White England U-turn possible after huge ‘change’; Carsley did something Pep, Arteta never would

Lee Carsley has already overseen shock ‘changes’ at England, including a possible way back for Ben White and something Pep Guardiola ‘would not dream of’.

Carsley has started his interim England reign in quietly impressive fashion, beating both the Republic of Ireland and Finland 2-0.

With further international breaks in October and November, Carsley will be given until the end of that Nations League campaign to stake his claim to replace Gareth Southgate permanently. England aim to have that appointment confirmed before their 2026 World Cup qualification begins in March.

Two factors in particular have enamoured Carsley to the FA in his short stint, but there have been a number of ‘changes’ brought about already.

In a wide-ranging Daily Mail article covering Carsley’s first month in the job, Ian Ladyman goes into great depth on some of those differences already clear to see from the Southgate regime, including a couple which will interest Arsenal supporters.

One adjustment Carsley has made it to ask that players don’t call him ‘gaffer’ or ‘boss’ but ‘Lee’ or ‘Cars’, which is said to be ‘highly unusual at club level and even more so for an international manager’.

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Carsley has, however, kept England’s leadership team of Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Kyle Walker and Jude Bellingham in place, despite only Kane and Rice being part of his first squad. Bellingham was ‘kept in the loop’ through WhatsApp but it is unclear where Walker fits in; he has fallen a long old way down our England ladder.

“I don’t think it’s for me to change the leadership group,” Carsley said. “That was in place before I got here.”

The environment in the camp was noticeably different, as the ‘relaxed atmosphere’ contrasted with the tumultuous final days of Southgate’s reign. Assistant manager Ashley Cole is described as ‘central’ to that, bringing ‘levity’ as opposed to the ‘more taciturn’ approach of predecessor Steve Holland.

That could possibly open the door for the international return of Benjamin White, whose self-imposed England exile stemmed at least in part from a clash of personalities with Holland.

Carsley spoke briefly on the matter during this international break, saying White “asked to be not contacted” while stressing that “we’ve got real competition all over the pitch and the more players we’ve got available to pick from, the better it is”.

Another Arsenal-related ‘change’ has been planned around the role of Declan Rice. Carsley wants England to be ‘higher up the pitch’ with the midfielder ‘released further up the field’ as a result.

Rice scored against the Republic of Ireland – and sadly did a muted celebration – and one of the major criticisms of his displays for Southgate’s England is that he has been too reserved and limited in his deployment.

The final minor revision is something Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta ‘would not dream of doing’: Carsley put the training cones out for pre-match drills ahead of the Ireland game. Give him the job now.

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