OK, I'm still really disappointed by the loss on Saturday. Not the loss so much as the way we lost.

But, there is always a silver lining to every cloud.

The glass is half full. Or is the glass twice as big as it needs to be, as engineers say?

My take?

• Fev's getting the ball. He kicked 1.5 (?), so he's at least getting the pill.

• We're one win away from third on the ladder. Our percentage is still the best of all the teams on 4 wins. A decent win against the Weagles, and a few results our way, and we're back in business.

• Every one of our matches that we've lost has been winnable. In fact, all of the matches could be described as upsets. I read one article (I think about the Bulldogs) which described us as genuine contenders

• I still think that on our day we can beat any team in the comp, including St Kilda, and at least be competitive with Geelong.

• We're not getting negative press about being beaten by 7+ goals. Maybe it wouldn't actually hurt to get a bit of the blowtorch from some of the spotlight, but we're still flying under the radar somewhat.

• There's plenty of footy to go before the finals, and plenty of time to put the right structures in place to make it to September.


Last of all:

GO BLUES!

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

New Week...New Attitude....Great Post Kaptain K.

I tend to take a baseball style look at things this time of year...."ok - I just wanna be over .500 going into the second half of the season...that's our platform, we iron out any deficiencies and launch into a playoff spot...it's not a sprint, it's a marathon"

I with you KK, except that Mike Sheehan in today's HUN has written a piece which is pretty much what a lot on here have been highlighting.

Saturday's loss was a real downer but I am hoping it may prove to be the turning point and the kick in the butt the club needs to go forward.

GO BLUES!!!!

I wanted 5-5 after ten. If we can chin the eagles this week we will get that. The team/coach and club have met my expectations.

Gutted we didnt win a couple of them close ones but thats life.

Looking forward to the ups and downs of the season ahead (watching the tantrum throwers on this site should be amusing too).

I'm trying to be positive. Have been absolutely gutted after each of our losses especially as we had our chances in all of them (Sat excluded of course). Whilst being worried that those close losses were going to haunt us, I've had the feeling of 'we'll be right and still win our fair share'.

Sat has dented my faith immensely. With so much at stake, how could it be that it was like the dark years all over again?

In the spirit of this thread, here's hoping it's a major wake up call...

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We are on our way back...

Looking forward to the next few rounds where we will be tested as a club.

A lot of what happens going forward is in the noggin - get that right and anything can happen from there.

Looking forward to the next 5-6 weeks.

Go Boys.

Do us proud.

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

I still expect us to play in the finals.

I don't see 12 games as the necessary target to get in the 8 this year, but it's the benchmark.

As long as our percentage is higher than the rest of the group, that's like 1 game ahead.

Waiting on Waite atm. However, from adversity comes greatness. I expect the kids to find their feet at about round 15...and the return of walker Warnock and Carrazzo.

Nevertheless, we are a better team this year than anytime in the past (although we did OK on the road last year), but we must continue to improve and aim for a Flag; whatever it takes.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

one quarter almost put us back in the game on saturday, imagine what we could have done if we showed up for the first half!

I'm just so pleased we are on the way back, too many losses over the blaek years with no hope, not any more

I couldn't give a stuff about the 8 this year, next year or the year after a top 4 and therefore genuine GF contender position awaits ..................

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NG
S M C , S F L

The last few years have been horrid, with my expectations so low and not anticipating any wins. So the wins we had were like a gift!


This year my expectations have been higher, and I anticipate a win nearly every week. Which means the losses are much much harder to take than the last few years.

Makes me feel we are slowly getting "it" back.

POW

Great post. I am so sick of the negative shit on the main board after we lose. It almost unreadable.

good post KK and good point pklz - POSITIVE POWER !!

we need more people to post in here to drown out the sorrow

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

Some positives to come out of the year so far;
Bower- had doubts about him, but showing great improvement
Joseph-has had some tough jobs this year and flies under the radar-especially to those chosing the rising star each week
Kruezer-now my favourite player
Murphy-disposal greatly improved and kicking goals
Robinson-will be a good player
Hampson-starting to show something
Judd-brownlow form
Betts-doing what he was recruited for

We have a record membership and have been averaging crowds around 50,000

Still in a better position than last year after round 9. I think we are just getting ahead of ourselves and believing our own hype to realise this

Yeah, that's a fair statement.

Definitely in a better position than we have been since 2000-2001. Maybe there is a little too much hype, but I guess that's not as bad as having too much criticism and internal fighting...

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

This past week aside our losses have been close, not so long ago we had an average losing margin that was downright embarrassing.

We've blooded some kids who are going to be good players once they get 40-50 games under their belts.

We're working on becoming less Fevola dependant.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

I'm not being negative; but I do wish that the weekly press reports of some of our players boozing up till all hours would stop.

In the press today ..........."Carlton might have lost the game on Saturday, but that didn't stop it's players enjoying a good night out in Adelaide"

"Brendan Fevola was later seen going into the Hindley St. Nightclub Electric Circus"

"The star forward was partying with a decent sized entourage we are told"


Ever since Fev moved out of the family home and became "a single lad on the tear again"; his performance has deteriorated.

BTW......that's just my opinion on what I've observed and on what I've read on Fev's "Nightclub" soirees.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

I am a positive person by nature, but I found it hard to be so on Saturday for one reason alone - we were held goal-less for the first half. I find that difficult to reconcile with the list that we have.

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I need some new conspiracy theories; all my others have come true.

In which case, wouldn't it be sensible to view the first half as an aberration?

Warby, if it were up to me, I'd have a team rule that if the team loses, especially on an away trip, there will be NO after-match partying. Straight back to the hotel or team bus.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

..well, one thing that's a positive, is that we hadn't played that poorly for a very long time.. ..so am hoping that's just a hiccup/momentary relapse and it serves to be the grand kick up the clacker that some of the team needs..

..otherwise, so far this season there's been plenty of positives regarding some of our younger players showing good form/improvement..

..another positive in a roundabout way, is how dissappointed some of us are with how some of the games have unfolded for us this year (narrow losses).. ..it's good to be wanting/expecting better.. [and not just goin' on blind hope]

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

KK I could for 1 qtr, but 2 qtrs in succession...

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I need some new conspiracy theories; all my others have come true.