Into the FourFourTwo offices saunters Nick Carle, one of the notable absentees from the previous night’s game.

“Excuse my garlic breath but I had heaps of hummus and garlic sauce. My wife’s uncle made a Lebanese barbeque and I watched the game there with the family.”

The 26-year-old midfield magician was not injured and he was obviously in the country. Despite the fact that he hadn’t represented Australia in 2008 or played under new coach Pim Verbeek, Carle chose to take a break with family instead of turning out for the Socceroos.

“I spoke to Pim after the Qatar game and explained my reasoning [for not playing against China]”, says Carle.

“He gave the overseas boys and me the option. We had already qualified and I’d had no break at all – I went straight from the Championship play-offs into Socceroos camp and that was going to be the only weekend I could spend with family and friends. One weekend a year is not much.

“I managed to get to my little twin cousins’ game, then I got to watch another cousin’s game, which I haven’t been able to do for a year, and those things are really important for me,” he beams.

No doubt there will be howls of protest from anyone who would chop off their right arm to play for Australia just once, but Carle points to the recent experience of another up and coming Socceroo.

“Scott McDonald missed out on the Asian Cup and did [a full club] pre-season, and what a season he had with Celtic,” he says.

“It’s not a matter of club over country. I love playing for Australia, but in the long run, if I’m not playing for my club, I’m not going to be playing for my country.

“I know a lot of people have said maybe I should have played to prove myself but there’ll be plenty of time for that. It wasn’t under the new coach, but I did have a start in the Nigeria match and I thought I did quite well. I know Pim has seen that game and I know he’s come and seen me play.”

Yet Carle is also aware that he may not quite be ready. Instead, he is looking beyond the short-term at his international ambitions.“To be a regular in the national team you have to be playing in the Premiership or one of the bigger leagues. Although the Championship is a very good league, the Socceroos players in my position are playing in the Premiership or Serie A... all big clubs in big competitions, so that’s what I’ve got to be pushing for.

“I’m really excited about moving to Palace because it is a big club and they’re always up there or there about, pushing for the Premiership. They’ve been there not so long ago.”

If Carle could drive Palace back into the Premiership it would no doubt impress Verbeek, who Carle says has been up front about the obstacles ahead.

“Pim’s very honest and he’s a really nice guy. He said to me, ‘There are so many midfielders. There’s an overload in your position, so it’s up to you to get yourself a position.’

“And I would agree with him. The midfield’s the strongest part of our team. It’s the hardest part to break into. They’re absolutely brilliant – Timmy [Cahill], Bresciano, Brett Holman, Vinnie Grella, Carl Valeri… Wilkshire can play in midfield and Harry can drop into that in-behind role. You have to be doing really well to win that position.”

After just missing out on promotion to the Premiership with Bristol City, falling 1-0 to Hull in the final play-off game, Carle’s $2m move to Crystal Palace should ensure he is involved in a promotion bid again this season.

Rumours of Palace’s interest reached Carle in the lead-up to the China game, giving him further reason to sit it out.

“If I were to get injured [against China] the deal wouldn’t have gone through,” explained Carle. “That was a big factor, but the major factor was wanting to do a proper pre-season.”

Carle asking his club for more time off between seasons was never an option, especially given Carle’s dubious reputation for avoiding the harder work on the pitch. And regardless of whether there’s any truth in that criticism – it was the same knock levelled at such notable ball players as Glenn Hoddle, Matt Le Tissier and David Ginola in their time – Nick is aware of how much a good pre-season sets him up for the rest of a long campaign.

“I’m the sort of person who needs a good pre-season so as much as I hate doing all the running, I think it’s very important. I hate doing it but I have to do it. If I have a good pre-season and get myself playing well for Palace, it’s only going to benefit my country in the long run.”

Carle won’t need to use the pre-season to introduce himself to his new team-mates – Carle lined up against Palace four times last season and helped Bristol City knock Palace out in the promotion play-offs.

Palace boss Neil Warnock paid the midfielder the ultimate compliment by having Carle man-marked despite the fact he had only played a handful of Championship games last season.

“I’ve spoken to the gaffer a few times now and he seems really nice. He’s known as such an aggressor – he’s one of those people that you hate playing against but he’s really for his team and you love working with him… like a Kevin Muscat.

“He plays a three man midfield, and I really enjoy playing in a three man midfield with three up front. So he said I’d fit somewhere into there, but it’s up to me prove that I should be playing.

“It’s a new chapter for me. I enjoyed my time at Bristol, I learned a lot, the manager was brilliant, the club was brilliant, but they got offered more money than they bought me for, and I’ll know Palace will be pushing for promotion.”

Moving on is something that Carle is only too familiar with. Since famously scoring on debut as a 15-year-old in the NSL and spending his first five seasons as a pro at Sydney Olympic, he has played for seven clubs in six years and four different countries.

In his first stint overseas, with French side Troyes, Carle struggled for game-time so he came home for the final days of the NSL.

“In hindsight France was a good move for me. I learned a lot and it helped me out for the next time I went overseas, although I did end up coming home because I just wanted to play at that age. It was a learning curve for me.”

Once the A-League kicked off he was dominating domestic midfields but it was widely acknowledged that it was only a matter of time before Carle would be jetting off for another overseas assault. With the Johnny Warren Medal sitting around his neck, the 2006/07 A-League Player of the Year was quick to make the jump to Turkey.

“You’ve got to take the opportunities when they come,” Carle insists. “You get used to moving. We’ve moved that many times – seven clubs in six years. My son’s excellent – we’ve put him through so much, but he just goes along with it.”

As a player Carle enjoys the challenge of fitting in to a different style of football.

“You’ve got to be versatile and try to adapt,” he says. “A lot of people thought that I wouldn’t be able play in England but I feel I haven’t done too badly in my first six months there.”

This time it’ll be about adapting to life in London, in the rough and tumble of the Championship – a league full of surprises.

“The Championship is a lot better than I first thought it would be. I was really surprised. There are so many good players in the Championship. A lot of the teams play direct football, and move the ball as quickly as possible.

“But you can’t go past the Premiership,” he says. “You’ve got to back yourself and I’m not happy that we didn’t go up.

"There are no positives about not going up. I want to play at that level, I want to test myself and I want to play at the highest possible level.”

Nick Carle’s career is still on the ascent with Europe and Socceroo success in his sights. However, he is aware of what Australia’s domestic competition has given to him, and is a firm advocate of its merit as a pathway for developing players.

“What lifted my profile the most was playing the first two seasons of the A-League,” he says proudly. “Everybody back home got to actually see the type player I am rather that the type of player I’ve been perceived to be in the past. As well as being known as someone who’s good on the ball. I also work very hard.”

His second stint overseas did not come until he was 25, long after many have given up on European dreams. Carle insists though that the extra time as a star in the A-League gave him the confidence and belief for a second overseas assault.

“After playing two good seasons in the A-League I was confident, I was a regular, and I was ready for the next step.”

But the A-League and Newcastle Jets in particular, remain in his heart. “I ordered the Grand Final game on TV and got up and watched it. There was no way I was missing that. I was over the moon, they really deserved it.

“I’ve always said my first option is Newcastle Jets when I get home... if they want me by then.”

So is a return to the A-League on the cards one day?

“Me and the missus have sat down and said we’d like to come home after another four years. I’m 26 now, so maybe when I’m 30 I’d come home because we love it back home... I think at 30 I’ll still have some legs.”

By then he’ll be a 15-year veteran of who knows how many clubs and leagues, but we’re betting he’ll be an established Socceroo star with more than a trick or two to offer the A-League.