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The tiger in Nicky Carle

By Half Time Orange - Jesse Fink | 16 May 2008 | 12:10

As anyone who occasionally reads my nutty ramblings knows, there are some things Half-Time Orange holds close to his heart: the late seventies recordings of Michael McDonald, Sophie Marceau moviethons, and, of course, the career of Nicky Carle.

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I've been championing the bloke as long as I've been doing blogs, about two years, taking it upon myself as a sort of sacred duty to try to get our country's most creative player some decent game time for the Socceroos.

Others – Bruce Djite prime among them – have diverted my completely biased campaign from time to time, and for a moment there I thought my work was done: Nicky was actually getting picked and playing out of his skin. But then Pim Verbeek rode into town and this humble blog had to start convincing the Socceroos top brass all over again.

When I first met Verbeek he said he had plenty of options in Carle's position and Nicky wasn't his first or even second choice. Not a chance against Qatar. Then Socceroos midfielders started dropping like flies. Surely a starter for Singapore and China? Nada . He wasn't required.

Why? Carle had left Newcastle Jets and gone overseas. He was slugging it out in the Championship, conspicuously running around like a headless chicken for Bristol.

European club? Tick. Work rate? Tick.

The goals weren't coming but all in good time. Short of bending steel bars with his teeth, what did the guy have to do to get a call-up?

During the week I had coffee with Verbeek and cornered him again.

"Pim, mate. One word. Nicky. What gives?"

"Yeah, he's playing well. We picked him for Ghana, but he won't be playing, obviously," Verbeek replied, stirring sugar into his second strong flat white. Carle's Bristol City had qualified for the Championship's Premiership playoff at Wembley.

"He's our Maradona."

"He needs to work harder in defence. He's improving."

"Would you say that to Maradona?"

"No, but we don't need Maradona. I want 11 players who work for the team."

I'd heard it all before. I put up my hand.

"Talk to the hand, Dutchy. This is not the end of it."

We parted on good terms, Verbeek to a business meeting, HTO to my laptop.

I was stumped. Where did this Carle-won't-work myth come from? Why wouldn't it go away?

I was curious what Bristol's fans thought of the Chilean-Australian. They were seeing him week in, week out. The club was one game away from the big flight and Carle had been a massive part of their push.

A friend, Rob Humphreys, sent me a link to a Bristol City fans forum. The topic was Carle.

"As good as any player on the pitch."

"Outstanding… man-of-the-match for me."

"Simply superb… his passing/creativity, tackling and commitment were top-notch."

"Never stopped running, tackled hard and set up the goals."

"Awesome… he was a bloody tiger."

Ah, manna from heaven.

But there's always a party pooper.

"He's very good at going forward," said a lone poster. "He just needs to improve on his defensive game. I know he's not a defender but every player needs to be able to track back and tackle and this is one problem in his game."

Was Verbeek trolling? Unlikely, but Bristol's fans wouldn't have a bar of it anyway.

"Have you even seen him play? I'd say his hard tackling is probably his second-best asset behind his dribbling."

"He's decent at getting back, works his socks off and can tackle to boot."

"Hardworking, skilful and brave… brings other players into the game, brings out the best in them."

"Definitely put his balls on the line with the second goal with the header. Risked a boot in the head. Shows you the commitment the guy has and why we love him so."

"There was one tackle he made in the first half where he almost cut the Palace player in half and still took the ball."

Enough already! Need any more be said? Pim! Arnie! The bloke's bursting with mongrel! He's a veritable MACHINE!

Verbeek may be right. The Socceroos might not need a Maradona right now, but anyone who can run, pass, backheel, flick and kick like Carle, plus put in the occasional bone-jarring tackle when duty calls, is worth building a team around.

Ten men with a Maradona is always better than 11 men without.

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Your Comments

07 Jun 2008 2:13 AEST

gerson

From: Sydney

Greece had no Maradonna, in fact i don't think they have a Nick Carle and they WON the Euro04. No offence to Nick Carle, but i think when it comes to international football he may not be as reliable as he had played in the A-league. That's what Pim is looking for reliability, not 2 secs of flashiness that is not as effective as maradonna. However despite i made some strong emotional description of Nick Carle, it is no harm to give him 20 mins of several matches to prove himself!

