Pride and perspective - Lee Carsley on drive, family and learning from Pep
FROM PLAYER TO COACH: This time next week, Ireland manager will likely have a new manager installed and all paths are converging on Lee Carsley as the chosen one. Pic: Lewis Storey/Getty Images
This time next week, Ireland manager will likely have a new manager installed and all paths are converging on Lee Carsley as the chosen one.
The man who was relatively low profile during his Ireland playing career is to be catapulted into the top job of Irish sport tasked with reviving the team’s fortunes.
But what’s the Brummie’s background and what makes him tick? Behind the self-deprecation is an abundance of drive.
By his own admission, he’s had more failures than successes over his career but the birth of a son with Down Syndrome in 1999, Connor, engendered a sense of perspective about what’s important in life. Here’s the heir apparent in his own words on a range of topics:
LEE CARSLEY ON:
"You could say my background meant I wasn’t going to succeed. I came from a one-parent family in Sheldon, not far from Birmingham City’s ground. With the poor area I was from and the limited opportunities, a lot of my journey was based on the effort I put in and the expectations placed upon myself.
"We weren’t on the breadline but couldn’t afford new boots or tickets for matches. It was football for me or I was going to work with my brother on the building site.
"My Dad thought it was a good idea to move away from home in Birmingham at 15.
"I remember being dropped off outside a stranger’s house in Derby with about £2.50 in my pocket.
"Les Dolphin, Derby's scout, shook my hand and said: "All the best, son."
Then he drove off. "And that was it. I just stood outside, not knowing a soul. I was there for a good couple of hours standing around. Actually, it could have been a wind-up."
"I got called up by England and Ireland’s U21 squad on the same day but never really considered it (England). I was playing well at the time after getting into the Derby team at 19 and was playing in the same team as Paul McGrath.
"My football idol was Paul and I was lucky enough to play with him at Derby for seven months towards the end of his career. Just to see him in action first-hand was fantastic.
"I’d been a big fan; watching all the games he played for Ireland, including the World Cup.
"He inspired me to want to go on and replicate some of the experiences he had. I obviously never reached the heights he had with Ireland, but at the time, that was my goal."
"I was at the World Cup but I felt out of it. I was playing well for Everton, I felt like I could contribute to the team.
"Then, to only get a couple of minutes – especially after Roy Keane going home - was really frustrating.
"I don't look back on the World Cup as a great experience. The fact that I played two minutes at a World Cup isn't something that I'd talk about.
"At that point, we had Connor. He was two years old then. I'm not saying that I had any mental health issues or anything like that, but my wife was pregnant with our third. We were dealing with Connor and all the challenges that come with that.
"Being away with Ireland for long spells, there were a lot of times when I was thinking 'is this actually worth being away from home?
"Your club form starts to struggle then because you've been sitting in a hotel for 10 days, not getting a lot of game-time and find yourself out of the team when you go back to your club.
"It's like a negative circle. That's why I pulled out of squads with Ireland or decided not to play for a while.”
"Jonathan Douglas and I are both defensive minded players. Neither of us is going to open up a team with a pass or beat three players and stick it in the top corner. That's not the type of player we are.
"I've got a similar role in the Everton team. I know what I've got to do - break things up and give the ball to players like Mikel (Arteta) or Fernandes, the skillful players.
“Playing me and Dougie in the middle for Ireland gives a licence to other players. On Saturday it was Duffer and Robbie, then there's the two wide players who can do their own thing and also the full-backs can join in as well.
"You can look at it two ways but it's quite an attacking system knowing you've got that threat coming from out wide.”
"I find it ironic, because I'm still asked to sign that picture of my goal celebrations and I'm the only Everton player not on it.
"That was a great day, people still talk to me about it, but after the goal I fell to the floor, everyone jumped on me and then Tim Cahill piled on top. He is the only one looking into the camera and he's probably signed as many copies of that photograph as I have."
“When starting coaching, you did as you played. But if you’ve got 11 players like me, it’s not a very good team to watch. You draw a lot of games, but you don’t win many.
‘The extra stuff now has made the players more athletic but maybe taken away a bit of resilience in what we had to get on with. There was no such thing as Wyscout, so Mick (McCarthy) couldn’t see everyone all the time. You’d be looking in the paper to see what mark a player got. I used to get a lot of fives, so that wasn’t ideal!’ ‘I had almost that lightbulb moment of, ‘No, we need to be on the ball more, we need to attack more.’ "Pep Guardiola. didn’t ring me and say, 'Do you fancy coming?' — I was in a group of maybe 50-60 people among the general public. It had a profound effect on me. We were able to watch the 18s, 16s, seeing the style transferred. I remember just thinking, “I really like this, I’d really like to coach like this”.’
"At Man City, it was the equivalent of the Wizard of Oz going and looking behind the curtain right at the end. I’m thinking, “My God”. Being lucky to watch some of the senior sessions and seeing how simple it was. You want to see something weird and wonderful. But it doesn’t exist. It’s so simple but so to the point.
"I’m confident and comfortable doing it. There are a lot of bluffers about. I could’ve been a really good one."
“Kevin Kilbane and I spoke to one of the FAI representatives about getting involved with some of the age groups. This would have been six or seven years ago. Nothing was said after that.
Ultimately, it wasn’t something I was going to chase. I’m easy to find. If they wanted us, they could have spoken to us. But now the fact that former players are getting involved is a massive positive.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m not interested. I want what’s best for the club.
"A club of this size, with the expectation, I think it needs a manager that has been there and done it with a proven track record.
“I’ve got a long-term vision of where I see myself as a coach. Management is in that vision but not within the next week or so. It’s a long-term plan and I’ve still got a lot of things to develop before I’m ready. I want it to be a long-term profession, I want to be a top manager and I’m still in what I wouldn’t call an apprenticeship phase.
“I’ve built up a really good CV in terms of experience. The final part is working with the England U21s, a really good group of players working at the top level.
“I’ve only been away once but coming back I feel like a better coach.”
"I read something once on one of the websites that I was employed by the English FA to stop Irish players playing for Ireland. It was a disgusting thing to say, to be honest. It's embarrassing. As if I'd do that.
"My thoughts are - let the players decide. You should never force anyone to do anything. You want the players who'll run towards you rather than run away from you."
"I was at Birmingham City just before leaving when I remember Séamus coming to the club for a week. He was one of the best trialists I’d ever seen so couldn’t believe we didn’t sign him.
"Next thing I got a call from my former Everton manager David Moyes asking if I’d seen him and I said what a good player he was. Everton signed him, which wasn’t much of a gamble. Séamus has had some journey. He’s better known for his attacking play and it helps who plays in front of him.
“It’s really unfair to speak about people that are in jobs or to try to sell yourself. Ireland is something that I always keep an eye on because that is where I played, but in terms of myself I am really happy doing what I am doing, and ultimately my focus is on the Euros.”
“I have a good gob on me. If someone says something to me, I can respond quickly and with a bit of wit.
"But if someone uses that kind of language around me, first of all I'd make them aware of it, and I'd be as blunt as to say that they can't be near me if they speak like that again.
"I've got a son who never lies. Everything he says is honest. He doesn't see colour, he doesn't see religion, he's so pure. That's the kind of people I want around me, with no prejudice.
"We're all a bit judgmental at times but, having someone like Connor in my life, makes me realise how sometimes you get wrapped up in judging people or thinking people owe you something.
"Connor has no agendas. What he wants, he'll ask you for. He doesn't want any more than he needs."
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