Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I got to watch Nick Carle play. He played the whole game for Crystal Palace as they quite comfortably accounted for Barnsley at home 3-0. The commentaries seemed to be very impressed with Carle, noting his high work rate, his willingness to track back, the quality of his distribution and ball retention under pressure as well as his constant involvement throughout the game.
Carle played in a free-role position, basically roaming around the field to provide an option. He played mostly as a central attacking midfielder although he often drifted out to the flanks. He setup Ben Watson for the second goal, drifting out to the left flank, getting to the by-line and crossing for Watson to slot home. In terms of his involvement, he probably touched the ball more than any other player on the park. It was only towards the end that Palace started to by-pass him as they played long-balls for the big target man, Shefki Kuqi.
Like for the Jets, Carle was very much the link man for Palace in the heart of midfield. He directed the attack as well as ensured that the home team had the lion’s share of possession.
In terms of the football Palace played, they generally kept the ball on the deck and played through the midfield. It may be a misrepresentation to take much out of this game as Barnsley are in relegation while Palace was at home. Still, there was no denying that Carle’s involvement was impressive.
