I said this morning to the other half they would be playing dirty because they know taking a player or two out would aid them enormously and they certainly picked very well by targeting Carrots in the first 3 minutes. No doubt Lonergan won't even get cited on some bullshit technicality

Didn't help the rest of the side didn't show up.

Just shits me to tears that EVERY YEAR IN ROUND 3 OR 4 this bollocks happens against these flogs. Davey kicking 3 goals midway through the second quarter summed up today.

We played like the Carlton of 2-4 years ago today and it was just so disheartening to realise that we really haven't come as far as we'd thought.

Any chance we had in the third term we flubbed with our terrible goal kicking. Simpson, Waite and Betts really shouldn't be missing those shots. The fact I have no confidence when they line up for a set shot is really sad when you consider how long they have been playing.

Every year in the early Essendon* game this same shit happens....just when I think we have matured and taken that next step I'm bitterly disappointed that the team FIGJAMS it all over again. We need to HTFU and it wouldn't hurt to shave those @#$%&! fringes! Hate them. I used to appreciate our conservative approach to hair while others would sport sunglass-modeling catalogue hair.....never thought it would come to this.

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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

Spot on, shocking game by Robbo. Needs to learn to take the first option too.

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"I had to eat"

Thought a good nights sleep would help, I've woken up feeling worse!

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Happy Days Are Here Again!!

He has tweeted that "he" can't wait to make amends for yesterday's performance, glad he knows how crap he was!

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Happy Days Are Here Again!!

Can't afford for your worst half-dozen to include Gibbs, Jamison and Robinson.

Firstly, full credit to Essendon*. They went to school on our game plan, and screwed us good and proper. The damage could ve been much much worse had Crameri kicked straight as well. They deserve the bragging rights, especially after the flower behaviour of some of our bigheaded fans during the week.

Its becoming annoying now though, that we still cant seem to handle being talked up... We want to mix it with the big boys, but we lose every time following a big win and a week of media buzz. Hope the boys stay away from Media Street for a while. Flying under the radar is the go, instead of talking oruselves up and looking like goofballs.

I ve finally come to the realisation that Waite will never be the player that Id hoped he could become. A1 29, he is still doing silly, undisciplined things, and his form is too up and down. How anyone who calls themselves a key forward can miss the anmount of simple set shots that he consistantly does is beyond me.

Garlett also needs someone to give him a bit of a rocket. Too flashy, too FIGJAM, always going for the fancy dinky passes or miracle goals.

Robbo will never become an A Grader. Yeah, hes a hard nut and we love that about him, but his choices and his disposal let him down more often then not.

Should ve had Walker as a sub instead of Brock.

Was also annoying hearing Collingwood fans giving us stick. The amount of people txting me or sending me fb messages saying Carlton are 'pretenders' and that we re 'sh1t' really became annoying. Man, dont these pathetic losers realise that they re only celebrating another team doign what they couldnt. Nothing will change last weeks scoreboard...

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

Waite' accuracy was a disappointment. But Kade Simpson was just as bad.

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My Blue Heaven

maybe they should stop tweeting.. and just do it!

too much tweeting....

who do they need to tell us ?????

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

me to !

IMO Ratts and co have every to stick to the method and gameplan that had us win the first 3 and gameplan that they want to take into the future. The dons had a counter gameplan that was working well against ours but we need to learn to overcome that. We dont want them dictating what we do. We know our gameplan works when we are switched on and are winning the contested balls. IF we fail to win them then we lose and the players will learn that. The Pies and Cats rarely adjusted their gameplans during their good years. It was a case of play the plan right and you win. Stuff it up and you lose. Personally i like that philosphy.

So i dont blame the coaches for not taking a man out of our structure to stand their +2 in defence. I dont blame them for sticking with gibbs in defence because that has been important to our 3 wins previously. If we had of won the contested ball and got in their faces when they had it then we would have been ok.

The players need to take the blame. Flat as tacks and gave the gameplan no chance of working.

i too, think that Brock is not up to it, but he needs a couple of weeks atleast, to adjust to the step up from the VFL. question is, can we afford him that luxury?

