It’s not a requirement that you have to sing the national anthem to become England manager. Also, I don’t think it means that if you don’t sing the national anthem, you’re a traitor.
To be honest, the majority of England fans don’t care whether Lee Carsley sings the national anthem or not.
All he really cares about is whether he wins matches, whether he plays good football, and ultimately whether he leads England to a major trophy.
But there is something more social, something more fundamental, at stake in this discussion about whether the England manager needs to sing god protect the king,
Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello did not sing it. Did it make a difference? Did it affect their ability to work?
And why should this have any bearing on Carsley’s reputation? Born in Birmingham and with family living in County Cork, he is Irish. And English too. What’s the problem?
Dual nationality is part of modern society, and it is a trait of this England team that should be celebrated, not denigrated in some old, jingoistic way.
Jack Grealish and Declan Rice both played junior football for Ireland but later switched allegiances to England. This is an issue in Dublin, where – understandably – many Irish supporters feel left out. They are likely to receive a hostile reception at the Aviva Stadium.
Look at the complexity of national identity in this team alone. Bukayo Saka could have represented both England and Nigeria; Koby Manu, 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’s family is Irish and he 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, several English players have chosen not to sing the national anthem in the past. Gary Neville and Trent Alexander-Arnold immediately come to mind. Are we suggesting that they are less patriotic or less “English” because they did not sing the anthem?
Carsley says he has never sung the England or Ireland national anthems before a match
Lee Carsley is Irish and English. He has never sung or performed any country’s national anthem. He says he is always too focused on the game to do so.
Whatever the case, if he decides to sing either of these, some will view it as a conscious decision to reject another part of his identity, and he clearly doesn’t want to do that. Nor should he.
Nowadays, I don’t think you can define someone by which country he wants to represent. Does it matter? Of course, it does matter for a player who gets to choose which country he wants to represent.
Carsley chose Ireland as a player. But does it matter now whether Carsley is Irish or English? Does one thing make him more qualified or more suitable to manage England? Absolutely not.
