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I for one, stood by Pagan, wanted to give him the chance to rebuild this club. I was wrong. I was wrong. I did not vote for the Smorgon Board, I wanted them gone, I was right.
I did not realize it at the time but they were both parts of the same problem - that being the belief this club had lost. Pagan never set above to instil belief. I can still hear him admitting our weaknesses, our lack of depth or the problems with playing kids. Truth it may have been, but they were not the of a man restoring a club’s belief in itself. Perhaps intangibles were not his thing.
Smorgon's Board was too busy leaking to bother with belief. One of the reasons the
love Sticks is because he oozes self-belief. He has always carried the torch while we searched for the kindling that would set it burning again.
The torch is lit! This club thrives on self-belief. Some call it arrogance - perhaps it is. It is the arrogance that comes with belief. This club believes in itself no matter the competitor, nor the situation (think of 1970, halftime and 44 points in arrears!). Self-belief means such things can and will be overcome. Our history shows we have overcome more times than a gospel choir.
Barass was such a perfect fit for this club because he oozed self-belief. I remember as a kid watching his television where he’d teach us how to kick and handball. The man lived football, and each bulging muscle, every steel-eyed glare, was filled with his belief in his own talent. When this club appointed him coach it was a brilliant move. Barass instilled self-belief into the club that had lost its way and we never looked back.
Throughout our successes we have always had filled with self-belief. Players like Big Nick, Johnno, Fitzy, Braddles and Diesel. These players wore the jumper, imbued it with a near magical capacity to overcome, to strive, to believe, to win. The premiership quarter was a weekly exercise in self-belief. No matter the scoreboard at halftime the great Carlton teams always saw themselves as in with a chance, never losing belief in their ability to find a way home.
We erred the end of the Elliott reign though. Desperation and bravado are not the same thing as self-belief. Both display the same arrogant face, but beneath the strut the inner-workings are very different. Barass always could deliver - on and off the field. Our sides could always deliver, that's what belief brings. Bravado will always be exposed eventually. So it came to pass.
Then Dick stepped on board, a Carlton man, a man filled with self-belief, a man who knew what we lost. He has set about getting it back. He has searched and found other liked-minded souls. Swanny presents the confidence that comes with self-belief. Ratts has always believed in his own strong-willed being. He has seen himself as coach of Carlton - and so he now is – self-belief!
Now enter Chris Judd. Does any player walk with such self-belief? I cannot think of anyone. CJ is a man through and through, even if he doesn't know it yet. He is filled with self-belief, and filled with the desire to compete, to test his belief over and over again, and to rise to each new examination of his talent, his character, himself. He is the personification of what this club has restored to itself. Every single official, player, supporter and opponent, believes again.
Carlton is a formidable opponent when healthy, when self-belief shines out of the white beacon on the navy blue chest.
We are back.
We believe in ourselves again.
Welcome Chris Judd, good luck Josh and congratulations to Dick, Swanny and everyone at the club.
Go Blues.
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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!
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