will things improve while Sticks has such a big say in things? What are his successes, what are his blunders? Is anyone at the club looking at how he is performing? Should any club have an 'untouchable'?

What about the shambles between Mitch and Denis? How can this not affect the development of the kids? How can they organize the development of players to slot in to the senior team with confidence? Does this paper sending method of communication instill confidence in anyone?

Is Denis still the coach to lead us? if so, why is Mitch still at the club? Can a club have two masters? The coach and the loyalty between different groups - Is Carlton healthy? Surely a choice must be made. No if whats or buts.

Leadership. Is Lance a captain? Does he instill anyone with confidence that when the going gets tough our boys will stand up? Why is the leadership still such a glaring problem. Does Denis have too much faith in the wrong players at Carlton. Has he a model he is working on that was successful at North but has failed dismally at Carlton? Should we forget pretense and name the next tier group at the leaders and develop them? Perhaps spend serious money getting these blokea dnt he kids fast tracked in their leadership?

What plan has Carlton adopted for going forward? Are we developing a new strong spine and then we'll add the runner s- if so where is this spine? Why does it seem to be developing in the Bullants instead of for the seniors?

Will Carlton demand some players retire at the end of this year or will they simply pass off some of the kids and keep going with the same seniors and the newbies? Will Kouta retire? Should he retire? Will Skinny play on? And Lance?

Why can't we begin to redress the ruck situation? Why can't we give Hampson a ruin, Asiake (not now he is injured of course) or Jacobs? Does the harm outweigh the experience? Is Santy a serious long term ruck prospect? If not why play him there? Why not let him develop in the position they have him earmarked for? Would it matter if the kids played (rotational perhaps, a few games then back to the ants - it doesn't have to be a week after week smashing? Can't we use the seniors for development? Shouldn't we take this opportunity to do so, while we are still not up to scratch?

How long have we got to go? Is anyone clear on this? Two years? Five? How long? Or are we still taking it one week at a time? What's the decision on Hartlett? Is he gone? Will he get more game time to prove himself or is he safe already? And young Raso? Why not give these blokes a go and just see what they can show? How can it hurt them or the club? How many wins does the club seriously expect and is that what we are doing, playing for as many wins as possible? is this the most sensible plan?

Why are we so defensively weak? Still. Should we try and build the back six and stick with them or is this all out attack (a delight tow atch) the best way forward?

Who do we see as our next CHB our next CHF, the back flankers, the back pocket? Is anyone developing these guys? Or must we still draft tall key position players because we do not know what we have or haven't got?

Sorry for this, but @#$%&! I just have all these questions at the moment. I expected to finish in the bottom four this year and I also expected to have seen many more kids play and more of them playing more important roles. We know Houla's strengths and weaknesses, we know about Skinny and Lance, but what have we learnt about the kids this year? Anything? Surely that is what this year was about?

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Great post Danny. What this screams to me is

"WHAT IS THE PLAN?"

Nothing is more frustrating when dealing with an organisational structure is when there is no clearly articulated plan for the future, other wise we will be fore ever destined to live in the past!

Hopefully be season's end this will all become clearer with a significant cleanout of the personnel that are not part of our long term future.

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

Great post.

Other clubs try the first year youngsters eg.Collingwood, and they have some success.
Who has Carlton played this year?
Anderson. Anybody else?

If we don't give them a go, are we going to keep them on the list next year?

We have to see if Raso, Edwards, Hartlett etc can cut it, if not, get rid of them.

We have to make better use of our early draft picks.

Play Lappin so he gets his 200 games with us in Rnd 22 (he deserves it) and then he can retire.
Kouta retire, Whitnall retire, if he knee doesn't get better.
Hopefully Stevens will come back better than ever and bolster our mids.
Stating the obvious, we need quality back men.
But if we don't give the kids ago we will never know.

