England's visit to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday captures the tight-knit and complicated relationship that Ireland has with its nearest neighbours.
Most of the discussion ahead of the match here has focused on the frosty reception that Lee Carsley, Declan Rice and Jack Grealish - three men who wore the green jersey at various stages in their international careeers - will certainly receive on Saturday evening.
Less attention has been paid to how the English public will view an Ireland international managing their team, even in an interim basis.
Ahead of Saturday's game, an absolutely bizarre subplot has emerged: Carsley's decision to stay silent during the national anthem has become a litmus test for his tenability for his new job.
Speaking to media this evening, Carsley explained his reluctance to sign the anthem before games, an approach that dates back to his Ireland days, and one he kept going as England U21 manager.
This (singing the anthem) is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland.
'The gap between your warm-up, you're coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it's something that I have never done. I was always really focused on the game and my first actions of the game. I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off.
I was really focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching.
'We had the national anthem with the Under 21s also and I am in a zone at that point. I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game.
UK Media Reaction to Lee Carsley sitting out the anthem
The UK media has not taken this candour well.
The Daily Mail's headline about Carsley's anthem silence reads: "Lee Carsley shockingly admits he will NOT sing the national anthem when he takes charge of England against Ireland in Dublin... risking fan fury on his audition as interim manager"
In the Telegraph, Jason Burt, the paper's chief football correspondent writes: "If Lee Carsley doesn’t sing the national anthem, he can’t expect to manage England"
Carsley's confession is big news in the Times and across the British media ahead of the game.
Meanwhile on the right wing UK news platform Talk TV, this bizarre discussion took place.
England manager Lee Carsley has refused to sing the England national anthem before his first match tomorrow.
Anna McGovern: "There's nothing wrong with being proud of your country. I bet if it was for BLM, it would be okay."@andrejpwalker @DrRogerGewolb @AnnaMcGovernUK pic.twitter.com/fZYsFj8oaf— Talk (@TalkTV) September 6, 2024
It's ridiculous. This expectation was surely not placed upon Fabio Capello or Sven-Goran Erikson. Carsley's former teammate Kevin Kilbane was hugely critical of Burt's article.
And so the games begin! Terrible headline and article!!! Totally irrelevant and downright ignorance! I’m not sure I ever recall Capello or Eriksen singing it! pic.twitter.com/DIi9m58Sor
— Kevin Kilbane (@kdkilbane77) September 6, 2024
It's not clear when anthem singing became a requirement to be England manager. It seems like in sticking to his principles, Lee Carsley might be about to alienate himself from a large cohort of his support base.
SEE ALSO: Where Are They Now? The Ireland Team From Declan Rice's Last Game In Green
