Sorry Mikkey this is actually what was written before marketing got it

After Friday night's game I asked the players to stop bitching and arguing about what had happened and tell me whether they give a crap. I also told them that the crap they dished up again did not meet the expectations of our football club and would not be tolerated under any circumstances and as such some will pay the price , no matter who they are. Sticks agrees

Not long before the first bounce at the MCG or Etihad Stadium (can't remember which) on Friday night, I made a comment to one of the assistant coaches that I have no idea what Im doing in footy. The remark came after the game threw up its latest challenge in the form of Zach Tuohy. Zach had battled a back complaint all week and said he couldn't play. While we were all mindful of it, he I told him I needed him to save my job and as such offered to fly his parents out if he played. I said to him I don't care if you become a cripple I need you tonight. Unfortunatley Zac could not run up the race, so I dropped him for an emergency. I think his name is Kane and is a young key forward with potential.

With Zach's late unavailability we completed a hasty reshuffle, only to lose the very moody Andrew Walker – an endurance athlete capable of playing small or tall in case no one knew – who hurt his calf and was subbed out early. We then lost Aaron Joseph (a player in the first half who is probably leading our B&F because i love him) with concussion and from then on we really fell away. Sticks agrees.

Of course our structures were not altered just because of injury, although its the excuse I like to use, as does Sticks and Gleeson. Drew Petrie's four first quarter goals on a useless Jamison (who's instructions were to stop Petrie kicking goals) forced me against the wishes of the other coaching staff to send Lachie Henderson back to help stem the flow in our back half and this required more changes all over the ground. Who or where I don't know but I like moving the magnets and it looks good on TV. Its a tactic I picked up in my valuable time at Norwood.

These changes do not excuse for what was a very disappointing night, firstly someone forgot my lollies (I think it was Thornton again) and secondly Andy made me sit next to him in the box again. Though we matched the opposition in the warm up, pre match press conferences and in terms of getting the football into THEIR forward line, it was the North players' ability to listen to and follow their coaches instructions, coupled with our repeated lack of effort and care, that really told against us. Definitely wasn't my fault. They also smashed us at the stoppages and posted 11 goals straight as a consequence, whereas we just didn't give a crap. Thinking back on it the umpiring really let us down.

I have to say that the performance of our captain Chris Judd to apply a new style chicken wing was unbelievable. He virtually tore the arm from the players shoulder had it not been for his sheer brilliance the final margin would have been even greater.

I also thought Eddie had a great game at FF and Jeffy at CHF. Couldn't ask anymore from them. Watto also looked a Natural ruckman and when Hampson, Warnock are back we can look seriously at playing 4 ruckman.

In the wake of this defeat we're going to have a real hard look at where we're going (I thinks its Etihad) and which players are actually available because Justin hides the injury reports from me and if it wasn't for injuries we would be undefeated. Marc Murphy and Lachie Henderson have to be commended in their ability to play in positions they don't want to and still look interested. I though Marc's decision to use my barber made a real difference to his run and carry.

This week Jarrad Waite will play because Im desperate and he is the best key forward in the league and my wife is a great fan of WAG Nation.

Kind Regards and I off to get my cheque and lunch with Sticks to negotiate and extension to my contract and to interview school teachers for the Northern Blues job

Go Demons

Ron Barrassi

Here is Ratten's Monday email. Read and weep:


After Friday night's game I asked the players to think about what had happened and the taste it leaves in your mouth. I also reminded them of their responsibilities to maintain the expectations of our football club and that none of them could shy away from them, no matter who they are.

Not long before the first bounce at Etihad Stadium on Friday night, I made a comment to one of the assistant coaches that there's never a dull moment in footy. The remark came after the game threw up its latest challenge in the form of Zach Tuohy. Zach had battled a back complaint all week and while we were all mindful of it, he had responded well and thought he would be right for the North Melbourne match.

Unfortunately Zach's condition deteriorated in the pre-match build-up, and, to his credit he put his hand up and said he was unable to play which was a tough decision for him. As a consequence of his late withdrawal our plan to go with him on Lindsay Thomas went out the door.

With Zach's late unavailability we completed a hasty reshuffle, only to lose the high-leaping Andrew Walker – an endurance athlete capable of playing small or tall – who broke down with a calf injury and was subbed out early. We then lost Aaron Joseph (an influential player in the first half) with concussion and from then on we really fell away.

Of course our structures were not altered just because of injury. Drew Petrie's four first quarter goals forced us to send Lachie Henderson back to help stem the flow in our back half and this required more changes all over the ground.

These changes do not excuse for what was a very disappointing night. Though we matched the opposition in terms of getting the football into our forward line, it was the North players' ability to use the footy better than ours, coupled with our repeated turnovers, that really told against us. They also smashed us at the stoppages and posted 11 goals straight as a consequence, whereas we just couldn't get any traction.

I have to say that the performance of our captain Chris Judd was unbelievable. He virtually played a lone hand in the game and had it not been for his sheer brilliance the final margin would have been even greater.

