moshe25 wrote:
I think that in the emotion of the past few days, some points have been lost. Just to be clear, I'm not laying the malaise at the feet of anyone in particular. But if you look at the whole situation logically and dispassionately, a few things stand out.
1. We have a draft in place that gives the bottom team first dibs at the best available talent.
2. If you're really down and out, you also get a priority pick.
3. There's a salary cap in place to ensure rich clubs don't have an unfair advantage.
4. Notwithstanding point 3, we (ie, Carlton) always seem to find a way to go beyond that anyway.
Now given all that, if everything else is equal, every club should theoretically rise to the top once every 16 years (now 18) and to the top 4 every 4 years or so. Now also, before you quote strangling draft penalties of 2002, just remember that they were
a) almost 10 years ago;
b) followed by a no.2, a no.4, and three no.1 draft picks; and
c) followed by fluking a top prospect with a no.45 draft pick (Simmo) and then later another one with a no.40 pick (Robbo).
So, the effect of the draft penalties has been well and truly offset by now.
The question then asks itself. Given all the equalisation that the AFL's social engineering has foisted upon the competition in terms of "cattle", and given that in that period, clubs like Sydney, Collingwood, and particularly WCE have truly prospered (and incidentally, managed to go down and then up again and win premierships, and play off in 8 GFs in the past 10 years); given all of that..........
THERE MUST BE SOMETHING AT PLAY BEYOND JUST HAVING THE AVAILABLE "CATTLE" !!!!!
If it were just about having the cattle, EVERY CLUB HAS THE SAME OPPORTUNITY. But how come St Kilda hasn't won 4 flags?? They had that many top 10 picks, it's not funny (Reiwoldt, Kosi, Clarke, Ball, etc). How come Melbourne has been a rabble for years?
The answer is, it takes more than just cattle. It takes a brilliant, top-class, professional organisation with a smart visionary leader whose job it is to lead and maintain a united board which can then
- employ a great CEO;
- search and select a good, innovative, flexible coach who has a blueprint for success;
- support a modern state-of-the-art football department which includes recruitment, development, coaching, selection, etc, and
- HOLD ALL OF THE ABOVE TO ACCOUNT for results.
For anyone who doesn't like the words "culture" and "environnment", the above is what I have meant by those words. Call it "footy club ethos" or call it "billbraxton" for all I care, but FFS, stop talking about injuries and stoppages and "if we can just get a CHF". None of them will make any difference!
Now, how do we accomplish this? I don't actually know. I'm not the one. But don't have a go at me for just talking. Our biggest problem is that this is not acknowledged, and IMO, until it is, we will continue to be a rabble, a laughing stock, and ultimately an irrelevancy like North Melbourne and Melbourne...... and, god forbid, Fitzroy!
Good thinking however is far too much doom and gloom for mine.....I think it can be approached in a far simpler way with far less boxes to tick to achieve on field success.....Your points are important for the Club however IMO the clear winners are Confidence & Motivation......we had both last year and up until round 3 this year....Its motivation & confidence that need to be managed.....regardless of organisation structure and calibre successs can still be achieved.....
My take is simple....our players have dropped their heads when overconfident - had some suceess last year - smashed the pies - thought it was going to be easy this year - got smashed by the bombers - had a few injuries - and have lost the mind set and now thinking negatively.....Its the job of Ratten and co & no higher to manage this which is why the turnaround has not happened......
Ratten is a plugger than learns through experience and reacts late IMO.....Is not overly inspiring....and this is the key problem.....Pending the personalisites within the playing group this determines the overall mindset of the group......In Carltons instance with players that are seemingling fragile mentally...the coaching group is critical.....If we had persoanlities such as Dermott Brereton or James Hird or Michael Voss in the playing group I suspect the downturn would not have been so great....Not for their talent but for their approach and response to adversity....to challenge....
Its the mix of mindsets bw coach and players that in my view is the problem...When we are good , we are good....When we are not we dont have anyone determined enough or strong enough mentally to make a stand and stop the rot.....
The Port example may be a hard enough message to rally the troups....For some "Teams" it takes being hit hard and hitting rock bottom mentally to stand up and have a crack....
If they can regain their motivation and confidence the boys will go a long way to competing against most sides......
Its Talent Plus ATTITUDE and in the latter we are severely lacking.....Re Capture it and I think we should be ok
If does not happen then its a high as the coaching group that needs to be looked at.....
The players so long as being payed well in comparison to the market couldnt care less about politics....The Just Want To Win Footy Games and Premierships and pick up chicks......Help them with their head space and They Will.
cheers
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