I don't understand why making the finals is seen as the benchmark by which the club's performance is assessed.

If we fall into the eight by beating Richmond and/or Essendon*, how does this turn the season into 'satisfactory' and mitigate the ineptitude of the preceding two months?

Based on our performances this year, one could argue that even if we do fall into the finals - the club, coach and players have still indeed failed.

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They will know that they've been playing against the famous old dark blues

Is there really a need to have this particular discussion now when we're in seventh place coming off a defeat at the hands of the top side who performed a similar hatchet job on St. Kilda a fortnight ago?

A fortnight ago Essendon* fans were baying for Knights' blood, yet two weeks later they look stupid. Has he "lost" his players now?

Surely we should be waiting for the season to play itself out before destroying the man's coaching career?

A quick and slightly biased snapshot at Carlton' s recent history


2002 Denis Pagan is appointed coach to lead us out of the abyss as the club has just won its first wooden spoon. No real interview process. Pagan does have the runs on the board and he is a Carlton man deep down.


2003 The club is caught cheating on the salary cap for a second time and loses first round draft picks. Two current coaches played while this went on. One in particular was heavily involved. Our current president was involved in some capacity and didnt do anything about it. The AFL warned us that if we got caught again we would be in deep shit. We didnt listen.


2004 We finish 15th in 2003 and Pagan in his wisdom recruits 10 or so recycled players around 20 years of age or so because he doesnt want to win another wooden spoon with a bunch of untried youngsters with small bodies. We manage to win 10.5 games. A great achievement but the % is about 80. We win a couple of close ones but the thrashings tell the truth that the list is ordinary and we have to start from scratch. Pagan didnt do this at the beginning of 2004. Want proof. Only Scotland from that group is still at the club.

2005 We win the Wizard Cup. In pehaps the most stupid football decision ever, Pagan is given a 2 year contract extension. Again sticks is involved. round 700 gorillas a year to the end of 2008. We win the spoon

2006 Spoon.

2007 round 16. Despite the return of the messiah that is Dick Pratt things go from bad to worse on field as Carlton get thrashed by the LIons. Pagan is sacked over a year before his contract runs out. Ratten become interim coach. As is the way a new coach means a honeymoom period. Players play better despite not winning a game. Doesnt matter we tanked to get Kreuzer. Just ask Travis Johnstone to confirm that conspiracy.

Post 2007

Dick dies sticks despite his awful track record offield assumes the Presidency.
Ratten is appointed coach despite another less than thorough interview process and a lack of experience at AFL level.Sticks and him our mates . Fraser Brown is behind the scenes. Coincidence that Ratten is a favourite son at Carlton
We improve because unless your recruiting is totally shit with the record we have had over the last 5 years we are going to recruit talent.


2010
Ratten's shortcomings as a senior coach are exposed. The last 4 weeks have been the worst in living memory given the talent we have IMO. Yet he is contracted to the end 2011.




So what do you do

YOU CHANGE THE CULTURE

Kernahan must vacate the office. He has been there all through this. He aint a leader offield. We need someone with strong views who can unite the club. I dont know who that would be but there must be someone.

Ratten and all the coaching staff must go.

As I said we need the broom to go through the place

The place has to change so we are not in the " we are Carlton @#$%&! the rest" mode

Those days are over
Yet we are stuck in the past

Change has to take place otherwise we will be left behind.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/brett-ratten-says-shape-up-or-ship-out/story-e6frf9jf-1225899502084

Rats said to shape up or ship out..

I agree Rats, but its needs to start at the top with you.

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31-3-2015 - R.I.P AFL, corrupted lying pricks
12-5-2015 - Go WADA
18-8-2015 - Suffer Hird* u lying flower
12-1-2016 - CAS goes bang, happy new year.. Drugcheats forever..

On the TV replay Christian mentioned how AJ's kick from defense (which went straight to Jolly) was just not good enough, and then Blight said it has more to do with plan/s, which to my mind means lack of plan, structure. How many times yesterday did we win the ball at HB and kick to 2 on 1s? What is the game plan? What is the structure? Seems non existent.

Ratten should do the admirable thing and fall on his sword, and get someone in who has a plan that works, that the players can believe in.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

I was saying a year ago we relied too much on Fevola. Is our current state partly due to Fev moving on? I think our biggest problem is we have no structure moving fwd. Yesterday it was evident at HB, players didn't know what to do when they got it, who was the CHF, the FF? How do we move it fwd?

But I think it is a cop out to say it is bec we don't have Fev, bec reality is we over relied on him for too long, and the coach and MC did nothing to change that while Fev wa at the club. And don't give me the "Fev is such a strong personality" line bec that doesn't influence or it should influence drafting and match committee decisions and development of young fwds etc.

What we are seeing right now is partly the reality that pre 2010 Fevola made Ratten look glood. Now he is gone the structure is rudderless but my point is club should have developed alternatives by now and they haven't.