In the wake of this defeat we're going to have a real hard look at where we're going and which players are actually available. Marc Murphy and Lachie Henderson have to be commended in their ability to play with limited preparations. This week Jarrad Waite will more than likely be available although he has not played a lot of footy so that will be an important decision later in the week.

Kind Regards

So all I read is injuries are an excuse.

Players not available? how about the following?

Casboult
Mitchell
McCarthy
Russell
Bower
Dale
Ellard
Thornton
Buckley
Bootsma
Davies
Kerr
O'Keefe
White

Classic !

So all I read is injuries are an excuse.

Players not available? how about the following?

Casboult <- missed most of season with a knee. Has played 2 games back - 1 in VFL, one in ants reserves)
Mitchell <- missed most of season with shoulder - been back in the ants for around a mth and still building fitness
McCarthy <- skinny, project player, not ready yet
Russell <- given games at start of year, dropped due to poor form
Bower <- given games at start of year, dropped due to poor form
Dale <- been close a few times. WIll probably get games before end of year
Ellard <- given games at start of year, dropped due to poor form
Thornton <- given games at start of year, got injured, for whatever reason hasn't been recalled yet
Buckley <- not quite ready yet. Missed 2+ mths with a torn finger ligaments
Bootsma <- played a few games, dropped b/c he was struggling with physicality. Not physically ready yet
Davies <- missed most of season with shoulder - has played 1, maybe 2 games since coming back
Kerr <- hasn't done enough
O'Keefe <- missed 2+ mths with foot injuries (til mid may). Still building back up fitness/performances
White <- missed most of season with knee - has played 1, maybe 2 games since coming back

In effect,
- 6/14 players listed have missed 2+ mths of football each and are all building back their fitness/conditioning/touch (casboult, mitchell, buckley, ROK, davies, white). You can add Rowe to that list as well.
- 4/14 have played 6+ games each (russell, thornton, bower, ellard) - most lost their places due to poor form and haven't done enough to earn a recall yet (thornton the exception, though there were reports on this board that his fitness was quite low)
- 2/14 aren't physically ready yet (bootsma/mccarthy) - bootsma was given a few games until he got monstered by the hawks

That leaves Kerr and Dale as the other 2 that have been available. Dale has been close and will get games before the end of the season. Kerr hasn't done enough and from most reports is likely to run out of time to impress.

To solely blame injuries for our poor performances this year is short sighted. Have we been impacted by injuries to first choice players ? Absolutely yes. Have we managed to mitigate the impact by smart list management, quality player development, and tactical flexibility and innovation ? NO.

i want to ALSO know why so many players have hit a brick wall.

Ratts said Bower will be AA and so will Russell.

And now theyre gone.......

Gibbs is a number 1 pick.
Kreuzer has been run into the ground.

Where is our list management???

Before the game I said you can't play the same trick 2 weeks in a row. Duigan up forward worked because it was fresh. he's not a forward, at best a pinch hitter. If someone like me knows that, i fear for our team.
We don't like being hunted, we only play well when hunting. To me that says we are not well prepared and we are not ready to be a top 4 team.
I am sick that the misery of 2002-7 was for nought

To my untrained eye the move of Duigan to the forward line against Collingwood worked so well because its a was a pre-determined role to try and make the loose Collingwood defenders accountable. Kicking three goals was a bonus that made it clear the role was successful. That is, (I hope) he was never moved into to the F50 for shits and giggles.

So my question to Ratten would be, what were Duigan's instructions against the Kangaroos and why was he taken away from his proven role as a defender?

Still we had no forwards available so Ratts went with the one that got the best results in recent times. It was either him or Thornton and if he went Thornton id imagine there would be a few questions in here about that choice.

My questions for Ratts are:-

After 5 years why do we still have a flaky team that folds so easily ?
Do you think we should have weeded out the culprits by now?
Are we soft because we drafted too many nice players and nice blokes?
Why can't our players bring a ruthless attitude week in week out. Year in year out?
What have we done over the last 3 years to address this short coming in attitude?

In effect,
- 6/14 players listed have missed 2+ mths of football each and are all building back their fitness/conditioning/touch (casboult, mitchell, buckley, ROK, davies, white). You can add Rowe to that list as well.
- 4/14 have played 6+ games each (russell, thornton, bower, ellard) - most lost their places due to poor form and haven't done enough to earn a recall yet (thornton the exception, though there were reports on this board that his fitness was quite low)
- 2/14 aren't physically ready yet (bootsma/mccarthy) - bootsma was given a few games until he got monstered by the hawks

That leaves Kerr and Dale as the other 2 that have been available. Dale has been close and will get games before the end of the season. Kerr hasn't done enough and from most reports is likely to run out of time to impress.

Should he weed out Gibbs too club?

Still we had no forwards available so Ratts went with the one that got the best results in recent times. It was either him or Thornton and if he went Thornton id imagine there would be a few questions in here about that choice.

Well jump on Blue Print and ask one of your boys club members today if your so interested