This is not another post paying out on this player or that player. Hopefully this is a logically assessment of why I don't think we have performed to expectations so far this season.

Our list just has not improved enough. I've broken the list down into three categories:
1) Players who have taken a step forward in their career since last year.
2) Players who are down on form this year or who have taken a step backwards.
3) Players who are injured or who have not had a chance.

I'm not saying I would pick Wiggins over Lappin in my team but I think everyone will agree that Lappin is not playing as well this year as last (high standards I know) and I believe Wiggins is at least as crap as he was last year. He certainly isn't any worse.

For the team to improve you would expect to have at least 20 players in the first category. I can find only 13 and this is being generous. Likewise you wouldn't want to have more than 5 or 6 players taking a step back.

Step forward or the same
*********************
Camporeale
Carrazzo
French
Houlihan
Johnson
Koutoufides
Simpson
Stevens
Teague
Waite
Walker
Wiggins

Step back
********
Bannister
Bowyer
Davies
Deluca
Fevola
Lappin
McGrath
Morrell
Norman
Prendergast
Scotland
Sporn
Whitnall

Haven't had a chance or injured or first year player
******************************************
Betts
Bentick
Blackwell
Bryan
Chambers
Clarke
Fisher
Hartlett
Livingston
Longmuir
Raso
Russell
Thornton

I think this simple excercise proves we are in a fair bit of trouble. Prendergast, Scotland, Bannister, Sporn, McGrath and Davies are the reason we are performing below expectations. These are the players who should be allowing Kouta, Stevens and Camporeale to rest once in a while through the mid-field.

The immediate solution to this problem is to throw Simpson, Carrazzo and Houlihan more mid-field time. Johnson, despite all his faults should also be coming of the bench. He performed well three weeks in a row before having one bad game and being dropped. We must sacrifice run out of defense for getting first use of the ball. Houlihan was best on ground against Port, his only run in the mid-field.

OK, excluding the Injured, I think you should have divided it into 3 groups: Step up, staying the same, and step down.

I would put them as such:

Stepping On Up:
Carrazzo
French
Koutoufides
Simpson
Waite
Walker

The Song Remains the same:

Camporeale
Deluca
Fevola
Houlihan
Johnson
Stevens
Teague
Wiggins
Lappin
McGrath
Prendergast
Whitnall

Going Dooooowwwwwn:

Bannister
Bowyer
Davies
Morrell
Norman
Scotland
Sporn


Having divided the able bodied into those 3 groups, it becomes fairly obvious why we're going nowhere fast. We've got too few making the next step forward, and the ones who are, have way too much responsibility to handle for their body size or experience (ie: Carrots).

The ones staying at the same level worry me the most. Not only are there so many, but a lot of those in that category are players who we've come to rely on through our lean years (Houlihan, Stevens, Teague, Lappin), and haven't stepped up and shouldered the responsibility we expect them to. I'm not blaming them specifically for this, as we don't know the exact reasons why their performance is stagnating. Could be subtle injuries, or it could be that the toll of being asked so much over those years is starting to show. The only one I am very critical of in this group is Scott "La Bomba" Camporeale. He should do better. He should know better. He's supposed to be a leader.

I've left Fev in the "about the same" group because his performance isn't based purely on his own skills and efforts. As we've said through this season, the delivery to him has been shithouse. Counterbalancing that, I think his second efforts and pressure in the F50 hasn't been too bad. Not brilliant, but he's sure been worse over the years. Can you blame him for getting frustrated sometimes?

The "going down" group are skating on thin ice. I can see all of those leaving us at the end of the year if something dramatic doesn't happen to their skills, fitness and attitude.

_________________
And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

Kouta waite thorton french simpson carrazzo - improved on last year

Stevens camporeale wiggins bentick walker houlihan whitnall (albeit wasnt great last year) mcgrath - the same

Teague Sporn Bowyer clarke fev lappin de luca bannister johnson morrell scotland prenda norman davies -all a lot worse

Too injured to tell longmuir chambers livingston fisher

Shows why we are currently where we are because 14 of senior list who bar clarke have all played senior footy are worse than last year.This is particularly the case with recycled players who were recruited to fill gaps and havent largely been able to recapture earlier form.

So in other words, we seem to agree on the whys, if not the exact personnel.

_________________
And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

Crazy Joe,

"This is not another post paying out on this player or that player"

"I believe Wiggins is as crap as he was last year"

I'd be quite interested in what your description of paying out on a player is?

i think he meant isn't as crap as last year.

OK, "crap" was a bad choice of word. Was just using an example (possibly a bad one) to convey what I was trying to say.

For the record I am actually a fan of Wiggins. I think he is hard at the ball and committed. I also think ijs fundamental skills are improving.
The point of my post is that we have to few players in the "step up" category.

Jbee, you should note that Wiggins is one of the few players I have in the top category.

Fair enough,

I like everything else in the post.

Its a great point and one that was made in a few posts a couple of weeks ago - too many guys treading water or going backwards. Looks like the whole competition has improved but some of our guys haven't.

Whilst sometimes this happens to young players, I think the fallback in Scotland, Sporn and DeLuca is hurting us most. We need Scotland up for midfield delivery, Sporn for a defensive role but also good delivery, and DeLuca for that forward mismatch. WE desperately need these 3 to fire.

I'd argue stevens has gone backwards

Stevens has gone backwards because the players he has around him are not what he had at Port and we are expecting him to be a in and under as well as a prime ball carrier....he cant afford to be hanging out wide on the weak side looking for the easy kick like he did at Port...and whats he got to kick too..not like we have Warren Tredrae forward.
We have seen him trying to do too much and being caught because he has nothing to kick to...ditto for the maligned Andrew Walker.
Poor AW gets the footy goes for a run and then looks up and find no leads on offer and ends up getting stripped of the ball as well...great for the confidence....the crap players just bomb it..the more intelligent ones like Stevens, Walker, Lappin etc look to create....and then get pinged for doing to much when they run out room....give Stevens a break and get him some decent support...

Another point is that your expectations are too high.

Drop them and be happy!

As an old social worker friend reffering to clients says

'If you do not at first succeed

then lower your expectations'

_________________
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06

Well, my expectations were 8-10 wins. Young players build on the solid foundation of last year. Fringe mid-field players step in and contribute. 1 or 2 younger players emerge as real stars.

Right now I can't see us getting anywhere near 8 wins. As I detailed in my original post too many have gone backwards.

True, Waite and Simpson are emerging, but again this was an expectation for me. The only surprising positive for me this year is the drafting and subsequent performances of Eddie Betts. The small Aboriginal goal sneak type is hardly the cornerstone of premiership teams but a good effort by the recruiting team to pick him up when he wasn't orignally drafted.

The pleasure I have got at Carlton games this year has come from steam rolling Essendon*, watching Kouta and marvelling at how an underperforming ruckman has somehow turned his game around at age 28.