Lee Kevin Carsley (born 28 February 1974) is a former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who is head coach of
England U21
The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.
This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...
.
In a playing career lasting 17 years, he is best remembered for his spells as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
with
Everton and
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
. Born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England, Carsley represented the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
at international level. After retiring from playing in 2011, Carsley entered
coaching
Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...
with
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
. He held youth roles with Coventry City,
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
,
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
and
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
and served each club (bar Manchester City) as interim manager of the first team. Carsley joined the England youth setup as a specialist coach in 2015, before being appointed head coach of
England U20
England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s), represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in En ...
in 2020 and then being promoted to England U21 in 2021.
Club career
Derby County
A
defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, Carsley began his career with
First Division club
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
and made his debut in a 6–1
Anglo-Italian Cup
The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...
group stage victory over
Cesena
Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137.
History
Cesena was o ...
on 6 September 1994. He went on to become a regular fixture in the team during the
1994–95 and
1995–96 seasons, making 37 appearances and scoring two goals in the latter campaign to help the Rams to a second-place finish and promotion to the
Premiership.
Carsley made 30 appearances during his first season in the top-flight as the club consolidated its position with a 12th-place finish.
He remained at
Pride Park
Pride Park is a business park on the outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. Developed in the 1990s, It covers 80 hectares of former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines. Pride Park Stadium and Derby Arena are both ...
until March 1999 and departed Derby having made 166 appearances and scored five goals for the club.
Blackburn Rovers
Carsley joined Premiership strugglers
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
in March 1999 for a £3.4 million fee.
He made 8 appearances in the final two months of the
1998–99 season and failed to taste victory before suffering relegation to the First Division.
In the second-tier, Carsley was encouraged to play a more advanced midfield role by manager
Brian Kidd
Brian Kidd (born 29 May 1949) is an English football coach and former player, who was most recently assistant coach of Manchester City, alongside manager Pep Guardiola.
Kidd was also assistant to Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson from 199 ...
and showed the best goalscoring form of his career,
topping the club's chart with 11 goals, though Rovers could finish no better than 11th.
Despite falling out of favour with new manager
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit.
A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
and handing in a transfer request, Carsley played on into the
2000–01 season, before leaving the club in December 2000.
Carsley made 55 appearances and scored 13 goals during just over 18 months at
Ewood Park
Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...
.
Carsley recalled in 2013 that he enjoyed working under Brian Kidd and living in the town.
Coventry City
Carsley signed with struggling Premiership club
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
in December 2000 on a four-and-a-half year contract for a fee believed to be £2.5 million.
Despite being a near ever-present under
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Cove ...
,
he could not prevent the
Highfield Road
Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years.
History
It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game o ...
club from suffering relegation to the second-tier for the first time in 34 years. Despite Coventry looking outside bets for a place in the promotion playoffs, Carsley left the club in March 2002, having made 52 appearances and scored four goals.
Everton
Carsley signed for Premiership club
Everton in February 2002 on a four-and-a-half year deal for a £1.9 million fee. Despite manager
Walter Smith
Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers.
A defender, Smith's playing car ...
departing the following month, his replacement
David Moyes
David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
kept Carsley in the team and he made 8 appearances in what remained of the
2001–02 season, scoring his first goal for the club with a first half equaliser in an eventual 4–3 defeat to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
on the final day of the season.
Carsley enjoyed mixed fortunes during his first two seasons at Everton, but
2004–05 saw him become an increasingly important player within the team.
He was a regular starter in a
4–1–4–1 formation, sitting just in front of the defence and just behind the midfield. In December 2004, Carsley scored the winner in the 200th
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the football matches between Everton and Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it is the longest running top-flight derby in England ...
between Everton and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, a strike which won him Everton's Goal of the Season award.
The win took Everton temporarily to second place in the Premier League. He continued to perform well and Everton finished 4th, gaining entry to the third qualifying stage of the
Champions League.
Four minutes from the end of the 2004–05 season, Carsley was stretchered off with a twisted knee during a 3–2 defeat to
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
(a game in which he scored). He was fit to resume
pre-season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...
training but strained
medial ligaments in a pre-season
friendly away to
Fenerbahçe in late July 2005. He returned to the team for Everton's
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
fourth round replay versus
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on 8 February 2006, replacing
Leon Osman
Leon Osman (born 17 May 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent almost all of his career at Everton, making 433 appearances and scoring 57 goals. Earlier in his career he spent time on loan at Fo ...
late in the 4–1 defeat.
He made five further appearances during the
2005–06 season, before his season was ended after receiving a dubious straight
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...
for a foul on
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...
in a league match versus Chelsea on 17 April. Carsley started every league game during the
2006–07 season and helped Everton to 6th place and
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
qualification.
