Spot on. We have this psychological fragility against this mob that I don't understand. Maybe Campo knows more about Ratts psyche than we think.
BTW. Waite is a natural winger. He'll beat anyone in the open spaces. I'd also play Gibbs into form as a permanent HFF for the remainder of the year. Maybe a few goals and pats on the back is what he needs. He'll kick most goals from inside 50 either on the run or from a set shot. Maybe Betts to spend more time in the middle

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If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

Pro: I didn't have to watch it, thanks to the AFL insisting everyone in Sydney is a Swans fan.

Con: Take your pick

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

Con: Have been saying it for years: We can't @#$%&! kick

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Cheats never prosper (except in the AFL)

I am a loyal Blues man but i was disgusted last night.

PROS

Simpson - a real leader who has some real guts and desire (wish there was more like him)

Russell - Again seems to be getting better

Yarran - was pretty good, has class and will be very good


CONS

Warnock - needs a week or two in the Ants, Warnock is a better option right now

Walker - got no idea where he should play, go to the ants

Gibbs - needs to stand up in tough games (like simmo) not just get 30 touches against the shit teams. Real concerns here

We are badly missing Bower, because Thornton cant be key position. Plus having Bower frees up Waite

Robinson - really lacks composure


I hate to say it but we are in real strife, we got Crows in Adelaide, Cats, Pies, Saints, Hawks all in the next 6 weeks.

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Blue boy thru and thru

Pro - 3 weeks ago we had depth to burn, oozing class etc
Con - Today we are crap

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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.

Pros

Kane Lucas - top debut i thought given we were getting slammed, some of his efforts at the ball were very very good
Yarran - good pressure and never gave up
Simpson - if everyone had this blokes effort we would be 10 times better team... he never stop trying... very good player
Russell - i was a massive critic and yeah he will make a mistake occasionally... but he has become very solid in my opinion
Murphy - i thought he tried to lift but was getting nailed everytime he went near it and was tagged very hard

Cons

Warnock - please please drop this bloke, how can a bloke that big be so weak and have such rubbish hands.... must be dropped
Walker - honestly enough is enough.... either play him on a half forward flank or drop him. He is the most over rated player on our list
Ohailpin - he needs to go into the backline and be told just to stick to his man and punch the ball... he isnt smart enough to play forward
Ratten - no tactics.... no gameplan... must go honestly

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Matty Kruzer you star!

Not JR's best game last night...by a long way

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"I had to eat"

[quote="99prelim"]

But isn't that the point. If the players aren't playing with unbridled passion and spirit, then the coach has to take responsibilty. Otherwise, call in a consultant, devise a game plan and let the players execute it week in week out, since the coach isn't responsible for what happens on the field. Read any book on leadership and you will find that great leaders inspire best practice in their followers, who are then inspired to become leaders themselves. Gibbs is a perfect case in point. Nothing more than serviceable, yet he should be blossoming and showing the world he is taking the club by the horns and moving it in the right direction.\
[quote]

Yes i agree it is the coaches job to get the team fired up to play with intent. Ratts failed at that last night and the buck stops with him. If he cant turn that around like Knights did after their debacle last week then i will be disappointed and right there with the "Ratts is in over his head" crew. I am not talking about the results . I will be happy if they just come out and tackle like mad men and play with intensity to give our plans the best chance of working.

Last night our boys forgot the basics. Everyone knows that if you are not having a good night re getting a kick then help the team by laying a big tackle or crash a pack to make room for others. Concentrate on the 1%ers to help the team. Our boys left all that behind and played like they were half asleep. They shouldnt have to be told to do this. They know. They do it every other week. This was a massive Con. Hopefully their pride copped a beating and they do something about it.

Sheesh even Daisy Thomas has realised he is not a good player with the ball and commits his whole game to what he can do for the team without having the ball.

PROs

- Melksham
- Pears
- Colyer
- Reimers
- Lovett Murray


....... Woops

POW

That is doing my head in!




Did anyone actually watch Collingwood on Friday night? They were worse than we were. They couldn't even beat a team running at half-pace, with no interchange in the last quarter.

F^&*ing hell some of you are a pack of queens.

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

pros
simpson-- seriously he is gonna have a great year, always starts off slow but is on fire at the moment this year, the guy has a big heart and i felt sorry for him last night,

murphy didnt have his best game but flower he tried got bashed every time he got the ball but kept goin in for it, how come no one was giving it to his tagger like collingwood did to st kilda fri night

armfield, yarran and betts were ok and can walk with there heads held high

cons
i have never been so disappointed with carlton as i was last night, we are essendons bitches
walker is shit, potential everyone says, what the 100 sprint, its a laugh how many excuses we make for this guy, he is a joke
warnock is shit aswell, no need to explain why
gibbs is soft as butter
we cant kick
play the guys in 1 position ffs
lack of intensity
no fowradline
brittle backline
the middle corridor
we cant tackle
and to be totally honest there are alot of shit teams in the afl right now and we still wont make the 8 and if we do we are wasting our time

Pros: Yarran (Only player in blue who could take the game on)

Cons: When the going gets tough the clangers from the usual suspects come out again.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

I wouldn't be confident against Melb at the moment. Lucky we've already played Rich.

