We are in serious trouble. Last night’s games showed me that things needed to change at the club, from the playing group, coach and match committee. Only a small number of players show pride in wearing the Carlton jumper, our coach is weak, reactive and easily bullied. Our coaching staff is full of underqualified coaches with no prior success, our recruitment department still haven’t figured out that football is becoming a fast man game, our players are slow, none of them apart from a handful are natural footballers with hand and foot skills and a real understanding of the game. Our list is 5 years away from any special and by then player like Judd and Fev might be gone. We had a chance to push for O’Keefe from the swans and instead we pushed for Warnock. We need another forward don’t we? We have the best future ruckman in the comp in Krooze so why would we chase another potential ruckman when there are other things we need? Stevo is gone, we had a chance to get a natural complete footballer in Rich and we got Yarran (we copied hawthorn with rioli). We could have had a midfield of JUDD, murf, gibbs and Rich, looks good doesn’t it. Team selection has been a problem all year and that also includes where the players line up. Here’s my take on our list and i put it to anyone to provide facts, proof or valid reason as to why I may be wrong on anything here.

1 Walker - has potential X – Factor, speed and grunt but has bad shoulders
2 Russell – don’t get me started
3 Murphy – STAR
4 Gibbs – not what I expected, slow, cheep kicks, not hard enough, goes missing
5 Judd - STAR
6 Simpson – Great value, hard runner, massive heart, good skills
7 Bentick – time to go, too slow, cant kick
8 Kreuzer - STAR, he really gets me excited
9 Johnson – this is a man who couldn’t get a game for Melbourne, need i say more
10 Hadley – the games has passed him, bad knees, way too slow
11 Warnock – Unknown
12 Robinson – Grunt, speed but lack awareness and foot skills
13 Yarran – skilful but lacks aggression, determination, motivation – not what you want from a pick 6 in a very strong draft but im happy to give him time.
14 Fisher – great mark but too slow, cant kick
15 Browne – good signs, strong body, reminds of Dean Rice
16 Grigg – tries hard, aggressive but too slow, poor skills
17O'hAilpin – has been poorly developed by the club, has been given a real chance. I like his aggression and his efforts.
18 Bower – coming along but needs tom work on his disposal and decision making
19 Betts – thanks god we have him, about F-ing time
20 O'Keeffe - Unknown
21 Austin – Im a big fan, runs hard, good closing speed, good size, good skills, cant wait to see him in 2 years time
22 Hampson – taken too long for my liking, great athlete but doesn’t seem comfortable with the footy or the game
23 Hartlett – injury prone, has got grunt, massive kick, might be too slow but should be given a chance
24 Stevens – Time to go, too fat, too slow, doesn’t offer anything to the team anymore, sets a bad example to our kids by the way he has prepared himself for football
25 Fevola – STAR and for those who put his efforts down don’t have a clue about football and can be put in the same category as Robert Walls who is Fevs biggest hater
26 Anderson – good speed, aggressive but hasn’t been given a chance, needs to work on skills
27 Armfield – great speed, very hard at it but one of the worst kicks in the game, bad decision maker also
28 Cloke – JOKE, too small for ruck and too slow for a forward, bloody useless
29 Scotland – very composed with the ball, good skills but has been played in the wrong position, should be up the ground or in the middle
30 Waite - STAR
31 Bannister – i like him but i think the game might be too fast for him
32 Thornton – underrated, he has been the sole defender in the worst team over the past 7 years, give him a break
33 Houlihan – time to go, in big games he get found out, the softest player we have ever had
34 Wiggins – so lucky he’s good mates with Ratts, i didn’t know the CFC was a charity
35 Tiller - UNKNWON
36 Pfeiffer – SEE YA LATER
37 Edwards – Should have gone last year
38 Garlett – I like him alot, cant wait for 10 more kgs
39 Jacobs – Taken to long to make it, couldn’t get a game in the past when we were screaming for a ruckman
40 Jamison – love him, i hope his shoulders hold up
41 Hill - UNKNOWN
42 Stanton - INKNOWN
44 Carrazzo – like him, ball magnet, used wrong all the time, should be a midfielder
45 Joseph – WOW, how good is he going?
46 Ellard - UNKNOWN
47 Bentley – A BLOODY JOKE, this seriously must have been a joke on us when we got him

I don't question for a second his run and intensity. But it needs some direction. He's a headless chook out there who can't kick, can't handball and can't create advantage for the team. I'd love Anderson to get a crack.

Unfortunately I only watched the second half. And I'm struggling to find a single positive from what I saw.

Like everyone else, pretty gutted. Worst loss since the Richmond game in 2001. We've copped our fair share of hidings over the last 7 years, but then we had a genuine excuse - we simply weren't good enough. Now we are assembling the players, the development, the coaches, the slogan - and we put in a performance like that. So so disappointing.

The game was played completely on their terms in the second half. They applied so much pressure to the ball carrier and attack on the ball, and we didn't have the players putting their hand up to run and carry and break the lines from the back half. Instead the ball would come to Scotland or Carrazzo who are masters at the double-back semi-circle, and that played into their hands. Other players too.

Lollipop handballs to teammates who simply had no space. Essendon* clogging the centre with a zone that we would not or could not run through. Hence turnover after turnover. And when that happened they had space and teammates in abundance to waltz towards goal with such ease that even a shot, past-it, washed-up glacier Scot Lucas was kicking goals. They had the momentum and we couldn't wrest it from them.

