When Patrick Smith is part of a group who historically have been (and in many places still are) persecuted, beaten and murdered for no reason other than their gender I'll be happy to defend the fat prick.

Until then he's all yours.

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

Hey look I know she flip flops etc, but credit where it's due, while this article might not have been breaking any new news (and btw I don't see breaking new news as a pre-requisite for being a commentator), I thought she did well to sum up the fact that Carlton has never been about process, and that we have recently gone back to managing ourselves in the unique (and arrogant) way we historically have managed ourselves. That's why I liked her article. I thought she conveyed what a lot of us subliminally have thought.

I particularly liked this paragraph...

Nobody is saying she didn't get that wrong.

She got that wrong big time and I reckon she was a fool at the time for saying Judd would go to Collingwood. Really she should keep her trap shut about such things unless she has good reason to back up what she says. She said Judd would chose Collingwood cause they play at the MCG and have good facilities. But what she didn't mention is that Carlton have Pratt and there is scope for an environmentalists role at VISY, and we WILL have excellent facilities. She was terribly narrow minded in her assessment of where Judd would end up.

But that has nothing to do with her recent Carlton article. She got that right in my view.

If you're looking at the article as written by a filthy richmond supporter then yes, I loved it. It showed she has given up on the pity she had for us.

..but if you view it as journalists article on our fair club, then you have to say it was way out of line. She couldn't bring herself to admit we've got our shit together, rather that we've returned to money and power to bully our way back to the top.

And for her information, Collo and Pagan couldn't win games because we had SHITFUL PLAYERS on our list and left with NO MONEY. The "process" had little to do with it (not that I'm a big fan of 'The Process" in the first place).

On the contrary, her article was all about how we've got our shit together, particularly when she talked about our arrogance and ruthlessness not being self-destructive:

"And the old Carlton ruthlessness is back, although it's an effective ruthlessness, not the self-devouring kind."

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"The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, and the young know everything." Oscar Wilde

I thought that it was a very good piece by a very ugly piece. She summed up very well where we have been over the last decade or so and how we have turned it around. We all know that Carlton don't follow process - we make decisions and if the right people are making those decisions then the right results do follow. Mr Pratt knows this as well as any intelligent businessman and so the first point of business for hime was to get the right man (step on down Mr Swann) in the job. It has all flowed on from there and so does the sucess.
Mr Swann and Mr Pratt know what success means, and that is to win the battle you're facing. This year once the battle for finals was over (round 12) then you move onto the next battle which is to recruit the best talent in the country, there was little point continuing to fight the finals battle only to lose both battles. So even in this abissmal year as far as win/loss goes we still have achieved success with recruiting best available talent.

These are the bits that shit me;

The Blues tanked most of the season's second half, made a mockery of the competition and have secured not only the best player in the AFL but a priority pick..........

Incidentally, Judd in turn appears on the verge of a deal with Pratt's Visy Board to become an environmental spokesman in another handy new partnership.

Ther are other bits as well but I can't be stuffed.

Why doesn't she make mention of the fact that yes, we did the crime and have suffered sufficiently since. We were left with a playing list that shouldn't have attracted 20% of the salary cap let alone 100%.

We worked our list into a position with contracts and youth that would see us in the prime position to lure the best player in the comp to PP. We collected top picks which were well deserved and despite the AFL moving the goal posts after half a dozen clubs took advantage of the priority system, we've got a list that will be more than competetive for well into the next decade.

Yes, we've been ruthless toward older players recently, but that's football. They were just as ruthless, if not more so, when negotiating contracts back in the late 90s.

There's plenty of ways to write an article, Carro chose the spiteful way through gritted teeth.

Good luck to her .

BITCH .

Nothing spiteful in what she wrote ... she has just given an outsider's commentary on how things have changed at the Club over the last 12 months. And fairly on the ball as usual.

The only spite I see is coming from the Blues supporters in here who think it is somehow appropriate or relevant (and it's certainly not clever) to comment on her looks.

Honestly, some poeple need to get a bit of perspective and try some objectivity.

Sure, but I'd still rather do your dog .

Just kidding.

Well said, Heady.

I picked up a certain admiration in the tone of the piece actually. Even where she talks about making a mockery of the competition. Other clubs wish they could do what we did this year. But, we did it, because it needed doing, for the club's sake, and for the sake of showing how badly we were treated in regards to the changing of the Priority Pick rules.

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

See, this is the thing, I liked that bit. I thought it was great. What she's saying is, the Blues are smart enough to use the system, just as we did in the 80s. I read that as a compliment. I think you're missing the subtleties of her writing.

She wrote....probably begrudgingly; a good article that sums it up.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.