Your funny,Kreuser,Judd a no brainer while Hadley can play and Pfeiffer had good wraps,just a worry.

In fact our recruits have been mild to poor i reckon as it seems like Russell,Hartlett need to pull something Quick to survive and game 2 in the bullants no player really showed enough to put their hands up,that's bad signs already.

We need Austin,Benjamin,Anderson,Edwards putting their hands up to play and not seeing Saddington,Bentick,Wiggins,Lappin in the best for the bullants each week.

Why is Asaike playing reserves,he will leave with Setanta i reckon after this year and go back to Ireland or even try out for another club and get a game.

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Bang Bang.

When Lofts was at Carlton we could field a competitive team and go out and recruit and as you know the environment is totally different these days. The powers might not want to put up with crap but there is a very new set up at CFC-coaches, fitness staff, and so on. You cant keep turning these things over every couple of seasons or can you? Thompson was given time at Geelong and Clarkson at Hawthorn and I'd give Ratten at least 2 seasons unless he is so abominable that he has to go.

Ratts will have to turn it on or he is gone....

Thats why he got the smallest contract in the AFL coaching circle.. and a 2 yr contract....

Same with anyone else who doesnt perform.....

Its as simple as that.....

If we lose to Collingwood and MElb... and are 0 and 5 after 5... you can bet your bottom dollar Swann wont allow things to settle there....

You can also bet were talking to people right now at different areas of he club...

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Who runs this club?? is it Swanny or the old boys club like the Diesel, Brown and Sticks

My issue has been the involvement of influential and cashed up past players, maybe they think they know what's best

Synbad is it true that Swanny's hands were tied with the selection process of a new coach??

Look.. we have the best President in the league, the best player in the league, the best CEO in the league-- but we do not have the best coach and the best recruiting manager-
these two positions are as important as any.. Pratt and Swann ONLY go after the best. We were extremely compromised opting for Ratten as coach, extremely compromised. More compromised then people believe and many on here pretend such a compromise didnt exist.
We did not do due diligence in selecting our coach. We gave Bond a half assed interview and were always going to select Ratten when Voss pulled out.
Hughes is an apointee from the cash strapped Smorgon era, and his selections at the Dockers hardly set the world on fire.
As Synners has been alluding to, Pratt is not a man to rest on his laurels- him and Swann expect RESULTS.
I expect results as well.. its a wonder so many on here arent demanding the same sort of accoutnability from our club?

I am, but then again, I always did.

I think people have just given up being vocal as we have done for a very long time now. We now have people in charge who can fix it and I believe supporters put their trust in Swan and Pratt.

The Carlton supporters I associate with are bloody p*ssed off but each discussion finishes with Swan and Pratt will fix it.

As an outsider looking in the following areas concern me:
- Recruiting
- Player Development (Why do the Collingwood first gamers look like 25 year olds and ours are stick thin)
- While it may not be true we seem to look after our boys e.g. Ratten appointed coach
- Lack of Leadership in the playing group
- No core senior players who can turn a game around
- Too many players who can’t play defensively
- Too many players who can’t kick accurately
- Lack of leg speed/agility
- Selecting players who have no form either at senior level or in the Bullants

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It is not as bad as you are lead to believe.......it is %$#^& worse!!!

Well said.

We want the best and only the best and should settle for nothing more.

What concerns me most is who is running this club?? To me it looks like cashed up past players have far to much input. Yeah they did there bit to help save the club and we appreciate it but we must move forward. If it is true that Swanny had his hands tied when wanting to interview several others for the position then thats just a disgrace.

Would the bombers, Pies, Eagles or Crows select a senior coach that has a one year apprenticeship under Neil Daniher, at a club with bare facilities and no training venue, moved on to coach a suburban team and then one year under Dennis Pagan. Me thinks not.

I hope they have made the right decision with Ratts, but please do us one favor stop with all the useless stats some computer has crunched in your post match press conference.

or are we pretending everything is alright.

i understand we are rebuilding and developing but, where is the fight, the passion, the hardness i would expect from a Carlton team that takes the field.

Everyone expected a team coached by Brett Ratten would play hard like he did, taking the knocks and riding the bumps with his head over the ball. Where is it??

