If you went to the games, Synbad, you'd have less time to dominate TC.

You should try and see more games.

It can be fun. If you don't go you lose sight of why we are a club and who sits in the terraces. It just becomes a thing of theory. Trust me. I am suffering the same malaise through geographical limitations but am resisting the urge to become a keyboard critic and trying to maintain contact as best I can.

Footy is about the weekly game and the people around you and the pies and spilt drinks and traffic and the ride home on the tram/train with the song ringing out (or not). I miss it a lot. especially the pies. I'd kill for a decent pie and sauce...

if footy club ledger has good clubs and shit clubs
what side does carlton sit in???
what side did we used to be on ???

juddy is diplomatic he calls us "mediocre"

Andy McKay was on radio this morning. He confirmed that we had constraints in what we could do this trade period.
When asked if the constraints were salary cap issues he said they were.

Yeah thats absurd!! we must have some guys besides Juddy & Daisy on decent coin,far more than what they're worth or at least not worth the effort they're putting out on the field.A few guys on to the veterans list as well now as well???....very poor list management.

I'm curious to know what would happen if we gave up the draft entirely.

Just ditch it.

Go the trade!

Every year put every pick and every player up on the block and see what you get.

I know we have to use three picks each year but they could be three journeymen we take with 78,79 and 80 and give one year contracts until we reload the next year.

It sounds ridiculous but if we acknowledge that we're not that good at picking from the draft and not that good at development then maybe accepting that and using the other clubs to filter the draft list (as well as putting a couple of years into development) and then taking the Docherty types who pop up we might be able to build something interesting.

What would we have got this year if we'd put pick 13 on the table?

Or 13 and 32?

What would we have got for pick 6 instead of Yarran? For 12 instead of Lucas? For 1 instead of Gibbs or Kreuzer or Murphy?

What if our default position was to always seek to trade and only use the picks that were left at the end.

There'd need to be rules/strategy along the lines of trading for no-one over 23 etc but it seems to me that whilst this is a half-arsed idea it would be remiss of the club not to game this as a theory.

The beauty of it is you know pretty much what you're getting every time so the margin for error is lessened enormously. Obviously you're a whole lot less likely to pick up an absolute gem for little cost which can happen in the draft.

I'd be curious to see what you might get if you went back over the last ten years of trade history and outbid all the clubs who made trades for what were generally well regarded players and stack those trades up against what we ended up doing with those picks.

Maybe you'd be called Sydney and you'd have won a couple of flags.

Maybe you'd have won more.

One of the most obvious problems in business (and sport) is the idea that you have to do what the successful people are doing in order to be successful. Unfortunately that success was often predicated on doing what they were doing before others were doing it.

If we wanted to subvert the dominant paradigm then I think I'd back a club willing to back themselves down a route such as this.

McKay on trade radio - 3 or 4 players in National Draft

4 worthy talls in draft besides Boyd

I have worked out that we have 32 on the primary list, assuming that Duigan has been delisted.
3 rookies.

Curnow will get elevated, as will Bell most likely.

This brings it up to 34 and one rookie.

You know what synbad, you can sit there and can all and sundry but the solution isn't as simple as you make out.

For instance sticks was a reluctant president who is well below par but no one wants the job.
Farhour wouldn't take it once he realized it was 20 hours a week so unless someone of stature stands what choice do you have.
Pratts would happily go but they were invited and they contribute. Please show me the replacements
Many of the others are seat fillers
The coach is good. He may not be the best but huge step forward. Your blanket statement is unbalanced
The recruiting was ok last year with limited picks.
This was our best trade period. They are quality ball carriers which we need
I predict we could finish lower in 2014 but at least the intention to balance the list is there.
The person I would be targetting to replace swan or Mackay is Stephen Silvagni. I would give him the run of the place. His the one carlton person that can rebuild us but sticks would need to go. Point is contribute solutions and balance opinion, not just dark, black wrist slashing negative views