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on September 7 was followed by a similar result against Finland at Wembley Stadium three days later and the caretaker manager has four more UEFA Nations League fixtures in which to impress the powers that be.

A defensive midfielder as a player, Carsley, 50, was encouraged to take his coaching badges during his time at Everton by then-manager David Moyes. He had his first taste of senior football management during two caretaker spells with Coventry City in 2012/13 before, briefly, becoming assistant manager to former Everton teammate David Weir at Sheffied United in 2013/14. Spells on the senior coaching team at Brentford, as manager, caretaker manager and assistant manager, followed, in the latter case in combination with a role as assistant manager to England under-19s, alongside Aidy Boothroyd. Fast forward to 2018/19 and Carsley was reunited with Boothroyd as assistant manager to England under-21s. He succeeded Boothroyd as manager in 2021/22 and held the post for three years until his most recent, possibly temporary, promotion.