Give him a year with the option to extend his contract if continued improvement is shown. If things go pear shaped next year, then we re in the market for Roos and Malthouse....

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

well said.

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"He was found guilty in June 2008 of assault with intent to cause bodily harm, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years jail."
And people are making his return to footy somewhat of a fairytale?

I don't think we have the quality across our list to say we "should win a Grand Final". My guess is we may get over the line if we do everything right in the next 2 years. That includes the board, the business, coaching - leadership, development and strategy/tactics, player leadership group, fitness, recruitment, luck etc.

We're an outside chance to snag one in the Judd era in my view.

Malthouse .....

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I am as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!!

I wonder if we've had a whisper in Ross Lyon's ear? Just in case we have a catastrophe on Sunday.

Good lord, imagine watching Saints FootyTM every week.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

Think it's time to "throw up"...

I really don't know about Ratten. I have always been concerned about a young inexperienced coach with a young group.

The issue is who else is there if we don't sign him? I certainly don't want Lyon. Watching that football each week would be a major turnoff. Malthouse or Roos maybe, but not available. Eade? Not sure. Richardson? Probably doing the coaching anyway.

People say we have improved, I am not sure. I don't believe we have bridged the gap with the top sides. Also, this crap about every player has improved in the past twelve months. Tell that to Austin, Russell, Mclean, Houlihan, Warnock, Lucas & Bower and it could be argued that a number of players have levelled off. Judge our performances against the Top 4 sides and I would suggest not many have improved.

Be very interesting what will happen. I get the impression that a few key Carlton people are sitting back and watching closely. If we lose to Essendon* we haven't gone anywhere!

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015

I am not a fan of Ratts as a coach but I disagree to an extent in that I believe there are areas we have improved on this season most notably our defensive game and our defensive back six as a whole....also our midfield has gone up a notch....now who has been behind this improvement? I'm sure the assistants have played a major role namely Brown and Richardson.
However Ratts's role on the sidelines seems to have created a greater rapport between him and the players and this has also been beneficial to the group.

I agree that some players haven't come on this season and I also believe our fwd 50 entries and setups when going forward forward have not improved that much at all....this may be the responsibility of the forwards coach who I believe is Barker....now I really could not care less who is responsible for the improvement as I'm sure the club would know this and would therefore act based on this knowledge.

I would be inclined to give Ratts one more year to get us into the top 4....then review at the end of 2012.

I have no doubt we will beat the Scum as I do not rate them highly at all....

The biggest surprise is how far out if the top four we finished when IMO the quality of sides below 5th this year has been quite poor. This is why I view this season as a massive opportunity to make significant inroads towards ultimate success....

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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

Have to agree Psych.
Unfortunately the period 02`to 07` was so degrading it has turned our collective minds to mush or that of a Saints supporter during the eighties, where we cling onto anything that seems like success. ie Judds` Brownlow, Fev`s Coleman, a player named in AA squad or a Bullants win.
We used to stand for and demand success and if we didn`t get it we did something about it. That helped create the aura of the club and attracted players and supporters to the club.
Now we stand for mediocrity, setting average goals like playing a home final. We need to return to the days of a strong administration that saw Walls win a GF in 87`, Prelim in 88` and gone in 89`.(not an Elliott fan either)
If we go down on Sunday i just can`t see how you can accept losing 3 straight Elims`.
I know we have had key players out but those missing have had a history of injury issues. Who`s to say these same players won`t be injured again next year?
Loved Ratts as a player, don`t think he is a Premiership coach.

Will wait and see the result at around Sunday 5.30pm.
I think we will re-sign him if we just go down to the scum, with conditions (eg. shorter term like 1 year with performance based clauses dictating any extension beyond that).
A win may give him 2 years.

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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!

It depends how you define "improvement". If we lose on Sunday then we'll have lost at the same stage for the third year in a row. In that sense, where "improvement" is measured by tangible progression further toward the Grand Final, we wouldn't have improved, that's factually indisputable.

But if you view "improvement" in terms of asking "having seen us play every game for the last couple of seasons, are we a better team right now than we were one/two years ago", then I don't see how any Carlton supporter can sit there and genuinely answer this question in the negative. Even aside from what the numbers and statistics say, we are simply a better-developed, more well-rounded, cohesive unit now than we were last year or the year before that. This is a conclusion reachable on the basis of weekly observance of games over a period of time.

Footy and sport in general are results-driven and so if we lose on Sunday, a dispassionate examination of the season's ultimate result, i.e. first-week elimination, could only conclude that the club has not "improved" and it is on the basis of this analysis that Ratten will likely come under heavy scrutiny.

However, it is because the club's own assessment of 2011 will probably involve more than a mere glance at the reality of an elimination final exit (if it were to occur) that Ratten will, and, in my opinion, should, remain as coach.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

...all will be revealed by Barret on TFS coming up - stay tuned.

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“I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” ― Richard Feynman

The logic is good, but it's not clear to me why we need to actually put a contract in place. No-one's chasing him, and he's not going to quit a senior coach's job.

Just tell him to keep showing up and we'll keep paying him until such time as his performance resolves the matter one way or the other. Like when your lease expires and you tell the agent you'll go month to month.

The coaches association would have a fit of course cause it would set a nasty precedent. But lets face it, we might manage to remain calm were we to lose on Sunday ... but if we started the 2012 season poorly, we'd go caretaker on Ratts' arse pretty quickly I imagine.

yuk

Barret saying basically that some on the board see it a win gets Ratts 2 years, a loss 1 year with an option, a bad loss means the sack.

If they're that simple his future boils down to the result of one game, those board members can piss off. No Passengers.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

I don't think Damien would've needed too stern an interrogation to get that info. Those scenarios seem to be the general feeling of anyone with at least a passing interest in the sport.

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"In fairness it did seem in the early days of the draft teams would just pick a name totally at random out of a hat. I'm pretty sure we picked James Cook at #2 one year. The mediocre forward, not the explorer" - Me, 12/9/2011

Carlton 2012: Lets remind them why they once feared the Dark.

Most people with a passing interest don't really have a clue.

Either we think he can coach or we dont. If that decision is being based on one game then we're stuffed.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Oh, and if that information is leaking from the club so easily, then God help us.

Find the leak and get rid of it.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Agreed.

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Go to http://www.snoutslouts.org/ for a look at the mighty GFC...