Tis the reason why i harp on about Rhiannon Houlahan so much, his pretty boy attitude tucking his hair behind his ears is not wanted. He should have played his last game for the club when he skipped out of the way when buddy was sliding in for a mark.

This season so far reminds me of 86' and 91'. New team under a new coach learning a new game style.

Give it time. The rebuilding started last season with 6 games to go.

Go Blues !

For comparison purposes - guess it proves a lot of players drafted don't make it, but we need to be better at it than anyone else. We're coming from a long way back and we have had the best picks over the last few drafts:

2004

1. Richmond - Brett Deledio (Mur) (1)
2. Hawthorn - Jarryd Roughead (Gip) (4)
3. Western Bulldogs - Ryan Griffen (SA) (3)
4. Richmond - Richard Tambling (NT) (2)
5. Hawthorn - Lance Franklin (WA) (5)
6. Western Bulldogs - Tom Williams (Qld) (6)
7. Hawthorn - Jordan Lewis (Gee) (17)
8. Adelaide - John Meesen (Gee) (7)
9. Carlton - Jordan Russell (SA) (15)
10. Collingwood - Chris Egan (Mur) (14)
11. Port Adelaide - Adam Thomson (SA) (43)
12. Richmond - Danny Meyer (SA) (9)
13. Melbourne - Matthew Bate (Eas) (10)
14. Essendon* - Angus Monfries (SA) (11)
15. Melbourne - Lynden Dunn (Cal) (26)
16. Richmond - Adam Pattison (Nor) (20)
17. St Kilda - Andrew McQualter (Gip) (27)
18. Brisbane Lions - Cameron Wood (SA) (8)
19. Port Adelaide - Ryan Willits (Nor) (16)


Round 2

20. Richmond - Dean Polo (Gip) (38)
21. Hawthorn - Thomas Murphy (San) (18)
22. Western Bulldogs - Jesse Wells (Tas) (64)
23. Collingwood - Sean Rusling (SA) (55)
24. Adelaide - Nathan Van Berlo (WA) (51)
25. Carlton - Adam Hartlett (SA) (36)
26. Hawthorn - Matt Little (Cal) (37)
27. Brisbane Lions - Pat Garner (Qld) (50)
28. Adelaide - Chad Gibson (SA) (33)
29. West Coast - Matt Rosa (NB) (29)
30. Essendon* - Andrew Lee (Tas) (58)
31. Sydney - Jarred Moore (Dan) (57)
32. Geelong - Brent Prismall (Wes) (61)
33. St Kilda - Cain Ackland (PA) (63)
34. Port Adelaide - James Ezard (Cal) (-)
35. Port Adelaide - Fabian Deluca (Eas) (12)

Round 3

36. Richmond - Luke McGuane (Qld) (Pos)
37. West Coast - Mark LeCras (WA) (45)
38. Western Bulldogs - Damian McCormack (Dan) (Pos)
39. Collingwood (F/S) - Travis Cloke (Eas) 39
40. Adelaide - Ivan Maric (Cal) (25)
41. Carlton (F/S) - Luke Blackwell (WA) (41)
42. Kangaroos (F/S) - Jesse W Smith (Cal) (42)
43. Melbourne - Michael Newton (Mur) (40)
44. West Coast (F/S) - Mitchell Morton (WA) (44)
45. Brisbane Lions - Justin Sherman (Tas) (52)
46. Essendon* - Henry Slattery (SA) (-)
47. Sydney - David Spriggs (Gee) (60)
48. Geelong (F/S) - Nathan Ablett (VCFL) (48)
49. St Kilda - Mark McGough (Col) (-)
50. Brisbane Lions - Jayden Attard (Dan) (49)
51. Port Adelaide - Ben Eckerman (SA) (24)


