Firstly apologies if this topic has been covered, but I haven't seen it mentioned before and it's something that gets up my nose a bit.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/j ... 1e30l.html

Every time Judd plays a blinder he seems to become someone we can't win without. I wonder what the other players think of this? IMO Judd's game against Sydney was his first "game winning" top shelfer for the season. We somehow still seem to have managed a few wins though and generally they seem to me to have been good team efforts. The comeback against Adelaide I think of Simmo, JR, Ellard. Essendon* I'm think Murph, Simmo and perhaps even Walks ... but, really, as I said - team effort.

The article I've linked to is one of the milder ones. I read one about a month ago that was rabbiting on about how wonderful Dane Swan was. Apparently he's won the last two Copeland trophys and no one has ever won three in row and what a superstar and boon to the club he would be if he achieved this. The tone of the article was stomach churning.

Anyway the next week I read that Judd has won the last two John Nicholls medals ... and what a concern it would be at Carlton if he won a third. WFT??? So how does that work? Swan is a great asset, Judd is lone hand? Talk about BS.

I don't have the links for those other articles sorry, but I still wanted to vent.
Feel better now ... cheers!

They've been harping on about this all week. Really shows how deeply some people understand footy. Yes, he is an important player, but name one club that doesn't have a 'best' player that they'd struggle without...

St.Kilda are struggling without Lenny, Brisbane are struggling without Brown, Adelaide have struggled since McLeod et al retired, Essendon* will continue to struggle when Fletcher retires soon, Hall isn't going to be around much longer for the Dogs...I could go on and on.

It's not the fact that we're a one man team...any team would love to have Juddy's input on a weekly basis. It isn't our fault Judd stars for us week in, week out. Because we have such a high-profile player in the team, other players often get overlooked for their efforts as the media like to focus on Juddy as the story.

We were without Juddy last year for the first three games. We gave Richmond a hiding, came within 3 goals of Brisbane, who at the time were being heralded us 'top 8 certainties', and dropped short of Essendon* after the whole team put in a shocker (which wasn't unusual for that time, we'd struggled against them even WITH Judd in the team).

We have improved a lot since then, I'm sure if you put us in that situation now we'd do well.

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Premierships: 1869, 1871, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1887, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995.

"GIBBS."

If Judd didnt play for Carlton, the media wouldnt be flagging this theory.. Simple as that!

Close thread..

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

If Juddy wasn't at Carlton, the stories would be all about how Carlton needed a match winner like Juddy

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Just watched 360 & Gerard Whately made some really valid points about Ablett ALWAYS being in the best for the cats in their halcyon years, no different to Judd at Carlton! Judd would be the best player in most teams on most weeks! Sellers also making the point to King about him
Playing with Carey at North, as good as the duck was, he still needed his disciples around him firing as well!

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'The Carlton people are spirited & I'm the same as them, they have life in them, they have humor, they're arrogant, they're cocky & they're proud. And that's what I want my team to be.'

I see Andy Carrazzo has had his say on all of this in his weekly column ...

http://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl/opinions ... n-one-man/

The comments below it were very amusing

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Have a look at what Big Nick said at the recent function - Carlton's brand has been damaged (due to a range of factors - many self inflicted) in recent times and the media enjoy pushing the view that Carlton are still struggling.

We are the most successful club, by ANY measure, over the last 50years.

We do not deserve the knocks that we are getting - however, it's perhaps a reflection of the payback that many perceive we deserve following our many years of dominance.

We have taken our medicine for the salary cap breaches, however, the demise of Carlton would be the last thing the AFL or other teams could contemplate due to the significant negative impact that would have on the competition.

There are many in the media, and by association in the broader football community, that would love to see Carlton being average for many years to come.

The myopic view that we are a 1 player club is a feeble attempt by those trying to perpetuate the damage done to our brand of recent times.

Those in the media who watch Carlton know that in addition to JUDD we have Murphy, Gibbs,
Waite, Kruezer, Yarran, Garlett, Betts, Jamison, Simpson, Walker and Warnock supported by
some very promising younger players which will result in Carlton being a significant force in the AFL shortly.

When we dominate again we need to contemplate whether arrogance is the best reaction,
because the current concerted media attack on our brand is a response to our years of success
and arrogance.

For mine, I wouldn't swap the success I've witnessed and enjoyed over the last 40 years for
anything. The media can keep up the attack but they can't take away our history, culture and success. We have the right people connected with the club to ensure we are a force again -
very soon.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

King can be okay but he was quite disastrous during that bit.

