It is not prerequisite that, to be England manager, you have to sing the national anthem. Also, I don’t think it in any way follows that, if you DON’T sing the national anthem, you are unpatriotic.
Let’s be honest: the vast majority of England fans don’t give a hoot whether Lee Carsley sings the national anthem or not.
What they really care about is whether he wins matches, whether he plays good football, and ultimately whether he can deliver England the holy grail of a major trophy.
But there is something more societal, something more fundamental in the discussion about whether the England manager needs to sing God Save The King.
Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello didn’t sing it. Did it matter? Did it affect their ability to do the job?
And so why should it have any bearing on Carsley’s credentials? Born in Birmingham with family in County Cork, he is Irish. And English. What’s the problem?
Dual nationality is part of modern society, and it is a feature of this England squad that should be celebrated, not frowned upon in some outdated, jingoistic fashion.
Jack Grealish and Declan Rice both played junior football for Ireland, but switched allegiance to England. That is an issue here in Dublin, where – understandably – a lot of Irish supporters feel hard done by. They are likely to get a hostile reception in the Aviva Stadium.
In this squad alone, look at the complexity of national identity. Bukayo Saka could represent both England and Nigeria; Kobbie Mainoo, England and Ghana; Morgan Gibbs-White, England and Jamaica; Cole Palmer, England and St Kitts; Tino Livramento, England, Scotland and Portugal; Angel Gomes, England and Portugal; Harry Kane has Irish family and could have chosen to play for the Boys in Green; Anthony Gordon could have played for Scotland, Ireland or England. The list is long.
Furthermore, a number of English players in the past chose not to sing the national anthem. Gary Neville and Trent Alexander-Arnold spring immediately to mind. Are we suggesting they are any less patriotic or any less “English” because they didn’t sing the anthem?
Carsley says he has never sung the anthem of England or Ireland before matches
Lee Carsley is Irish and English. He doesn’t – and never has – sung the national anthem for either nation. He says he has always been too focused on the game to do so.
Be that as it may, if he chose to sing one or the other, that would be seen by some as a conscious decision to reject the other part of his identity, and he clearly doesn’t want to do that. Nor should he have to.
Nowadays, I don’t believe you can define someone by the country they wish to represent. Does it matter? It does for a player, of course, who has to choose the nation he or she wishes to represent.
Carsley chose Ireland as a player. But does it matter whether Carsley is Irish or English now? Does one make him more able or more suitable to manage England? Absolutely not.