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Lee Carsley leveled subtle criticism at previous England managers after making six changes for the Finland game

Lee Carsley leveled subtle criticism at previous England managers after making six changes for the Finland game

Lee Carsley has slammed previous England managers for not regularly trying “something different” to end the country's trophy drought that has been ongoing since 1966.

The England interim coach will be in charge of his fourth game in the Nations League in Finland today.


Only five players kept their places in Thursday night's disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece, with Jordan Pickford being substituted for Dean Henderson.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was moved to the makeshift left-back role, while Jack Grealish was also deployed and Phil Foden was on the bench.

Lee Carsley

Lee Carsley has picked another bold starting lineup

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It's another bold starting line-up from Carsley, with the FA still yet to decide on a permanent successor to Gareth Southgate.

The 54-year-old came closest of any England coach to ending the country's long wait for silverware with back-to-back European Championship finals.

But Southgate has been criticized for not being more adventurous with his style of play at times.

And Carsley believes England still need to take a few risks to find a system that can take them to their first title since the 1966 World Cup.

“We are waiting for a reaction. It's fair to say that we performed below the level that the players set themselves and what was expected,” he said.

“It was about looking at a few different players and it was always the case that in one of those games we would look at Dean Henderson.”

“He (Trent Alexander-Arnold) is versatile and his role will be slightly different to that of a traditional left-back, but I have great confidence in Trent.”

“He (Jack Grealish) will operate on the outskirts between the ten players. We will have a basic team structure that we will start with and then they can rotate.”

Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate has often been criticized for not being more adventurous

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“A lot has been done to the system and the changes we have made, but if you look at the targets they are very poor in terms of what we are used to and what we see, so hopefully we can get that in Set things right.” tonight.

“I take full responsibility for trying something different. If I had the chance to do it again, I would 100 percent do it.”

“We need to have the ability to try something different. We haven’t won anything since 1966, we’ve come close so many times, and if this is a time we need to try something different, then why not?”

Lee Carsley

Lee Carsley is still in the running for the England job

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Carsley will reportedly have until after the international break in November to decide on a permanent appointment.

England face Greece and Ireland next month before attention soon turns to next year's World Cup qualifying groups.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup qualification will take place in December.

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