Australia's Joshua Kennedy celebrates with team-mate David Carney - AAP Image/Joe Castro
With Socceroos stars like Chris Coyne, Joshua Kennedy and Mile Sterjovski all changing clubs in the off-season with regular football in mind ahead of the 2010 World Cup, it seems absurd that David Carney will spend another season on the outer at English Championship club Sheffield United.
But that’s the reality as Carney enters into the final year of his three-year-contract at Sheffield United, with the boss who has given him the cold shoulder at Bramall Lane, Kevin Blackwell, still at the helm and showing no sign of welcoming the Aussie back into the first-team frame.
And if Carney’s club situation doesn’t improve, you’ve got to wonder whether or not he can realistically be a part of the 23-man Socceroos squad in South Africa next year.
Australia boss Pim Verbeek has made it public it’s a priority of his when selecting players for Australia squads that they be playing regularly at club level.
Nevertheless, Carney, who has been out of favour with the Blades for approximately the last 12 months, has managed to continue to be picked by Verbeek for Socceroos squads.
In saying that, Carney did go on loan to Norwich City for the latter half of last season, but he made just five starts and five substitutes appearances for the Canaries, which is hardly week-in week-out regular football.
Perhaps Carney’s saving grace with the national team has been the fact he’s a naturally left-sided player and Verbeek has precious few other options to chose from.
Also, the Dutch manager is a conservative type who prefers to stick with what has worked in the past, aiding Carney’s case as someone who was a regular when Verbeek took over in late 2007.
In fact, not long after Verbeek’s appointment, Carney was named the Player of the Season by popular Australian football magazine FourFourTwo, enhancing his reputation as one of the first Socceroos written down on the team sheet.
That was on the back of Carney’s revelatory performances as a left-back at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, scoring the winner in a friendly against Nigeria in London, winning the inaugural A-League with Sydney FC and signing a move to Sheffield United where he was a regular under Bryan Robson.
In some ways, Carney has been riding on the wave of yesterday’s success for some time with the Socceroos.
But his national team performances have remained solid enough despite his lack of club football, to never have doubts raised about his spot in the squad.
But ‘solid enough’ performances may not cut it for Australia in the next 12 months considering the relative quality of the teams we’ll face in the World Cup in comparison to those we faced in AFC qualifying.
One example which must enhance the argument against Carney, was his rather alarming performance in the World Cup qualifier away to Bahrain when Mark Bresciano stole a lack winner for Australia.
Carney was given a full game that evening with preferred left-back Scott Chipperfield out injured at the time with an urinary tract infection.
The match, along with the Japan match in Yokohama, was arguably Australia’s toughest fourth round qualifier and Carney was one of the Socceroos’ major weaknesses on that night. Against a better opponent, we may have been punished for it.
But the obvious argument against that is Verbeek simply has no better options. Chipperfield is clearly Verbeek’s preferred option at left-back, but as he heads into his mid-thirties his fitness can not be guaranteed, which basically raises this whole question.
There is ex-Bolton Wanderers left-back Scott Jamieson, who enjoyed a wonderful season with Adelaide United last year and with an AFC Champions League campaign to fill the gap between A-League finals and the World Cup in 2010, he could be a bolter. And don’t forget in 2006, Guus Hiddink handed a surprise World Cup call-up to Mark Milligan as the Socceroos had limited options on the right-side of defence.
There’s also Norway-based Shane Stefanutto, who has acquitted himself quite well at international level in his 2 Socceroos appearances, with a solid defensive game combined with some attacking threat down the left. Stefanutto is one who genuinely deserves more opportunities to prove himself although playing for a club who look destined for relegation in the Norwegian Tippeligaen may not help his case.
Beyond that the genuine options for the left-side of Australia’s defence are scarce.
But Australia need to explore those options because Carney’s future at Bramall Lane looks bleak and it remains to be seen if he’ll be ready for World Cup football.
Sheffield United recently announced they were trialling Julian Gray, a left-winger, and that they had signed Kyel Reid and Andy Taylor, two left-sided players who play in Carney’s position.
It seems Blackwell, who has had public fallouts with Carney after his decision to go to the Beijing Olympics with the Olyroos and his ensuing reaction to the Blades’ ‘horrible tactics’, is not interested in giving the Socceroo a chance.
What is clear is Carney needs regular club football to cement his spot in the 23-man Socceroos squad for next year and he isn’t going to get it at Bramall Lane.
Nevertheless, there hasn’t been much reported speculation about a move by Carney which isn’t a positive sign.
Way back in 2006, Carney had a successful trial with Alemmania Aachen and was offered a deal by the German club only for the Australian to decline the move citing a ‘language problem’.
Since then Carney has been linked with moves to a host of continental clubs including Steaua Bucuresti, VfL Bochum, Bayern Munich, Kaiserslautern, Anderlecht and Borussia Moenchengladbach, yet nothing has ever materialized of them.
It raises the question of whether or not Carney is willing jump into a foreign land and ply his trade. If he isn’t, this greatly reduces his options for regular football. If it is the case, at the age of 25, he needs to overcome this, especially with a World Cup spot calling.
Doing what he did last season and waiting until the January transfer window for a loan move to another Championship club wouldn’t be ideal. Preparing for a World Cup by playing the odd English second tier game here and there wouldn’t fill you with confidence.
Whatever’s going on behind the scenes which the public aren’t made aware of is irrelevant, because the reality of the situation is Carney needs to get active and play some regular club football.
Australia need him too, as he’s a talented player with the rare natural gift of being left-sided. His only problem is his club situation.
But with a World Cup around the corner and a spot in the Socceroos squad up for grabs, what better reason would he need to get busy and make a move.
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