Gordon, Grealish expose vindictive Southgate’s errors as England, Carsley clamour gathers momentum

Interim England boss Lee Carsley has let off the leash as mistakes made by Gareth Southgate are exposed and his permanent appointment is now a formality…

“I think that expression, that freedom to express yourself. You could say we controlled all our games, but I don’t think we were very dynamic. We weren’t killing teams, we weren’t relentless in trying to score goals. We lacked a bit of excitement.”

Anthony Gordon’s assessment of England at Euro 2024 struck a chord with the majority of Three Lions supporters as he said exactly what most thought about Gareth Southgate’s uninspiring side in Germany.

While the calibre of England’s squad was worthy of winning the tournament, the same cannot be said for their infuriating third-gear performances as they underwhelmed en route to being outclassed in the final against Spain.

It became increasingly apparent as Euro 2024 progressed that this competition would be Southgate’s Last Dance and his vindictiveness was a leading factor in ensuring his final chapter is remembered as a failure.

It’s difficult to cut the list of major mistakes made by Southgate in his final tournament down to single figures, but among his worst was his insistence on ignoring Gordon, who was the obvious fix to England’s absence of threat and balance on the left flank.

One of Southgate’s biggest faults is that he proved throughout his reign that he has his favourites and it was hard for a player to recover after getting on his wrong side.

Regularly shunned Jack Grealish (who has flourished as a No.10 in England’s last two matches) was a recurring victim and Gordon suffered an all too familiar fate at Euro 2024, with a recent report indicating why a ‘miffed’ Southgate opted to overlook the flourishing Newcastle United star.

Southgate’s exit and the arrival of Carsley (interim or otherwise) afforded Gordon and others a long overdue fresh start. It has not taken long for the new man in the dugout to expose a couple of his predecessor’s major errors.

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Carsley has admirably been keen to put his own stamp on the squad while he has the chance and the bold but admirable selection of Angel Gomes is already justified. Among his most evident switches has been the use of Gordon, who has started each of England’s games in this international break.

While Gordon did not sparkle against Finland as much as against the Republic of Ireland, his relentless positivity and willingness to take on his man was refreshing, but also enraging as this was right in the palm of Southgate’s hands in England’s many hours of need at Euro 2024.

After accepting the interim job, Carsley promised “high tempo and exciting football” for England’s supporters, who had become overly accustomed to tepid performances on the grandest stage.

The first half against the Republic of Ireland delivered this in spades. It was also evident in flashes against Finland as England were frustrated by their inferior opponents for an hour before Harry Kane – as he was always going to – scored on his 100th appearance, smashing the ball home for his 67th senior international goal.

Against a side focused on sitting with ten men behind the goal, it’s hard for a team – especially one under a new manager with fresh ideas – to look brilliant and England were certainly not breathtakingly excellent against Finland. But there were more than enough signs of positivity to justify a sharp increase in positivity heading into the next international break, which *checks notes* is in a month. For f***’s sake…

Anyhoo, Southgate would have enjoyed seeing Kane sweep home his second goal of the night and his 68th for England, presumably while nursing a bottle of Carlsberg.

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But he perhaps would have found less enjoyment in watching Trent Alexander-Arnold – in his natural position – having a hand in both of England’s goals against Finland.

The Liverpool man assisted Kane’s opener with a precise pass, then an even better ball set up Noni Madueke, who assisted England’s second goal of the night.

Another player to start each of England’s games during this break, Alexander-Arnold could be one of the players to benefit the most from Carsley’s attack-first, defence-first approach.

A footballer of Alexander-Arnold’s unique talents needs to be playing for England and this international break has offered evidence that Southgate didn’t need to green-light a needless midfield experiment to make it happen.

It felt inevitable that the FA’s post-Southgate succession plan would centre around Carsley.

While some quarters may consider his appointment to be a bit meh with the not-so-realistic possibility of appointing Pep Guardiola looming in the distance, the stand-in boss’s forward-thinking philosophy has been craved by this exciting crop of England players after they were held back during the latter stages of Southgate’s spell in charge.

The revitalised performances of Gordon, Alexander-Arnold and Grealish, in particular, add to the view that Southgate took England as far as he could and his defensive-minded tactics wasted the immense attacking talent at his disposal.

The starved Three Lions standouts will now be licking their lips at the prospect of working with Carsley in the months and years ahead, with his permanent appointment surely now a formality heading into the 2026 World Cup.