One of the faces of the newly-amalgamated South Western Sydney bid for an A-League license, Carle believes that undiscovered stars exist in abundance in the tiers below the A-League, while others simply walk away through lack of a defined pathway into the professional game.
Tuesday night’s stunning FFA Cup upset victory by NPL side - and former NSL giant - APIA Leichhardt over defending A-League Champions Melbourne Victory gives currency and context to Carle’s claims, with the former France, Turkey and UK-based attacker saying: “The more clubs we can get, the better it is for our youngsters to get opportunities.
“Believe me, the talent is there, I just don’t believe the opportunities are there.
“These days a gifted 17-year-old instead of plying his trade full-time, has to work full-time then train two or three times a week.
“You grow the game, you grow the talent base and ultimately a pathway right through to the Socceroos.
“We need to bring more Daniel Arzanis through to the top level.”
Carle also advocates a national second division, ultimately leading to promotion and relegation.
“It would be a huge step forward,” he said. “And it could be used to help develop players in the 18 to 23-year-old bracket.
“A-League coaches are always saying players who step up from the NPL are off the pace and that’s because they’re only training part-time.”
The technical director of Liverpool-based SD Raiders FC, in Sydney’s Southern Districts association, Carle, 36, contends the players he works with and has observed around the region are more gifted than in his era.
The difference between now and then? They do not have same opportunity to progress into a 10-team A-League with a fixture-challenged National Youth League and risk-adverse head coaches.
“For me, the amount of football being played (at semi-professional and amateur level) these days is far greater than when I was younger,” said the former Bristol City, Crystal Palace, Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC attacker.
“The quality of kids these days is also far better than what we had when we were younger, and that’s not being disrespectful to any of us.
“The biggest difference is the opportunities we had back then as opposed to now.
“There were 16 to 20 professional clubs and the amount of foreigners playing here, as compared to now, was nearly none.
“There were no limits to squad numbers and everybody had a second grade and a youth team, which gave a massive opportunity for people to get the chance to play at the highest level. You had pathways to exploit.”
Carle, who went on to play for Australia, made his NSL debut for Sydney Olympic at 15 alongside fellow Socceroo Brett Emerton, 17, 21 years ago against a Marconi side featuring teenage goalkeeper and future Socceroo Ante Covic.
That match featured four other teenagers, two also making the debuts.
“There were opportunities then but now there aren’t,” he added. “How many times do you see an A-League game with seven teenagers on the pitch.”
Carle sees the merger between South-West Sydney FC and United For Macarthur as the perfect pathway for youngsters in a huge football growth corridor.
“If you come out this way you’ll see how fast the area is growing and there’s a massive supporter base there, who I think would flock to watch an A-League team at Campbeltown Stadium,” he said.
“Combining the bids is the best thing that could have happened to both.”
An estimated two million residents are expected to call the region home by 2035; there are over 24,000 registered players with over 70 clubs and more than 3600 players playing NPL football in the area.
The deadline for bids to be submitted for the final phase of A-League expansion is August 31, with a final verdict on which two of 10 bidders are successful to be made in October.
