POV: The One That Got Away? (Joe Citrone)

In our DAILY column POV – Star Sports Social Media Assistant and football writer Joe Citrone discusses the achievement of the England under-21 team, and whether the FA may have made a mistake…

---

Watching Lee Carsley’s Young Lions make history on Sunday by winning a second consecutive European Championship, it was genuinely a little disorientating seeing an England side be involved in a match that didn’t send you straight to sleep.

I will always stand by the achievements of Gareth Southgate as England boss, and that his contribution to football in this country has been extremely undervalued and underappreciated, but I will admit that his football wasn’t always the most exciting, particularly towards the end of his reign.

And nothing has really changed in that regard with Thomas Tuchel now at the helm. In fact, you could even argue we’ve regressed, made worse by the fact that the former Chelsea boss – rather disrespectfully in my opinion – publicly claimed that there was no plan under Southgate at the last European Championship and the Three Lions would be far more exciting under his tutelage.

Whilst watching Carsley’s under-21 side, I couldn’t help but feel that I was looking at everything England fans have been crying out for for years. Exciting football, clear patterns of play, and most importantly of all, a team that delivers silverware.

Did we throw all that in the bin just because Carsley is not an exciting or exotic name?

So, my point of view is: the FA were too quick to disregard the idea that Carsley could succeed Southgate as England manager, and should have been given longer to prove his worth.

Of course, time will tell whether I am right or not – there will certainly be a lot of pressure on Tuchel to deliver success at the next World Cup – but I couldn’t help by wonder what could have been as Carsley guided the under-21 side to another memorable night on Sunday.

---

Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

Have a point of view? Email us at content@starsportsbet.co.uk!

---

STAR PROMOTIONS