04 Jun 2008 23:03 AEST

Phil

From: Adelaide

Re Nick Carle. Did anyone see how well he hooked up with Harry at loftus Road Pre Pim and Post Arnie Last year. I Think it was against Ghana? or maybe Nigeria. Anyway the point is , Two Gifted players teaming up on the park. Awesome potential. Bring it on.

28 May 2008 14:43 AEST

Paddy

From: Up front

I said Pim loves North, even though he is "A-League". Its obvious that Pim DOESNT love Carle - hence the column and debate. You rationale seems to be that if you play O/S you are better than playing in Australia, hence the 'A-League awards dont mean crap O/S' comment. I didnt say Hollman is crap, i said that Carle needs to be given the same amount of opportunities and i think hes better.Pim is doing the right thing and building a squad for 2010. Heres a perfect chance to try some new blood.

28 May 2008 11:41 AEST

Senor Ding Dong

From: Sydney

Paddy, you obviously are unable to fathom my logic - I'm not saying Brett Hollman is the next Pele, I am simply saying, even if you think he is crap, he has still scored more for his club than Nick Carle, fill in the blanks, son. Kisnorbo a "star"? Hardly, unless balancing a ball on your back is the road to glory. Oh, and if Pim loves him how much, please tell me how many Socceroos games he has been picked for in Pim's regime. I await your response with bated breath.

27 May 2008 16:03 AEST

Paddy

From: Up front

oh and by the way. Awards and A-League doesnt mean jack overseas? try telling Jade North, he has outshone all of your overseas "stars" like Kisnorbo, Beauchamp et al to the point Pim is sitting him next to Lucas Neill, Grella etc on the back of his FORM, not his CLUB NAME. Playing O/S aint the be all and end all. Whether he makes it to the worl cup squad is yet to be seen, but there is NO WAY these O/S players have outplayed him so far this campaign.

27 May 2008 15:59 AEST

Paddy

From: Up front

Mr Ding Dong, I saw Daniel McBreen score against Rangers TWICE in the last few years, according to your reasoning, that would make him an walk up start then? I say Carle plays his best football in the system we are trying to base our whole national setup on. Team football, team results, the Ghana ame was a great indicator of what happens when we dont control the game. You make it sound like Carle won the player of the year in 1977, not 2007. He needs to be given a chance.

19 May 2008 22:19 AEST

Ash

From: Sydney

Jesse, Carle may be the new Maradona, but so what? Maradona is middle-aged, often hugely overweight and has had heart attacks!! Also, a recovering drug addict!! The national team does not need a new Maradona! But Nicky Carle playing well would at International level would be a great thing. Just lay off the inane comparisons. If you want a friend, mate,buy a dog. But leave Carle alone!

19 May 2008 12:40 AEST

Senor Ding Dong

From: Sydney

Paddy, you're talking about the past, as do all Carle fans, endlessly blathering on about winning A-League player of the year. Here's news for you: A-League awards mean jack all overseas. Unlike Carle, Brett Hollman HAS scored for his club, for instance, when he scored twice against PSV (league leaders) and was man of the match. How can you possibly view Nick Carle as more of a threat in the final third when he hasn't scored an goals for his current club or the Socceroos but Hollman has?

19 May 2008 12:18 AEST

Chris J

From: Dee Why

I think everyone agrees that Nicky Carle is skilful, but its ridiculously biased and totally inaccurate to make any comparison with Maradona. If Nicky has any weaknesses it is his inablity to tackle, his lack of pace and his poor shooting. He also lacks the ability to play the killer pass. There is no doubt he is extremely good on the ball but I dont think he does enough to use the players around him.

19 May 2008 11:46 AEST

Sledgeross

From: Bankstown

I know Jesse loves Nicky, but there are still question marks over his defence. He gave away a penalty in the second leg, and gave away some free kicks near the box in the first leg. Still, his form warrants selection, especially if you have a libero like Grella etc holding midfield down. On another note, Neil Kilkenny has been doing a great job for Leeds. A real cattledog type player, he makes togh tackles and doesnt shy away from the rough stuff, and probably has the best passing game at Leeds