We'll cop an almighty flogging from the media and supporters for that performance, as we should. It will be interested to see the reaction from the Club. This game either gives these players resolve for the remainder of the season to make the finals or it flowers up our season totally. At this stage I can't predict what next week will bring.

69 @#$%&! points!!

His first job was to stop Davey...he was ok in that regard but didn't blanket him.

When he gets the ball he looks like he will make a mistake with it. Doesn't seem to have any composure at all. Runs his arse off out of defence but then doesn't know what to do with it.

You just know he lacks the composure/football brain to make the right decision and/or dispose of it well.

He wasn't the reason we lost but can you see him improving his disposal or decision making?

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Appears also that their ex-Carlton player assistants have it over our ex-Carlton player assistants

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"IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE, YOU'RE PREPARED TO FAIL" - Mark Spitz

They are a club that has in idea.

We are a club with no idea.

Probably not considering that he turns 23 at the end of this year.....on the other hand he is a late comer to aussie rules football so maybe he will prove us wrong.
Maybe it's time to give Anderson an extended run as the quick back pocket player?

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There is no footy god

Well Dermie is talking about how we launched our attacks from 10m outside the defensive 50.

It meant we relied on Setanta taking contested marks.

We launched from that point outside defensive 50 because we didn't spread hard enough to have players linking up through the wings.

Why didn't the players work hard enough into space? Were there too many players tagging...focussed solely on stopping their opponent.

After Setanta's first half we barely saw him leading up the ground to provide an option so I'm not sure he can be relied on.

So then it all comes back to a one dimensional forward line. Betts is our second highest goalkicker and he's a crumber.

There is no developing key forward on the list...how are we going to go in finals (if we get there) without a lead up forward?

Surely our aim should be to take advantage of our so called gun midfield. What's the point in having such a gun midfield if you don't have the firepower up forward to take advantage of it?

I just hope there's a lead up forward who is good enough to be taken with our first pick. Even then he won't be ready for 3-4 years at which stage Fev is probably coming to the end.

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

IMO, with the list we have now and if Ratts and the MC get their act together we might be good enough in 4 years time to challenge.

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There's so much I could say...

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#DonTheStash

It's not schoolyard footy, Effes. Forwards have to play within the framework of the instructions given by the coach (well, unless you're name is Fev, in which case the coach doesn't bother trying to remind you of your instructions as that's wasted breath). At times, he was expected to stay on the last line (ruling him out of a lead-up role), dragging his man out of 50, and on the bench.

If he wasn't running to the right spots, you would have seen the runner going to him. That wasn't what happened. No doubt at times Fish was the lead-up forward instead. And in the 3rd Q, Carey and Lockett wouldn't have made an impact given that we hardly had the ball, and when we did we were intent on turning it over.

too slow
too soft
we killed richmond r1 and since i havnt seen us set up the rolling zone we used against them. ratten is dumb as dog shit or the players dont know how to excecute our plan

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Better late than Cerra

I thought he played fairly well Indie. Just thought maybe he could have led a bit more up the ground. When the ball was pumped in long to one on one he took the mark. Would have liked him to have been left at full forward with Lovett-Murray, instead he went up the ground. Fletcher was then moved on to him.

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Jeff Goldblum is dead.

Liked the player run down from WAG. Agreed with almost everything. Would probably not be quite so hard on Jacobs...he stood up when he got a chance earlier this year and may yet have something. Other than that, on the money. Good job.

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http://www.thesauce.com.au: 2011 Player Partner of Andy Collins

BV surely that is exactly the coaches responsibility to get the most out of the players the most of the time. All coaches will have great theoretical strategies, surely one thing that distinguished the good coaches from the ordinary is their capacity to get the players implementing those strategies effectively. And the most basic strategy is to inspire your side to not be insipid especially when you have two weeks to prepare for the biggest game of the year.

Why were the Bombers so disciplined and switched on and we weren't? Doesn't Knights get credit for having his men so primed and conversely Ratten get criticism for not being capable of extracting a similar effort from his team. The Bombers have as many young inexperienced players and yet their coach had them playing much more intensely. If Ratten can avoid any responsibility for the inetnsity and discipline of the team he will be coach for life.

What a kick in the guts that was

Probably the biggest thing for me is that there are too many facets of our onfield setup that I just can't trust:

I can't trust certain players to put their bodies on the line when needed.

I can't trust certain players to remain composed when the pressure is on.

I can't trust the coaching staff to go in with the right plans.

I can't trust certain players when they're kicking for goal.

Sometimes we get it right, and we look good. But sometimes we get it wrong, and we look miles away. I'd like to think this is a consequence of comparative inexperience, rather than a lack of ability both on the field and in the coach's box. I guess we won't know for a while longer.

Footy's shit sometimes.

I really wish players got payed by their performance during a game and not an overpaid contracted player.!!!!!!

Cause going by last nights debacle, the club would have made a nice little profit !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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BRING BACK PERFORMANCE BASE PAYMENTS !!!

Had to sit next to these @#$%&! old mental cauliflower who refused to move his knee so we could walk past and he was sitting on the end of the aisle so it wasnt a hard thing to do...

He threatened to smash us and said if my mates missus walked through again he'd hit her

Security didnt do much about it, they were good though. They knew we were just going about our business but thought itd be easier to move us instead of them...

Good news is I drank enough to not remember most of the game.

I had $50 on the Bombers to win...I dont even want to cash it. Dirty flower money

The way I was feeling last night I would have smashed him 4 you!

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Happy Days Are Here Again!!