Round 4

52. Richmond - Dean Limbach (Cal) (46)
53. Hawthorn - Simon Taylor (VFL) (-)
54. Western Bulldogs - Stephen Tiller (SA) (Pos)
55. Collingwood - Adam Iacobucci (Cal) (Pos)
56. Adelaide - Chris Knights (Eas) (Pos)
57. West Coast - Brad Smith (WA) (Pos)
58. Kangaroos - Brad Moran (Qld) (Pos)
59. Fremantle - Benet Copping (SA) (34)
60. Essendon* - Paul Thomas (SA) (53)
61. Sydney - Heath James (Syd) (-)
62. Geelong - Matt Egan (VFL) (62)
63. St Kilda - James Gwilt (VMFL) (-)
64. Brisbane Lions - Luke Forsyth (Dan) (Pos)

Round 5

65. Richmond - Mark Graham (Haw) (65)
66. Collingwood - Pass
67. Fremantle - Toby Stribling (SA) (Pos)
68. Kangaroos - Ben Schwarze (VFL) (-)
69. Fremantle - Daniel Haines (Fre) (-)
70. Essendon* - Pass
71. St Kilda - Pass


Round 6

72. Richmond - Pass
73. Carlton - Chris Bryan (VFL) (-)
74. Kangaroos - Daniel Pratt (BL) (-)
75. Fremantle - Pass
76. St Kilda - Pass

Round 7

77. Carlton - Anthony Raso (Dan) (Pos)


Round 8

78. Carlton - Pass



2005

1. Carlton - Marc Murphy (Oakleigh Chargers)
2. Collingwood – Dale Thomas (Gippsland Power)
3. Hawthorn – Xavier Ellis (Gippsland Power)
4. Carlton - Josh Kennedy (East Fremantle)
5. Collingwood – Scott Pendlebury (Gippsland Power)
6. Hawthorn – Beau Dowler (Oakleigh Chargers)
7. Essendon* - Patrick Ryder (East Fremantle)
8. Richmond - Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls (East Perth)
9. Brisbane - Mitchell Clark (East Fremantle)
10. Fremantle – Marcus Drum (Murray Bushrangers)
11. Western Bulldogs – Shaun Higgins (Geelong Falcons)
12. Melbourne – Nathan Jones (Dandenong Stingrays)
13. West Coast – Shannon Hurn (Central District)
14. Hawthorn – Grant Birchall (Devonport)
15. Geelong - Travis Varcoe (Central District)
16. Adelaide - Richard Douglas (Calder Cannons)
17. Adelaide - Darren Pfeiffer (Norwood)
18. Hawthorn – Max Bailey (West Perth)
19. Essendon* – Courtenay Dempsey (Morningside)
20. Carlton – Paul Bower (Peel Thunder)
21. Collingwood - Danny Stanley (Geelong Falcons)
22. Hawthorn - Beau Muston (Murray Bushrangers)
23. Collingwood - Ryan Cook (Dandenong Stingrays)
24. Richmond - Cleve Hughes (Norwood)
25. Brisbane - Wayde Mills (Southport)
26. Fremantle – Garrick Ibbotson (East Fremantle)
27. Western Bulldogs – Dylan Addison (St George/NSW)
28. Kangaroos – Matt Riggio (Peel Thunder)
29. West Coast - Ben McKinley (Northern Knights)
30. Port Adelaide – Nick Lower (Norwood)
31. Geelong - Trent West (Gippsland Power)
32. Adelaide – Bernie Vince (Woodville West Torrens)
33. St Kilda - Sam Gilbert (Southport)
34. West Coast – Matthew Spangher (Eastern Ranges)
35. Geelong – Stephen Owen (North Ballarat Rebels)
36. Carlton – Jake Edwards (Western Jets)
37. Collingwood - John Anthony (Northern Knights)
38. Hawthorn F/S - Travis Tuck (Dandenong Stingrays)



