BBC Radio 5 Live’s John Murray and Ian Dennis were in Dublin to watch England beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in Lee Carsley’s first game as interim boss.
Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scored the goals in the Nations League opener.
Murray and Dennis talk through what they saw…
Ian Dennis
Even before we had gone live on air for 5 Live, it was noticeable how involved Lee Carsley was with the warm-up.
The interim head coach even placed the red and white cones out in the England half of the field.
He was waiting on the pitch as a solitary figure before the players came out to warm up.
Carsley was actively involved along with his assistants Ashley Cole and Joleon Lescott. It’s a significant change in approach to that of Gareth Southgate or previous managers.
I even remember Fabio Capello, when he was England head coach, watching intently from the sidelines along with his assistant Franco Baldini – but they would study and monitor the opposition.
Carsley was purely focused on his England players and looked comfortable as a tracksuit manager.
John Murray
If you were looking for a different approach from Lee Carsley, it was there right from the start. There was an initial mis-step when he turned right to the home dugout when he first walked down the tunnel, but it was a tracksuited Carsley who laid out the balls and the cones and oversaw the whole of the warm-up.
It served to underline how he wishes to be seen very much as the head coach. And if England replicate the first-half performance, he will not be interim for too much longer.
Ian Dennis
I spoke with Harry Kane at the team hotel on Friday evening and he revealed Lee Carsley had just tried to implement a few things in his first week. I suspect he will be satisfied with those tweaks. He was looking for a greater control, especially with the ball, keeping possession better and playing with a high tempo.
I said in commentary I couldn’t recall the last time Jack Grealish played centrally for England. He was impressive as he roamed and linked up well with Anthony Gordon. There was a nice balance down the left side with Levi Colwill at left-back.
Both Grealish and Gordon played as if they had a point to prove – and while in the second half England played within themselves, they were pleasing on the eye in the first half.
John Murray
Football teams need balance and Colwill at left-back with Gordon on the left wing brought just that to England and surely helped with the fluidity of the first half performance. But what was striking about it was the simplicity that was best illustrated by the Grealish goal.
It should be added though, that under Gareth Southgate, England also produced many exciting, front-foot, high-scoring performances against teams languishing down the world rankings. But there’s no doubt it was the positivity that provided Carsley with his biggest tick for his first match.