Will things improve while Sticks has such a big say in things? What are his successes, what are his blunders? Is anyone at the club looking at how he is performing? Should any club have an 'untouchable'?
There is only one true untouchable at Carlton atm – Richard Pratt.
Sticks should depart the board & FD and head up his own coterie group ala Jack Elliott next year.

What about the shambles between Mitch and Denis? How can this not affect the development of the kids? How can they organize the development of players to slot in to the senior team with confidence? Does this paper sending method of communication instill confidence in anyone?
Is Denis still the coach to lead us? if so, why is Mitch still at the club? Can a club have two masters? The coach and the loyalty between different groups - Is Carlton healthy? Surely a choice must be made. No if whats or buts.
The Mitchell/Pagan saga is another result of the previous boards utter incompetence.
I believe Mitchell is still there for 2 reasons.
1.The NAB Northern Bullants Football Club want him as there senior coach.
2. He’s a good reserves/development coach who is highly respected by the young CFC players.

I believe the playing group needs a fresh change of scenery and a co-operative coaching panel ASAP so I believe Pagan should be sacked immediately. Let Braddles Ratts or Crosisca stand in for the rest of the season and appoint a fresh new coaching panel at seasons end.

Leadership. Is Lance a captain? Does he instill anyone with confidence that when the going gets tough our boys will stand up? Why is the leadership still such a glaring problem. Does Denis have too much faith in the wrong players at Carlton. Has he a model he is working on that was successful at North but has failed dismally at Carlton? Should we forget pretense and name the next tier group at the leaders and develop them? Perhaps spend serious money getting these blokea dnt he kids fast tracked in their leadership?
Lance should never have been made Captain. He was/is a poor media ‘performer’. He was/is physically not up to AFL standard. He was/is unable to consistently lift the team when needed during games because of his physical limitations. How Pagan thought Lance could fit the Captains bill is truly bewildering.
Our senior leadership is a problem because most of them have had it at senior level. Once they’re gone, the brilliant YOUNG leaders we have will be able to step out of the shadows with the shackles released and perform.

What plan has Carlton adopted for going forward? Are we developing a new strong spine and then we'll add the runner s- if so where is this spine? Why does it seem to be developing in the Bullants instead of for the seniors?
Injuries and Denis’ desperate & selfish attempts to improve his win/loss ratio to save his own skin have derailed any thoughts of settling a spine in the seniors. The disruption to Setanta as a KPD is a perfect example as well as the shuffling up/down & round’n’round of JK …shabby and reckless IMO.
The ridiculous alliance with the Northern Bullants is seriously disrupting the development of key position players as well IMO. The sooner we have a stand alone team in the VFL where we can properly settle and develop EVERYONE on our list, the better.

Will Carlton demand some players retire at the end of this year or will they simply pass off some of the kids and keep going with the same seniors and the newbies? Will Kouta retire? Should he retire? Will Skinny play on? And Lance?
If the board doesn’t replace the current senior coach together with his current philosophies then those up for election (apart from the untouchable) will not get my vote.
Lance Kouta Saddo are done. I like Teaguey but the game’s too fast for him and we need draft picks …assistant coach maybe.
I’d make skinny Captain of our 2s next year with Banno & Wiggo his deputies. Our youngsters need those guys around the club as role models & mentors.

Why can't we begin to redress the ruck situation? Why can't we give Hampson a ruin, Asiake (not now he is injured of course) or Jacobs? Does the harm outweigh the experience? Is Santy a serious long term ruck prospect? If not why play him there? Why not let him develop in the position they have him earmarked for? Would it matter if the kids played (rotational perhaps, a few games then back to the ants - it doesn't have to be a week after week smashing? Can't we use the seniors for development? Shouldn't we take this opportunity to do so, while we are still not up to scratch?
IMO,the ruck is a very physically demanding position which brings with it more than the usual physical collisions. If our young talls are physically developed enough to withstand the impact then they should be given the nod taking in consideration that Ackland is hopeless and Cloke is injured and Setanta should be left to settle and develop as a KPD.
Apart from JK, I’m not too sure our young talls are physically developed enough yet. If they are, get them in.