He signed a new one-year contract in May 2007 and was again an integral part of the team during the
2007–08 season,
making 49 appearances and scoring one goal.
Carsley turned down the offer of a new contract and departed
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
at the end of the season,
after making 199 appearances and scoring 13 goals during just over six years with Everton.
Birmingham City
Carsley signed for hometown Championship club
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
in May 2008.
With club
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Damien Johnson
Damien Michael Johnson (born 18 November 1978) is a Northern Irish football coach and former international player. Sincce 2019 he has been first team technical coach & head of player development at Blackburn Rovers.
He began his career with P ...
expected to be out of action for several months following a back operation, Carsley began the
2008–09 season as captain. He made 44 appearances and scored two goals to help the Blues to a second-place finish and promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Carsley won the Players' and Junior Blues' Player of the Season awards.
Carsley suffered an injury-hit
2009–10 season,
making just 9 appearances and scoring one goal.
He departed
St Andrew's at the end of the campaign and made 53 appearances and scored three goals during his time with the Blues.
Return to Coventry City
Carsley returned to former club Coventry City, then in the Championship, in July 2010, signing a one-year contract. He was appointed club captain by manager
Aidy Boothroyd
Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who is currently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur.
At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was r ...
. Carsley made 25 appearances during the
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season and was released at the end of the campaign,
which led to his retirement from professional football.
[ During his two spells with Coventry City, Carsley made 79 appearances and scored seven goals.]
International career
U21 and 'B'
Carsley qualified for the Republic of Ireland national team through his grandmother, who is from Dunmanway
Dunmanway (, official Irish name: ) is a market town in County Cork, in the southwest of Ireland. It is the geographical centre of the region known as West Cork. It is the birthplace of Sam Maguire, an Irish Protestant republican, for whom the tr ...
, County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
. He made his international debut at U21 level in 3–1 1996 European U21 Championship qualifying
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
defeat to Portugal U21 on 14 November 1995 and represented the B team
B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...
in a match against the League of Ireland XI
The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...
18 months later.
Full
Carsley won his first cap at senior level in a 1–1 1998 World Cup qualifying draw with Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
on 11 October 1997 and played in Ireland's two playoff matches, which were lost 3–2 on aggregate to Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. He was a regular during Ireland's failed qualifying attempt for Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament wa ...
and played in the 1–1 playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
first leg draw with Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
on 13 November 1999. Despite having featured in only four matches in the previous 20 months and only one 2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
qualifier, Carsley was selected in Mick McCarthy
Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City.
McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...
's squad for the 2002 World Cup. He made one appearance in the tournament, as a late substitute for Mark Kinsella
Mark Anthony Kinsella (born 12 August 1972) is an Irish football manager and former player, currently a coach at Drogheda United after previously being both the manager and assistant manager. He played as a central midfielder for most of his ca ...
in a 3–0 group stage win over Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
.
On 7 April 2004, Carsley declared that he would take a break from international football in order to focus on his family and winning his place back in the Everton team. In September 2005, Carsley announced that "as soon as I am playing again, I will be straight on the phone saying I want to be considered for the Ireland squad". He returned to international football with a start in a 1–1 Euro 2008 qualifying draw with the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
on 11 October 2006. From that point on, Carsley was a regular in Steve Staunton
Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer.
He played as a defender (association football), defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa F.C., A ...
's selections, though Ireland failed to qualify for Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
. Carsley's 40th and final international cap came in a 1–0 friendly defeat to Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
at Croke Park
Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...
on 6 February 2008.
Coaching career and youth roles
Coventry City
Carsley worked on his coaching badges while a player at Everton and in July 2011, Carsley was appointed coach of Coventry City's U18 team. He led them to runners-up spot in the Premier Academy League
The Premier Academy League (sometimes abbreviated as FAPAL) was the top level of youth football in England before it was to be replaced by a new league proposed by the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012, which was accepted by the 72 member c ...
and was promoted to coach the Development Squad and assist with the club's first team in May 2012. He left the club in July 2013.
Sheffield United
In July 2013, Carsley joined League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
as "Assistant Manager-Technical", working alongside his former Everton teammate David Weir, who had taken charge of the Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United.
The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...
club a month earlier. After winning the first game of the season 2–1 against Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
, the Blades failed to win any of their next 12 matches and both Carsley and Weir were sacked on 11 October 2013.
England age-groups
In September 2015, Carsley began coaching the England U19 team under his former Coventry City manager Aidy Boothroyd. In 2016, Carsley was revealed to be a full-time "out of possession" coach for all the England teams between U15 and U21 level. On 29 August 2017, it was announced that Carsley had been named as the England U21 team's part-time specialist national coach. In September 2020, he became the Professional Development Phase lead, which encompasses the U18, U19 and U20 age-groups. Carsley served in the role until July 2021.
