The FA must know who it wants as England manager – so why the long wait?

The history of England caretaker managers has just one standout. That is Gareth Southgate, who oversaw four matches in a temporary capacity and then 98 as the England manager proper, including four tournaments, two major finals and a place in the history of the national team.

The rest? Not so good. For Peter Taylor, his single late-2000 game in charge against Italy was a standout point in a respectable coaching career that lasted four decades. Although he would never again reach comparable heights. Before him, Howard Wilkinson did the caretaker role twice but was never a contender to be the permanent option. Stuart Pearce had one game against Holland post-Fabio Capello in 2012 and would manage just another 32 club games after that.

Lee Carsley would do well to bear all that in mind as he embarks on what can feel like a great opportunity but might suit the FA much more. Carsley, promoted after his Under-21s European Championship triumph last year, may yet be Southgate’s long-term successor - or he may not. But either way he is a useful option for the Football Association which certainly appears to be in no rush to decide.

The open-ended nature of the FA’s announcement on Carsley’s interim role suggested he may even get all the six-game Nations League campaign up to November 14. That would be the longest England caretaker run yet. Joe Mercer was in charge for seven games post Sir Alf Ramsey in the summer of 1974, although that encompassed less than a month and he combined it with his job in charge of Coventry City.

The FA wants to take its time, and it is – as ever with these things – a monumental decision. Yet the FA must have an idea of who it wants. After eight years of Southgate and the pressure that was building on him, it would be hard to say it is a surprise that the FA now finds itself seeking a new England manager. It must know who is interested and who is affordable. There must instinctively be a first choice. Why the wait?

Pep or Klopp unaffordable and unlikely

The governing body says it will look beyond English candidates. Yet it cannot afford the kind of wages, upwards of £15 million annually, that Pep Guardiola or Jürgen Klopp command. It would sooner not have to pay compensation, as it once did to Lazio to secure Sven-Goran Eriksson. Considering the pressure of salary and availability, as well as the question of suitability, the pool of candidates is realistically as small as it always is.

The mood is that the FA would not be opposed to appointing Carsley as the permanent England manager. He is English-born, and a solid former Premier League player with a good coaching background in the modern academies and at St George’s Park. He enters senior international football at a time when former players with relatively low-profile coaching careers have shown themselves to be very capable – Luis de la Fuente, Spain’s Euro 2024 winning coach, a case in point.

Crucially, last summer Carsley’s stock went up when he secured that Under-21s European title that had eluded England for 40 years. That was a very creditable achievement. Yet, one suspects the FA does not quite have the confidence to appoint him now.

The Spanish football federation appointed De la Fuente from the Under-21s amid a crisis in 2022, much as their English counterparts did Southgate eight years ago. That worked well, but this time there is no such cover for the FA. Carsley would be a more difficult sell currently. By giving him the job on a temporary basis, the idea of him as England manager can be introduced gradually. A few good performances, perhaps a little more of the attacking swagger that eluded England in Germany, and a certain momentum might be achieved.

If Carsley turns out to be a good international manager at senior level and the English football public like him, then it makes it a lot easier to appoint him. In the meantime, the FA chief executive Mark Bullingham and technical director John McDermott can run a process that meets with the necessary approval.

Even so, one would feel by now that they should have a clear idea of who they want and how they might appoint him. The FA has had time to prepare for this. But it seems to want lots more time to make up its mind – or have its mind made up by events.

England managers always complain that they have too little time with their players. Southgate’s successor could be taking charge of his first game as late as March, 15 months from the start of the next World Cup. Of course, that could well be Carsley, and for him this role must feel like an opportunity he cannot turn down. History will tell him not to take anything for granted. Even Southgate, back in October 2016, was sceptical as to whom the job of England caretaker truly benefits.