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i don't wanna spend my life explaining myself. Either you get it, or you don't- Frank Zappa

Essendon* owned the corridor, stopages/clearances and killed us on the rebound. They ran the ball through the middle with too much ease for my liking - what the flower was that all about coaches!!!!!! When you have an extra person loose around the ball - this will happen more often than not. We needed to move on this earlier and man up through the middle.

I will keep harping on this but Waite played a lone hand forward and did everything humanly possible as the only KP FORWARD!!! We need another to support him and for those people that are having pot shots at him.... . Having one genuine forward will destroy us come September, if we don't find another KP FORWARD!!!!! Lucas at ff, Gartlet @ ff, Betts @ ff is not going to work week in week out.

Anyway that was the worst game I have seen Jamison play and Bower or Simpson certaintly don't deserve the crap being thrown at them.

Hopefully we learn and what a game the Fremantle one is now.

I will keep harping on this but Waite played a lone hand forward and did everything humanly possible as the only KP FORWARD!!! We need another to support him and for those people that are having pot shots at him.

While he continues to play dumb footy and miss easy goals it is clear to me he will not be a quality key forward. Kick those goals yesterday (with Simmo) and we may have won the game. Just not good enough. Yes he took 13 marks but did not capitalise. The stakes are much higher now.

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

Yes, but I think the MC has a case to answer as well with selection - yes, easy in hindsight, but I think AJ's pace, run, hardness and shutdown abilities could've made some difference.

Brett Rattens press conference
[youtube]PhJ7dfu-N2Q[/youtube]

Match highlights (afl)
[youtube]GvLqhWEuHeA[/youtube]

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Navyblue95 -
my youtube channel tracking carlton news on television and paytv

I haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if I am repeating others' observations. But here are mine...

I can live with players having down days, they are going to happen, and it is a sign of a side that is yet to reach full maturity. We certainly had one of those days, and credit to Essendon*, they out played us, out coached us, and brought greater intensity to the contest.

My biggest concern is one I have written about here a number of time previously, and that is our general inability to resort to game plan B when game plan A is not working (not sure we have game plan B, to be honest), and more importantly, out game plan going into the forward line.

It has seemed to me since last year that our default 'system' going forward is to bomb it long into the forward 50, hope a mark is taken, and if not, hope the crumbers work their magic. This works against the lesser teams who don't have the talent or structures to defend it. However, against the better teams, with better players and / or better structures and / or better coaching, it consistently fails.. It failed against all the top teams last year, and it failed again yesterday. It worked last week against Collingwood, but they were desperately undermanned down back (no Brown, Tarrant, and after 1/4 time, Reid).

Yes, we were smashed in the midfield yesterday, which doesn't help. And yet, as at 3/4 time, we had 3 more inside 50s, but 12 fewer scoring shots. They are damning numbers. By game's end (taking into account the last quarter junk time), 5 more inside 50s and 10 fewer scoring shots. That tells me that we are not getting value for the number of times we are going forward, something I felt was also true even in our earlier wins. There is no system in the forward line, with the exception of kick over the top and let the runners run into space (or bomb it long). Where are the leading forwards? Hird knew what we did, played a loose man in defence, sometimes 2 with players peeling off...and surprise surprise, it didn't work and we couldn't adjust.

I have been banging on about this since last year to those who I discuss football with. I just can't see us winning the really big games against the best defences until we get a better system going into the forward line.

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Mens sana in corpore sano.

Bring back the laurel wreath logo!!!

If crameri had kicked straight we would have lost by a lot more? And if Waite had kIcked straight we might have won.

Players shouldn't tweet? They should be doing more than tweeting. We are embarrassed by how we play but most of us were arrogant about the game pre game exce

If crameri had kicked straight we would have lost by a lot more? And if Waite had kIcked straight we might have won.

Players shouldn't tweet? They should be doing more than tweeting.

We are embarrassed by how we played but most of us were arrogant about the game pre game except syngas and keogh who kept quiet pre game so why are we surprised?

You cant be too rigid.
You must learn to adapt quicly as situations change.

That is gameplan b - c and d etc

If you do what you do all the time.. the opposition see it.. study it.. learn and devise how to stick it up you.

If you cant adapt you might get creamed.

It happened!!... but again... ground hog day

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.