Blight just then said why don't CFC coaches put in normal fwd structures?? He knows the problem, and so do I.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

Currently making Voss look good.

Me thinks we have too many precious individuals and when the chips are down they go missing

Give me a blue collar low draft pick anyday. Murph & Gibbs may be flashy, but Joel Selwood or a Dustin Martin would give the drive and leadership that we lack in spades.

Not a co-incidence that we have gone downhill rapidly since the pick of the #1 draft picks went down injured. While Kreuze wasn't setting the world on fire this year, the one thing that he did provide was ticker and a never-say-die attitude.

Ratten is simply too soft on his men.[/quote]

I wish Brett would stop being so monotone when asked about the team. There does not seem to be much passion in his plea's to the group, which is definitely being translated into the lacklustre efforts of his troops. Show some emotion Ratt's. You will not be ridiculed for ripping the phone out of the wall in the coaches box, particularly after the perfomances of the last month. Could not imagine Malthouse being so bland if the Pies put up the rubbish we have had to endure.

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The Empire Strikes Back

Yes it needs to be talked about now.

The club played 60 good minutes against the wooden spooners and we have Swann and Ratten in the media saying everything is on track and the supporters are just feral.

That is the sign of hierarchy that is deluding itself.

What last week showed is that people are very happy to have the cracks papered over at Carlton and say everything’s OK.

If we fall into the finals with one or two more wins against bottom teams, there will be the same attitude of ‘it’s all ok’ we heard after the West Coast game.

But it’s clearly not ‘all ok’.

First the aim was to win a final, now the club’s barometer is just to make a final.

The club needs to be more honest with itself and that is why the issues must be talked about now.

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They will know that they've been playing against the famous old dark blues

The thing is, we've relied on blue-collar, low draft picks to try and supplement the likes of Murphy and Gibbs. They are seen as great blokes with their heads screwed on and can do it all for us. However, they've learnt to believe it. I hate to bring up the recruiting side of it but it's like we have too many passive 'nice' guys that fit too snuggly into little, limited, holes. It is all well and good to have a 'best available' policy (It's one I agree on, in theory) but when that 'best' always seem to fit a limited pattern there is only so much you can do with them. I know we have huge problems that are not directly list related but everything fits together.

It's no wonder we lack passion for the game, it's partly because these bloke's are prone to being all too well aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Absolutely.

Should have known it was a Paf post......but sadly I had to look at the user name.....

Something's got to give.....surely they can't continue to cruise along like millionaires for too much longer.

I am struggling to find answers at the moment....

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The problem will be made. for the solution to be sold, to your face before your eyes, tolerance is now the new danger

TBM.......they're playing like Schoolkids at an Inter School Match.....they're only kids so you don't expect much, except...

....these guys are very highly paid professional footballers............it's both embarrassing and deflating.

Is it embarrassing and deflating for them too?.......I wonder.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

I have wondered this myself. But it's been happening so regularly that I've come to the conclusion that they all hate each other and the club and just don't give a shit anymore.

What Keogh said. Pretty much exactly my sentiments.

I think to myself, where to from here for the CFC. Really thought we were on the way up. I feel really deflated and just think the long winter continues down at Visy Park. It will be a long long winter i feel. Who has the answers? From the outside, it doesn't take a blind man to see that all is not well on the field and off the field. Something is really missing. It would appear that a combination of factors such as Spirit, Leadership, Professionalism, Vision, Accountability, Ownership etc etc. We are like a rudderless ship and have no Captain to lead us to the promised land.

Is there a crisis? Only those in the inner sanctum would know. Or do they?

I just hope that Judd doesn't pull the plug on us during his tenure. If that happened.....I don't know what would result!!

I guess the long and short of it is, i am gutted and clueless

It's only conjecture; but I can't help thinking that this would not be happening if Dick Pratt was still with us.

It's seemingly a lack of leadership and confidence seeping through the Club; with no one capable of stopping it.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

love your work Doc....

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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

Thought you'd appreciate that

Who would've known that losingitis could be so entertaining?............

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

Love your strong,non wishy washy style Doc..................but this Ratts needs help stuff is driving me crazy.Bomber Riley is his mentor isnt he ? Riley was Ratts persnal choice wasnt he ?..............he has a cast of thousands supporting him.The bloke has got what it takes or he hasnt.............
By the way,im not giving up the ghost just yet.Ratts is the luckiest bloke i know.Crows,Swans,North all going down today gives Ratts YET another chance to redeam himself.Doc,Ratts is too nice.Half our side are playing like cats and should be told so in no uncertain terms..........its one thing getting beat.But being soft and DISINTERESTED is pathetic.I get the fealing a lot of our players are happy to be on an AFL list full stop.They dont seem the slightest bit hungry.It is impossable to get angry and ferocious if you aint hungry for success.

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All my dangerous friends