There was an element of Carsley giving the public what they wanted with this potential thrill-ride of a teamsheet. They did not want it by the final whistle, judging by thousands of empty seats and the resounding boos.
Carsley’s courage in attempting it was commendable but from the first whistle it was exposed as folly.
The general feeling was that this was Carsley’s England job to lose, the Football Association preferring another graduation from the Under-21 production line that delivered Southgate, one also used to great effect by countries such as Spain, with coach Luis de la Fuente taking that same path to success with the seniors at Euro 2024.
This may not be the night Carsley lost the England job but the shoddy show that so disappointed Wembley will do nothing to help him win it.
Carsley, in the aftermath, made it clear he has never taken it for granted that the role would be his, even appearing to suggest he would be glad to have a job to return to with the Under-21s.
“I was quite surprised after the last camp [that there was talk] in terms of ‘the job is mine’ and ‘it’s mine to lose’ and all the rest of it,” he said.
“My remit has been clear from the start – I’m doing three camps. There are three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the Under-21s. It has almost no impact.”
Carsley added: “I never at any point thought that I have got it cracked. It was a case of let’s try something different and I’m happy to take blame for that. It was totally my idea.
“I thought about it long and hard, in terms how it might look, how it might build and how it might feel. It is something that didn’t come off but I don’t think we should rule out having that opportunity to try something different.”
He added: “We tried something different and tried to overload the midfield. We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday [Wednesday], we experimented and we’re disappointed it didn’t come off. It’s unrealistic to expect too much and we will have to try again. It’s definitely an option going forward.
“We tried something different. It doesn’t change anything. My remit is to do three camps.”
If there was a system, it almost impossible to detect what it was.
The confusion at the heart of Carsley’s approach was exemplified by the fact that England started the night with no striker and yet ended with two, Solanke and Watkins hurled into the fray as the unmistakeable whiff of desperation gathered around this abysmal display.
“Release the handbrake” was the cry for much of Southgate’s reign – on this night, the doors fell off and the engine exploded.
Jude Bellingham was in the false nine role but too often there were too many bodies around, with Phil Foden struggling to find any room to operate, while Cole Palmer could not make any impact in a deeper role to which he looked completely ill-suited. Gordon and Saka were ineffective on the flanks.
It left Declan Rice running around outnumbered trying to plug gaps, England’s vulnerable defence wide open time after time as possession was turned over, Greece scenting their chance.
The signs were bad from the opening minute when Bellingham was robbed, Greece broke and Pavlidis should have done much better than curl a shot wide. He was to make up for it later.
It all made for a night of confusion, from England’s chaotic game plan to Carsley’s messaging about his future in his current post.
England and Carsley will at least have the chance to deliver something approaching clarity when they travel to Helsinki to face Finland on Sunday.
Carsley’s ill-fated gamble means the stakes have just got higher. He is unlike to play such a high-risk game again any time soon.