39. Essendon* F/S - Jay Neagle (Gippsland Power)
40. Richmond - Travis Casserley (Swan Districts)
41. Brisbane – Rhan Hooper (Ipswich)
42. Fremantle – Robert Warnock (Sandringham Dragons)
43. Kangaroos - Andrew Swallow (East Fremantle)
44. Port Adelaide - Alipate Carlile (Murray Bushrangers)
45. Kangaroos – Kasey Green (West Coast)
46. Western Bulldogs - Travis Baird (Brisbane Lions)
47. Geelong – Ryan Gamble (Glenelg)
48. Adelaide - Alan Obst (Central Districts)
49. St Kilda – Michael Rix (Coburg VFL)
50. Essendon* - Sam Lonergan (Lauderdale)
51. Sydney - Matthew Laidlaw (Oakleigh Chargers)
52. Collingwood – PASS
53. Melbourne – Simon Buckley (Sandringham Dragons)
54. Sydney - Kristin Thornton (Peel Thunder)
55. Western Bulldogs - Brett Montgomery (Port Power)
56. Brisbane – Joel Patful (Port Power Rookie)
57. Western Bulldogs – Michael West (Redlands)
58. Port Adelaide - Hugh Minson (Norwood)
59. Sydney – Ryan Brabazon (Claremont)
60. Melbourne – Clint Bartram (Geelong Falcons)
61. Geelong – Matthew Stokes (Woodville West Torrens)
62. Adelaide - PASS
63. St Kilda – Phil Raymond (Glenelg)
64. Carlton - PASS
65. Hawthorn - PASS
66. Essendon* – Austin Lucy (Caloundra)
67. Richmond - PASS
68. Melbourne – Heath Neville (Tasmania)
69. Kangaroos – Tim Hutchison (Naracoorte/Port Magpies)
70. Port Adelaide – Jon Giles (Central District)
71. St Kilda – Justin Sweeney (Tyabb)
72. Essendon* - PASS
73. Kangaroos - PASS
74. Port Adelaide - PASS
75. St Kilda - PASS
76. Es

dont feel overly comfortable with my stance if Melveys agreeing with me..

Boy the 2004 draft was sooo weak. We shouldn't complain too much about missing out in this draft as there was very little on offer after pick #7.

- Imagine how good the Hawks would be if they didn't stuff up their two early selections in 2005.
- The Richmond fans must be very frustrated with the likes of Tambling, Oakley Nicholls and Danny Meyer.

.......I could go on and on about other clubs misfortunes.

Seriously I think our recruiting has been pretty good overall from 2002 to present, especially considering the draft sanctions.

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There is no footy god

Did I miss something?

Who said someone other than Swann and Pratt are running the club?

I find it extraordinary that on the one hand Swann's hands were tied in relation to Ratts and then on the other hand, Swann won't settle for how we have been performing and will make some changes. The mind boggles.

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

I noticed Archer saying last night that he felt that our policy of drafting the best player (instead of the greatest need) had worked against us in regard to our defensive issues. He said we had drafted too many onballers and were lacking defenders.
Not sure about this - its always a difficult one if you go for the best player or your greatest need....

Archer has been talking to Pagan again.
You draft the best possible, trade for need if required and then kick ass.

It was reported that Swann wanted to interview several candidates, he hadn't..... WHY??

Why weren't Sumich, Mckenna, Longmire & Bailey interviewed. Both Bond & Sumich were interviewed for the assistants role.

I run my own business, i knew who i wanted to fill the position but still interviewed several others. I was surprised and it actually became a tough decision to make.

Where exactly was it reported? Did it come from Swann's mouth or some mischief troll of a journo, who had nothing else to write?

On the one hand we applaud Swann as being the best CEO in the land and on the other, he comes across as being a minion at the mercy of wealthy ex CFC players.

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

from watching the first three matches in person, one things sticks out:
hughes has fallen in love (just like the massie/vance decisions) with the 188cm lean flanker. as a result we lack genuine KPP prospect yet also lack crumbers at the fall of the ball in both defence and attack.
We have been smashed at the fall of the ball in defence because we dont have any small backs like a rice or even the role carrazzo used to play.
we also lack smalls in the forward line. we only have betts whilst the pies for example have didak, davis, medhurst.
with jamison, thornton, waite, bower in defence we have four 190cm lean guys, not especially great body on body nor good at ground level. even walker is 188cm.
up forward we also get smashed at ground level with betts as our only saving grace.

browne should get a shot soon. we need at least one crumber at either end of the ground.

hughes must discarded at years end.

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Too Legit to quit.

for those in the know at the club (Josh, Synbad etc) is all comments about not tolerating the poor performance .. huff and puff because of fustration or are you actually aware of some material actions that are on going to change things?

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The glass is neither half full nor half empty. Rather the glass is twice as big than required.