Yeah I thought he was a sheep, just following all the other so called media know alls!!!

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'The Carlton people are spirited & I'm the same as them, they have life in them, they have humor, they're arrogant, they're cocky & they're proud. And that's what I want my team to be.'

I watched 360 too and was pleasantly surprised Whately (and Robbo actually) not buying the argument from King that Judd solely continues to get Carlton over the line. Its been a broken record, having to put up with the barrage of media "expert" commentators all week banging on about "no Judd, no Carlton". (As a slight aside, this is what gets me about David King, he seems to come up with some solid commentary and game dissection on team strategies yet is blind to the way in which support and structure from players like Curnow, Ellard, (Mitch?) are critical in enabling Judd to find space and play that visibly damaging role.)

High reliance on one or two players in a past and current sides is so evident yet go virtually unmentioned compared to the talk about Judd and Carlton.

Actually, is there any hiding the fact that a considerable element of many clubs' game play strategies may actually be built around one or two players. At the very least, the game play of a number of clubs would /does look very different without

- Collingwood - Swan and Pendelbury
- Essendon* - Watson and Fletcher
- Geelong - Scarlett and Selwood
- Hawthorn - Hodge and Franklin
- Freemantle - Pav and Sandy
- Saints -Hayes and Goddard (They showed that life without the Volt didn't REALLY impair success that much)
- Sydney - Goodes and Kirk (I know he's gone but massive shoes to fill)
- Brisbane - Brown and Drummond
As for Carlton, apart from the obvious, I reckon Rats is anticipating the structure and style to really fall into place once fit and firing Krueze straightens them up.

Sorry bit of a captain obvious post in the end. Maybe I'm getting a bit precious with so much positive attention towards windy hill while we sit justifiably in the top third of the ladder and get called one trick pony's...

But he does, and they are and I contend that they are wrong.

Judd's been good, but up until the Sydney game I reckon Murphy would've been
leading our B&F and I believe, for example, the role that Jamison has played has been
every bit as valuable.

I agree to a certain extent but what Judd provides is the ability to ignite us when required...and that's a great asset to have....

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

if Carlton is a one man team what does that say about the teams we beat?

All year opposition supporters go out of their way to prove that player 'x' from their side is better than Judd.

Then when he plays a blinder they faintly praise him as a backhander to try and prove that without him the rest of the team is no good.

Rinse and repeat.

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"They're [REDACTED]'

David King is a fool.

He was involved in a discussion on Sports Tonight late last year when they were discussing the best on-ballers of the last 25 years.

King opined that he thought Gary Hocking was a better player than Chris Judd. I'm not joking, that was his opinion. I wouldn't take 2 Gary Hockings for a Judd (and neither would anyone who has ever seen the 95 GF).

Now, apparently, Judd is a one-man team.

Gee, Hocking's team-mates at the Cats must have been crap.

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"You can't polish a James Hird"

Love it when Maclure responded to King's words on AFL 360 last night. Something to the effect of; those two premierships you won, was Carey a one-man team?

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Premierships: 1869, 1871, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1887, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995.

"GIBBS."

Well, not by ANY measure. Hawthorn's won 10 flags - we've won only 8.....

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience!!!

After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says W T F .........
Visit http://fromthemoshpit.com/

Game against Sydney was one our most even efforts ... just rubbish and not supported by the numbers:

............Tackles..Contest Poss.
Judd............8 .. 25
Murphy.......10 .. 13
Curnow.......10 .. 11
Ellard..........10 .. 12
SCotland.....10 .. 11
Simmo..........2 .. 13
Carrazzo.......9 ..11
Gibbs...........4 .. 10

Fantastic spread of effort across the mids. Had a number of contributors, not just Juddy doing the hard work

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"It was like calling your ex girlfriend after a night on the booze, just a really bad decision".

This is where it gets tricky though. I agree that Judd can ignite us and he is a wonderful asset, but IIRC it wasn't
him who brought back in the last 10mins against Adelaide, (I'd have to look at it again to be really sure what he did).
Even against Sydney, Eddie's three goals in the 3rd were kinda handy.

It a difficult case to argue though without ending up running down Judd - which I have no intention of doing. He's great!
Bottom line for me is that we are a good team and Judd is just a component of that and it would be nice if the journo's
would recognise this once in a while instead of trotting out the same old stuff.