Carsley & Cole's England Preview

Ahead of England Under-21s’ friendly against Croatia at Craven Cottage next week, we spoke to head coach Lee Carsley and his assistant Ashley Cole to preview the game and discuss their memories of coming up against Fulham.

You both played here numerous times – what are your overriding memories of the Cottage?

AC: It was always a tough game for us, because it was a London derby. It was always a good atmosphere, tough games, very competitive. In terms of memories… [hesitates] we used to win a lot!

LC: Yeah, we didn’t win a lot here! Always a really tough place to come. I really liked the history behind Fulham. Obviously you’ve got the new stand now, but you get a real sense of history when you come to Craven Cottage, what the ground used to be like. It was always a really tough place to come, I was pretty much the opposite to Ashley in that I didn’t win a lot of games here.

Well, for Fulham’s first six years in the Premier League, our fixtures against Everton always ended in a home win for each side…

LC: That’s right. You always knew Fulham had outstanding players, some really exciting players. I think the fans always expected them to play with a certain style and certain flair. And I think being just down the road from Chelsea, similarly with Everton and Liverpool, you always feel like you’re fighting against your neighbours.

Ashley, there’s a match against Arsenal that is memorable to our fans for you giving away a penalty at 0-0, but then the referee changing his mind. It would be interesting to hear your side on that…

AC: I remember that. I’d played with Andy Cole for England, and I think the ball got played into him in the 18-yard box, I’ve touched the ball but the referee’s given the penalty. Obviously there was no VAR at the time, but the linesman told him I got the ball. It was probably the first time me and the officials agreed on something!

We’ve got Luis Boa Morte back at the Club as our Assistant Head Coach – did your paths cross much when you were coming through at Arsenal?

AC: He was playing for Arsenal literally just before I broke through, but I played a couple of reserve games with him and I had the opportunity to train with him near enough every day. He’s such an amazing character, one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met in football. I came here with Everton not too long ago [as Frank Lampard’s number two in October] and had a chat with him before and after the game. He’s always got a smile on his face, he’s always encouraging for the young players – a very good guy, very nice person.

I seem to remember you having some tasty battles with him on the pitch, Lee?

LC: Yeah, for some reason we used to wind each other up! Like Ash said, he’s a great guy.

AC: He was feisty, wasn’t he?

LC: Yeah he was. A great guy, really good player, probably underrated. He had a really good career and it’s brilliant to see him doing so well in his coaching career as well. You always want to see young coaches, like ourselves, getting on and progressing in the game, and it’s good that Marco Silva’s shown faith in him and given him that opportunity.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, Croatia should present a very good test ahead of the European Championship in the summer?

LC: They’re one of the top nations in Europe, and it was really good getting this fixture. They’re going to be a really competitive team to play against. We thought it was important we play against the best teams leading into the tournament, to give ourselves the best opportunity to prepare properly for it. We expect a really tough task against them.

What’s the expectation this summer?

AC: Going into any tournament is always difficult, but it’s down to us to prepare the players well. Hopefully the boys will be coming off good individual seasons, progressing and playing well for their clubs, and then getting the opportunity to represent their country in a major tournament. Of course, as coaches sitting here in front of you now, we’re always going to be confident, but you understand this is a tournament featuring world class teams, so you’ve got to prepare for it, but hopefully enjoy it and fulfil our potential.

And it’s a nice opportunity for Fulham fans to come down and sample some international football next week?

LC: Definitely, it’s a real opportunity for Fulham fans to come and see the next generation of England players. There’ll be players that they already know from the Premier League, and some that they’re probably not too aware of, who I’m sure will surprise them with the quality they’ve got. One of the things that we’ve tried to do is play as many games around the country as we can, to give fans everywhere a lot of access to the players.