Manchester City Academy
On 29 August 2016, Carsley was appointed as Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
U18 manager in August 2016. He had a successful 2016–17 season, managing the team to a top place finish in the North Division of the Professional U18 Development League 1 and to the 2017 FA Youth Cup Final. Carsley left the club in June 2017.
Managerial career
Coventry City
Upon the sacking of manager Andy Thorn on 26 August 2012, Carsley and Richard Shaw took over as caretaker manager
In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...
s, before the appointment of Mark Robins
Mark Gordon Robins (born 22 December 1969) is an English football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Coventry City in the EFL Championship. As a player, he was a striker and is best known for his time in the Premier League ...
on 19 September. Later that season, Carsley took sole caretaker charge when Robins left the club on 14 February 2013, until Steven Pressley
Steven John Pressley (born 11 October 1973) is a Scottish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre back. He was most recently the manager (association football), mana ...
's appointment on 8 March.
Brentford
Carsley was appointed Development Squad manager at Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
club Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
in mid-October 2014, replacing Jon De Souza. The move saw Carsley reunite with David Weir, then-first team assistant manager at Griffin Park
Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...
and he managed the Development Squad to a third-from-bottom finish in the Professional Development League 2 South during the 2014–15 season.
On 28 September 2015, Carsley was promoted to head coach of the first team following the departure of Marinus Dijkhuizen
Marinus Dijkhuizen (born 4 January 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who manages Excelsior. As a player, he had notable spells in his native Netherlands with Excelsior, SC Cambuur and TOP Oss. He retired in 2009 a ...
, with his former Derby County and Coventry City teammate Paul Williams promoted from logistics manager to assistant head coach. He accepted a deal until the end of the 2015–16 season. Having lost his first two matches in charge, an upturn in form (after being afforded time to work with the squad during an international break) saw Carsley win the October 2015 Championship Manager of the Month award for leading the Bees to four wins from five matches. With incoming head coach Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...
watching from the stands, Carsley's tenure ended with a 1–1 draw away to Bolton Wanderers on 30 November. He remained at Griffin Park to assist Smith's integration into the club, before departing on 10 December.
Birmingham City
On 23 June 2017, Carsley returned to Birmingham City to take over the role of Head Professional Development Coach. Following the sacking of manager Harry Redknapp
Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...
on 16 September 2017, Carsley was named caretaker manager of the first team. He won, drew and lost his three matches in charge, before moving into the role of assistant to new manager Steve Cotterill
Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of side Shrewsbury Town.
Cotterill had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albion, Wimbledon, ...
on 29 September. He followed Cotterill out of the club after Cotterill's sacking in March 2018.
England U20
In September 2020, Carsley was announced as head coach of England U20
England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s), represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in En ...
. He managed two matches during the 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, a 2–0 friendly win over Wales U20 and a 3–1 hybrid friendly defeat to Aston Villa U20. Carsley remained in the role until July 2021.
England U21
On 27 July 2021, Carsley was appointed head coach of England U21
The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.
This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...
.
Personal life
Carsley grew up in Sheldon Sheldon may refer to:
* Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name
Places Australia
* Sheldon, Queensland
*Sheldon Forest, New South Wales
United Kingdom
*Sheldon, Derbyshire, England
*Sheldon, Devon, England
* ...
in east Birmingham and attended Cockshut Hill Secondary School in nearby Yardley. As of April 2013, Carsley and his wife Louisa were living in Kenilworth
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...
with their three children. His elder son Callum became a footballer and as of 2019 was playing as a defender for Manhattan Jaspers
The Manhattan Jaspers are composed of 19 teams representing Manhattan College in intercollegiate athletics. The Jaspers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Manhattan College fields 19 Divisio ...
. Carsley is patron of the Solihull
Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...
Down Syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
Support Group, with which the Carsleys became actively involved because their second son has the condition.
Career statistics
Player
Manager
Honours
Derby County
* Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
second-place promotion: 1995–96
Birmingham City
* Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
second-place promotion: 2008–09
Individual
*Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
Players' Player of the Year: 2008–09
*Football League Championship Manager of the Month
The EFL Championship Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the manager adjudged best for each month of the season in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The recipient is chosen by a p ...
: October 2015
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
*
Lee Carsley
at evertonfc.com
Lee Carsley
at fai.ie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carsley, Lee
1974 births
Living people
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
Association football midfielders
English footballers
English people of Irish descent
Republic of Ireland association footballers
Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers
Republic of Ireland B international footballers
Republic of Ireland international footballers
Derby County F.C. players
Coventry City F.C. players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Birmingham City F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
English football managers
Republic of Ireland football managers
Coventry City F.C. managers
Brentford F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff
Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff
Birmingham City F.C. non-playing staff
Birmingham City F.C. managers
Association football coaches