The first thing Lee Carsley said when naming his squad for his opening two games as England boss was that he wanted to put his own mark on things.
Against Greece in game three of the Nations League on Thursday evening, we can expect that stated aim to continue apace.
Carsley, however long he stays in a post that still has ‘interim’ attached to it, is not a manager who is here to stand still. Those who know him say it has never been his way.
And so on Thursday night we can expect to see an England team who have his reputation for cleverness written right through them.
Having spoken last week about the difficulty of getting England’s gilded trio of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden into the same team, Carsley believes he may have found a way.
Lee Carsley deserves credit for being bold and wanting to leave his mark on the England job
He thinks he has found a way to accommodate Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, and Phil Foden
He wants Foden to play centrally, he said on Wednesday. In training this week at St George’s Park, meanwhile, he has been experimenting with using Bellingham further up the field as a withdrawn centre forward. If, as expected, Harry Kane is declared unfit, Carsley believes he has a viable option in the shape of the Real Madrid superstar.
Whichever way he goes for a game that may well decide who wins the group, there is a welcome freshness about it.
For all that much of the criticism of Carsley’s predecessor Gareth Southgate was ridiculous, last summer’s Euros had an end-of-the-road feel. Time for something new, something different.
Off the pitch, many of the cultural foundations laid by Southgate remain untouched. Central defender John Stones said as much on Wednesday. On the field, new directions are about to be taken. Perhaps that is overdue.
Asked about playing Foden, Palmer and Bellingham together on Wednesday, Carsley said he has ‘definitely got a plan in place’. Now we think we know what it is.
‘The beauty of this job is you get a lot of time to think,’ said Carsley. ‘In between driving from game to game, you are constantly thinking about combinations, relationships. Hopefully, touch wood, I think we’ll be OK.’
Much of the focus this week has been on Palmer, Chelsea’s extraordinary young playmaker. Unavailable for Carsley’s first squad last month, he is England’s in-form player and will start.
Palmer’s emergence has potential repercussions for Bellingham, given the crossover of what they offer. Kane’s expected absence has, strangely, given Carsley some wiggle room. It may be tougher to accommodate both Palmer and Bellingham if the England captain is fit for Sunday’s game in Finland. But at least Carsley is thinking on his feet.
The Euros had an end-of-the-road feel under Gareth Southgate - it's time for something new
The Nations League fixtures represent Carsley's second chance to impress as interim boss
Southgate’s solution to this puzzle at the Euros was to use Palmer as a substitute, but his form this season has removed that as an option. He must play and he will. Asked on Wednesday whether Bellingham was a certain starter every time he walked into camp, Carsley answered in the only way he could. Every player must earn his minutes.
‘It definitely helps when you’re stood in front of players and they realise they all have a shot, that they’re all at the starting line with the same opportunity,’ he said. ‘You sort of get diluted as a head coach if you’re picking players who are out of form.’
And then there is Foden. The best player in the Premier League last season, but not one of England’s. Carsley’s response to that will be to put the Manchester City man into his best position.
‘I’ve worked with Phil for a while,’ said Carsley, who coached Foden with the England Under 21s and City Under 18s.
‘Phil’s an unbelievable player. We’re very lucky to have someone with his talent and mentality and we need to make sure we put him in positions where he can really affect the opposition. That’s where I see him playing.
‘In wider positions, he can do it, but we’d have to change the way we play to get the best out of him. I think in central areas, Phil’s at his most effective.’
Against Greece and Finland — ranked 48th and 64th in the world respectively — Carsley has some leeway to be bold. Some of the conundrums of personnel and tactics may have been tougher had England still been facing the tougher opposition of Nations League A. But relegation to the second tier has afforded Carsley a little freedom.
So it’s quite possible we will see a central three of Foden, Palmer and Declan Rice, another departure from Southgate’s template of always playing a holding duo or, to use the modern vernacular, a ‘double pivot’.
It is hard to imagine England failing, whoever Carsley picks, so if the 50-year-old’s experiments pay off it is perhaps worth keeping everything in perspective. Nevertheless, it will be nice to see something new, to witness a change of thinking from a manager prepared to focus primarily on what England can do with the ball.
Palmer was named as England senior men's player of the year at St George's Park on Monday
Man City star Foden (left) can play in the No 10 role for England as can Bellingham (right)
The great danger that stalked Carsley when asked to assume control after Southgate’s summer resignation was presenting himself as a clone of his predecessor. Similar coaching pathway through the Football Association. A similar safe pair of hands in a time of need.
Carsley said when sitting with the media for the first time last month that he did not wish to be that. It was one of the first things he said. He said he wanted this to be Lee Carsley’s England, no matter how long it lasted.
On Thursday night at Wembley, he will stay true to his word.