Who is Lee Carsley? England U21 coach’s managerial history - is this his first job

Lee Carsley has guided England’s Under-21 team to European Championship glory in Georgia, becoming the first manager to achieve the feat since Dave Sexton in 1984.

The former Everton midfielder guided his side to wins in all six games at the tournament, including the final against five time winners Spain. 

The Young Lions didn’t concede a single goal all tournament on their route to victory, but the final proved to be a tense affair with goalkeeper James Trafford producing a crucial penalty save to deny tournament top scorer Abel Ruiz in the 96th minute. 

Carsley’s achievements with the Young Lions come after a three year association with England’s youth set up, which has seen him progress from Under-20 coach to the Under- 21 team.

His performances as manager have earned plaudits from a number of football experts including Channel 4 pundit Stuart Pearce, who suffered the heartbreak of defeat in the final during his time in the dugout back in 2009.

Carsley is set to be offered a new contract with the Under-21s after his triumph as England look to maintain their title with the next generation of talent.

But who is Lee Carsley and how did he progress to the role of England Under-21 boss?

Here is everything you need to know about England’s Euro winning manager.

Who is Lee Carsley?

Lee Carsley is a former professional footballer who is currently in charge of England’s Under-21 team.

Carsley was born in Birmingham in 1974 and progressed through the academy of Derby County before making his first team debut in 1994.

The midfielder opted to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level, qualifying through his grandmother. He was a regular first team player for The Boys In Green from 1997 to 2008 and made 40 appearances for his country. His international career included playing in one major tournament - the 2002 World Cup.

Carsley was a key player for Derby County for five seasons, he won automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League in 1996 and was a crucial player for the club in the following three years as they successfully established themselves as a mid-table club.

Carsley was viewed as a tenacious and hard working midfielder and his performances caught the eye of former Premier League winners Blackburn who were fighting to avoid relegation.

The midfielder was unable to help Blackburn in their bid to survive in the Premier League and he left the club two years later to join Coventry in 2001, before again suffering relegation.

Carsley returned to the Premier League with Everton in 2002 and produced the best form of his career during a six year spell at Goodison Park. 

His best season proved to be the 2004/05 campaign, where he scored the winner in the 200th Merseyside Derby whilst also qualifying for the Champions League.

Carlsey later had spells at Birmingham and Coventry before retiring from football in 2011.

Lee Carsley coaching career

Lee Carsley was introduced to coaching with Coventry and he had two short term spells as caretaker manager in 2012 and 2013.

He later moved on to Brentford where he worked as the team’s development squad manager. He briefly worked as the first team manager between September 2015 and November 2015 and won 5 of his 10 matches to win the league’s manager of the month award. He stayed for a further two months to help Dean Smith integrate into the role before departing.

Carsley worked as a youth team coach at Birmingham and Manchester City before arriving as England Under-20 coach in 2020.

The former Everton midfielder took on two games as Under-20 coach before replacing Aidy Boothroyd as Under-21 manager.

Carsley inherited a team which had crashed out in the group stage in both of the last two tournaments with Boothroyd describing it as an “utterly impossible job.”

How Lee Carsley has transformed England Under-21s

Lee Carsley has enjoyed a hugely successful two year tenure as England Under-21 boss and he has won 17 of his 21 games in charge.

Carsley’s success can largely be attributed to his team's excellent use of possession - prior to the final England had the highest average possession of any team in the tournament and a better pass completion (89.8 per cent) of any country in the competition.

Three of the four goals scored by the longest passing sequences at the tournament were scored by England with Anthony Gordon and Emile Smith Rowe’s goals against Israel both coming at the end of a 21 pass sequence.

England are also blessed with defensive solidity and they are the first nation in the history of the Under-21 Euros to win the tournament without conceding a single goal.

The outcome of the tournament will come as great news to Gareth Southgate and a number of players will hope to break into the senior team next summer for Euro 2024.

England’s performance at the Under-21 European Championship has heavily boosted Carsley’s chances of bagging the full time job in the future and he is the favourite to succeed Southgate at odds of 5/1, according to SkyBet.