How long have we got to go? Is anyone clear on this? Two years? Five? How long? Or are we still taking it one week at a time? What's the decision on Hartlett? Is he gone? Will he get more game time to prove himself or is he safe already? And young Raso? Why not give these blokes a go and just see what they can show? How can it hurt them or the club? How many wins does the club seriously expect and is that what we are doing, playing for as many wins as possible? is this the most sensible plan?
If our senior coach is replaced by someone who is positive about our youngsters and plays them to their strengths whilst quietly working on their weaknesses during the week & pre-sesason I think we have the talent and desire to make the 8 next year and build to a premiership threat the seasons after.

Why are we so defensively weak? Still. Should we try and build the back six and stick with them or is this all out attack (a delight tow atch) the best way forward?
The desperate attempts to ‘kick a winning score’ has over-ridden the need to build a defense for the future. Criminal!!!!

Who do we see as our next CHB our next CHF, the back flankers, the back pocket? Is anyone developing these guys? Or must we still draft tall key position players because we do not know what we have or haven't got?
I cannot see the likes of Flint Jamison Austin Raso being given extended senior game time while Denis is there this year. A couple of nothing minutes here and there with plenty of splinters awaits.
The selection limitations of our alliance with the Bullants also affects the overall development of our young guys as well IMO. Bring on the Carlton 2s!

Sorry for this, but flower I just have all these questions at the moment. I expected to finish in the bottom four this year and I also expected to have seen many more kids play and more of them players more important roles. We know Houla's strengths and weaknesses, we know about Skinny and Lance, but what have we learnt about the kids this year? Anything? Surely that is what this year was about?
I expected real ‘building’ last year but we didn’t get it. I sure as hell expected it this year but… alas…

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There's so much I could say...

Dunno Danny won't find the answers on here, suggest you watch The Young and the Restless, we are just the antipodean version of Jerry Springer.

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

L.M 35-06

Danny I think that the Ruck and the key defensive posts are positions you can't really develop players in at AFL level straight up. The guys got to have some semblance of readiness first. We have seen what happens to Livingston, and Dawson and other KP backs who get thrown in the deep end. It's not pretty.

The club obviously hopes Austin will be our next CHB, and were hoping to turn Setanta into the next FB. The plan was obviously to give Setanta the year at FB, and Aisake one more year and Austin at least one, in the reserves. I don't actually have a problem with that. The ruck was not a problem that could be fixed overnight, but I could see that they were at last actually addressing it and it would just take time to flow through to th team. So we had a plan, or the makings of a plan, and it has simply been derailed by the injuries to Cloke (who suprised all of us) and Mclaren, and the general uselessness of Ackland.

More broadly, I can also see that we've been a bit unfortunate that the youngsters who are the most ready to step up are also the ones who got injuries (Grigg, Anderson, Jackson - and Flint struggling to recapture the form of last season).

The rest of it is a bit less forgivable. Kouta still going round at his age to disguise the fact that there are just no ball winners in the reserves to come in ...

Lance playing with a knee injury instead of giving Hartlett, who is physically ready, an extended run ...

And how a team serious about rebuilding can be giving Lappin full games (irrespective of his form) when Edwards or Bower or someone could be having a run just to get some experience is beyond me. Those sort of 4th forward type roles are the places where you can just throw a kid in and see how he floats.

I hate to say it but I think Pratt really shot himself in the foot with Pagan. The axe either had to fall before the season started, or he had to say to him, "there is no axe, play the team in the best interests of development ". Instead he said " I think this teams is good enough to win 10 games this year" and gave Pagan a public, implied KPI. That's just plain dumb, and if Sticks was doing his job he would have told Pratt that.

Still you can't really fault everything else Pratt has done, although I might add if he is going to throw the cheque book around, he could do a lot worse than throw it at whoever is in charge of fitness over at the Hawks.