Lee Carsley has named his England men’s senior squad to play Republic of Ireland and Finland in the UEFA Nations League this over the coming week. Carsley had made some bold decisions in his call up which have caught the eyes of many. We had a sit down with former Arsenal, Liverpool and England winger Jermaine Pennant to discuss his thoughts on Carsley’s chances of taking over from Gareth Southgate and the continued absence of Ben White from the England squad.
In this article:
- Ben White could be a great addition to the England squad
- White will want to play for England again says Pennant
- Carsley Makes His Mark With Bold Call Ups
- Pennant’s Shows His Support for Carsley Appointment
Ben White could be a great addition to the England squad
Ben White has established himself as one of the very best right backs in the league, let alone the world. Having mainly played as a centre back during his time at Brighton Leeds, Peterborough and Newpor, it came as a surprise to some how well adjusted Ben White has been to the positional change. Yet, White has formed one of the most potent right sided dynamics in the world with Bukayo Saka. This is something that Pennant believes could play into England’s hands in a new regime post Gareth Southgate.
“I think Ben White’s up there. Kyle Walker, I don’t know if he’s injured or getting phased out because of his age. Ben White is a great servant for Arsenal, he’s a great right-back, he’s solid. Just what would you like in your team.
“Yeah he’d be a great addition to the England squad. It’s just all about what kind of style Carsley would prefer. Is it a more attacking, ball-playing like Trent or a solid defensive option like Ben White who can also get forward. We’ve seen the relationship between him and Saka. So that could play into England’s hands.”
White will want to play for England again says Pennant
As good as White has been for Arsenal, he’s not been able to add to his four caps. According to some reports, Ben White had a disagreement with England’s assistant coach, Steve Holland, during the 2022 World Cup. The dispute was said to be over a lack of preparation on White’s part which reportedly occurred in front of other players. This incident allegedly led to friction between White and some members of the England coaching staff and led to White leaving the England camp.
He has since made himself unavailable for selection and Interim England manager Lee Carsley says there has been no change with Ben White’s situation with the national team, believing he is still unavailable for selection. Pennant, who has had his fair share of quarrels with managers understands the difficult situation White finds himself in.
“When you don’t like a manager and you’ve fallen out with him and his staff, I understand that because I think I fell out with most managers I played under at some point (laughs). It’s hard to put grudges aside and be in that atmosphere. So I think he’s made a decision on that basis.
“I don’t think he doesn’t want to play for his country because that is absurd. There was a big fallout and he just didn’t want to be in the vicinity of Gareth or Steve Holland. I think when bigger games and tournaments are on the horizon, I think Ben White will come back. I think he will want to play for his country.”
Carsley Makes His Mark With Bold Call Ups
Carsley caused a bit of a stir last week when he selected first cap debutants Morgan Gibbs-White, Tino Livramento, Noni Madueke and Angel Gomes in his first England squad as interim head coach. The 26-man group also features Manchester City’s 19-year-old right-back Rico Lewis who has started all three league games for city so far this season. Meanwhile, the likes of Lewis Dunk, Adam Wharton, Kyle Walker, James Maddison, Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney have all been left out. Pennant says he is excited at the prospect of Carsley taking over, having come through the St George’s Park coaching system and seen tournament success with the England u21’s.
“I actually said that before when Gareth was in charge and there were rumours of him leaving and there was talk of who was gonna be in, I said, let’s throw Lee Carsley in the hat. Reason being, he came through the system. He knows how international football and tournament football is played. He’s won a championship with the England national team, so be it the U21s. They went the whole competition without conceding a goal.
“The players that are in this current squad, 6 of them were in his U21 squad. So he knows how it’s done, and people were talking about maybe appointing an early hire. But what you have to understand is that international football and club level football, as a manager, are totally different. It’s 2 different things. You look at Spain’s manager, he went from U18s, U19s, U21s, La Fuente, to then managing the senior team, to then winning the Euros.
“If you look at his career path, he’s not managed Real Madrid or Barcelona. He didn’t manage anyone really of decent, and no one knew who he was.”
Pennant Shows His Support for Carsley Appointment
Carsley has managed to slowly but surely garner a reputation as an exciting coach having overseen the England u21’s side that won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2023 playing an exciting, attacking and fluid brand of football that’s rarely been seen in a Three Lions shirt. The England u21’s clinched the 2023 European Championship in dominant fashion, not only keeping a flawless defensive record without conceding a single goal but also showcasing their attacking prowess. They scored seven goals from sequences of 10 passes or more—four more than any other team. Pennant backs England to be a success under Carsley if the former Everton man is given the chance to take the helm.
“So I think Carsley has got the pedigree, knows how international football’s played, knows how it’s won, the tactical changes, analysis that you need to do to win, you know, international matches. So I think he’ll be a perfect fit. And the players, obviously, young players know him.
“They respect him. He’s more attacking. With the players that we’ve got in his squad, playing attacking football is our best option of being successful rather than scoring a goal and then sitting back. With players like Jude, then or Gordon, it doesn’t work for our team. It’s not gonna benefit.
“So with the team that we’ve got and the team that he’s going to inherit, and if he plays the same kind of style he did with the U21s, there’s no reason why he won’t because he knows the players, I think we’ll be successful.”
