Carle’s renaissance pleases Pim

Pim, as is his way, drank water. This soak drank red wine, probably too much of it, and so couldn’t really divulge what was said even if I was allowed to but, as you would expect, we had a chat about Nicky Carle and I’m pleased to say Pim is rapt with how things are going for the Australia midfielder.

As we should all be.

Carle had a cracking game over the weekend for Paul Hart’s Crystal Palace against Sheffield United, putting in the sort of performance his passionate supporters have been waiting a long time to see.

London’s Telegraph singled out the Australian as the side’s ”protagonist”.

“Carle was a source of ingenuity, often picking out subtle passes,” it wrote. “Calvin Andrew was the beneficiary of his quick feet and acute vision, latching on to one ball but slicing his shot over.

“Always looking for a pass into feet, Carle was the focal point for Palace’s attacking thrusts, choreographing their one and two-touch moves with the verve and expressionism that comes from regular football and the promise of gracing a World Cup this summer.”

“In the second half he nutmegged Toni Kallio before scuttling down the right…Carle inevitably came to the fore again.

"Flitting all over the pitch at the heart of Palace’s attacking trident in a 4-2-3-1, he twisted Kallio inside out before locating Lee at the back post.

"His shot flew over. United attempted to double up on Carle, who was soon skipping past Kallio and Nick Montgomery and inducing a foul.”

Can someone pinch me? What parallel universe am I living in?

Carle is playing out of his skin, backing up consistently, and, truth be told, playing more football than a lot of his peers on the fringes of the national team.

Damian Davies, who puts together an excellent compendium of Socceroos playing statistics (get on his mailing list) recently reported that in February of the likely 30-man squad for South Africa 2010 Carle had the standout month in appearances, with eight, on level pegging with the titanic Mark Schwarzer and ahead of Adam Federici (seven), Dean Heffernan (six), Nikita Rukavytsya (five, two goals) and Lucas Neill, Dario Vidosic, Craig Moore and Bruce Djite (four).

Brett Emerton, Scott Chipperfield, Scott McDonald, Tim Cahill and Brett Holman all had minimal impact, their output affected in their returning from respective injuries.

Richard Garcia and Michael Petkovic were the major concerns, not getting any game time at all in February.

Crystal Palace might for all intents and purposes be a club in deep trouble (just one place above the drop zone) but it’s proving an unlikely lifeline for Carle and Verbeek can take some credit for that.

Though he once urged Carle to leave Selhurst Park he also publicly made it plain leaving for China was not the wisest move.

Carle is reaping the rewards of his own courage and Verbeek’s perspicacity.

And, in a year when Australian outfield players haven’t exactly set England alight, that’s well worth drinking to.