Punkish Carsley gets ballsy calls right – is it too late to ring Thomas for a chat? | Barney Ronay

Young England team swagger past Greece under interim manager to make you feel it’s a shame he isn’t getting the job full-timeThe moment of the night in Athens came on 82 minutes, with England’s young team romping about the place like cosseted schoolboys, all jinky little twirls and prim one-touch keep-ball. On the right wing Morgan Gibbs-White, once of Lee Carsley’s under-21s, flicked the ball inside towards the white shirts in the centre. The closest of them was Curtis Jones, also once of Lee Carsley’s under-21s, who did something entirely in keeping with his almost laughably unhurried performance all night, letting the ball run past him, then producing a perfectly pinged instep drag-flick into the far corner.It made the score 3-0, the final significant act of England’s penultimate outing under an interim manager who has, it turns out, something of the avenger about him, the quiet revolutionary, a Martin Luther in overly tight lycra tracksuit bottoms. Continue reading...