And then there were two...
Lennon and Carsley have much in common
LEE CARSLEY and Neil Lennon, the last men standing for the Republic of Ireland managerial vacancy, have plenty in common apart from a burning desire to succeed Stephen Kenny.
As the FAI elite commando corps of Marc Canham, Jonathan Hill and Packie Bonner, close in on their quarry during their reconnaissance trip to England this week, it struck home how much common ground was shared by Carsley, the clear favourite for the job, and Lennon.
For starters, both were holding midfielders during lengthy careers on the front line, with Carsley hanging up his boots at 37; Lennon at 36. They were spiky ballwinners, who broke up play and protected the defensive line.
Neither were known for their goals but Carsley holds one over Lennon as a finishing top scorer for Blackburn with 11 goals in the Championship in the 1999-2000 season.
Both were playing for clubs in England’s east midlands, Carsley at Derby County and Lennon at Leicester City, when their paths crossed in the late ’90s.
In April 1998, Carsley was in the Derby XI that conceded four goals in the first 15 minutes at home to a Leicester City team that included Lennon. That loss damaged the Rams qualification for Euro competition — they have never been closer since.
Carsley spent all of his playing career close to his Birmingham roots. His longest spell was six years at Everton, whom he helped to fourth place in the Premier League in 2005.
Lennon, like many Catholics from the North before him, was drawn towards Glasgow from Leicester.
Signed by Celtic in December 2000, he resumed his successful alliance with former Leicester boss Martin O’Neill and later played under Gordon Strachan, who had been Carsley’s manager at Coventry City.
Later, Lennon played for Forest, where O’Neill played and managed, before hanging up his boots at Wycombe Wanderers, whom
O’Neill led into the English League.
Following O’Neill as Republic of Ireland manager would extend their remarkable association.
The leadership qualities of both men were recognised by the managers they played for.
Carsley was captain of Birmingham City and Coventry City, in his second spell, while Lennon was appointed captain of Celtic by Strachan. He later captained Forest, too.
Both men won international recognition, for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively, and retired on 40 caps apiece.
Lennon had the edge on goals, two to nil, but Carlsey went to a World Cup and played a few minutes against Saudi Arabia in Yokohama in 2002.
They locked antlers once, when the teams met in Lansdowne Road in May 1999 to raise funds for the victims and families of the Omagh bomb. The visitors won 1-0.
There might have been more international appearances. Carsley took a two-year sabbatical between 2004 and 2006 while Lennon
quit the international stage aged 31 after receiving a death threat before he was due to captain the North against Cyprus in a friendly encounter in August 2002. He said on Monday’s GAA
Social on the BBC that the incident motivated him to succeed even more.
The former Armagh minor footballer also told the BBC of his desire to manage the Republic of Ireland, a topic out of bounds for Carsley as the current England Under 21 boss.
As managers, Lennon has amassed 568 games, winning five Scottish titles, four Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup with Celtic, as well as the Scottish Championship with Hibernian.
He famously led Celtic to victory over Barcelona and into the last 16 of the Champions League
In contrast, Carsley has managed for just over 50 games, over half of which have been at international level with England U21s, whom he led to the UEFA European Championship title for the first time last summer.
Prior to that, Carsley has been a caretaker manager at Coventry City (twice), Brentford and Birmingham City and was also U18 manager at Manchester City, for whom Lennon made one senior appearances.
While Carsley is employed by the English FA, Lennon’s last appointment with Omonia Nicosia ended in October 2022, since when he has been a regular as a pundit on Premier Sport.
Two months have passed since Kenny departed as Ireland manager after six wins in 29 competitive games.
THAT the FAI have taken this long reflects, in part, the fear of fouling up the appointment — the first one since 1996 that doesn’t involve former CEO John Delaney.
With director of football Canham at the wheel, they have played the patient game, reflecting the merits of the candidates on the list they drew up themselves, along with those who expressed an interest in the position.
Steve Bruce, Sam Allardyce and Neil Warnock, were among the old hands of English club football, who would have jumped at the job. Chris Coleman was considered.
Anthony Barry was the ‘bolter’ from left field while there was mention of John Eustace, the man who succeeded Barry on Kenny’s staff.
For a long while, Chris Hughton was regarded as a major player before Canham shifted tack before the AFCON kicked off.
Then there were two, Carsley (49) and Lennon (52), whose career paths have coincided at a crucial junction.
Carsley holds the high ground.