Last night was pitiful and soul destroying. As I mentioned before, they've lost any 'glass half full' faith I had.

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We are on our way back...

We won 13 last year, made finals, had our first bad game this year and Ratten must go. Really. It's more an excuse to vent.

Problem is when you get rid of you gun forward without a contingency plans you get structural problems, which affect the game plan and performance. Reality certainly bites now.

Cons:
The most pathetic performance by a supposedly talented Carlton team against a B-grade team.
Lack of desire and intensity - even watching it at home.
No counter or defence to their attacking game plan, even after playing them the last 6 times knowing what their game plan is.
Serious ?'s around the football department and many players around their effectiveness after that performance.
We have serious psychological issues when we play this team - ala early 80's.
This team will NOT take us to No.17 - at least half to two thirds of the team won't be there.
Footskills are still a problem - proven teams that are most effective by foot win flags, we don't have the foot skills
Mighty pissed off with Carlton

Pro:
Judd returns

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For some silly reason, you people want to assassinate him, and it's just rubbish. You people. All of you, ALL of you!

Pros
Great debut by Lucas, looked very classy

Cons
How many times can you sit an exam in your specialist area, have exactly the same questions presented to you and fail? 5 times apparently if you are the Ratts and the Carlton MC

What is out game plan? Clearly there are 22 players who don't know.

Ratts threatening to hammer them on the track this week etc. How about he take responsibility for a static game plan that no-one seems to understand. How about he take responsibility for his failure to motivate the team. After 2 and a half years we still look like a rabble

Does anyone here think Knights is a great coach or that Essendon* have a better list than us? How do they keep beating us?

I don't care what stats say they slaughtered us with decisive possession in the middle and at contests

TBird continued where he left off last week. What were the Hawks offering a couple of years back?

Walker looks a shadow of the player that seemed to be emerging several years back

Gibbs is very classy but doesn't impose himself on games like this the way J Selwood does. Needs to change the course of games

I thought Warnock battled hard but does very little around the ground. Why did we spend two draft picks on him when we already had HAmmo and Sauce? MAybe we could have got a genuine running defender with those picks

Maybe Brock was injured, if not he was slaughtered by Watson

Can we recruit some guys who can kick a footy?

When we have been shopping for rejects over the last 6 years and mainly got ones who aren't up too much its pity Jason Gram wasn't on our shopping list. The Saints got him very cheap from Brissy and we need a defender exactly like him. Who can carry the ball and deliver it accurately.

Setanta had a shocker. Just keep it simple and have him leading up and back, although playing deep in the Carlton forward line would have been hard for John Coleman given the way we brought the ball in

Have we actually drafted better than the Dons with our superior picks? I guess time will tell.

As disappointed as I've been in about 10 years in that result. At least in the final last year we had a go and just fell short.

Last night we were nowhere near it and didn't deserve to be as close as we were. Umps probably cost us 3 goals yet had no impact on the result. It was all the more galling because we played such an insipidly weak Essendon* side. I saw them play last week and they were putrid. I just can't believe we could lose to them.

Pros:

Lucas - decent debut

Hendo - kicking wasn't good but I thought he presented well, took 9 marks, did ok

Simpson - easily our best

Betts - wasn't bad, shouldnt have played on against Fletcher but that was a blatant push in the back by Fletcher

Cons

Bryce Gibbs - Disinterested, soft and seems to think that it's enough to cruise around the field picking up a few possessions in space. I don't usually single players out like this but he must do better than this. If he's holding out for more money then he'd want to be producing more on the field to justify it.

Warnock - Needs to head back to the VFL and get some form. We have to pick players based on form - I won't be happy if Jacobs is not in next week.

Pretty much everyone else

Pro: Took my 9 year old little brother to the game, his first game as a member...He finally hates those scum bastards now.

Can someone explain why betts was put in the middle once ( and he won that clearance)

Can someone explain why walker was used at full back on a much taller gumbleton and the slower Thornton used on the back flank on hocking?

Can someone explain why when the 6 defenders went out before the first bounce they were all pointing around looking confused and not knowing which man was theres?

Can someone explain why we dont try anything different at all throughout the game?

Here are some radical ideas that may not work but will ATLEAST look like we're attempting to do something different:

Russell into the middle: Only guy that is willing to run (bar simmo) So give him a go in the guts!
Walker to full forward: Hes fast, so stick him in the square and let him lead and try catch it!
Gibbs to full forward: Got killed in the middle, smart footballer, so put him in the square and let him lead!!!!!!!

DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!