Was a piss weak interview

Yeah was like a Rove McManus interview...

"How do you handle Fev?"
"Is Setanta Cloke's friend again?"
"Supporters hang shit on Jordan Russell"
"How do you feel about TalkingPlayers being closed down?"
"Did they ask you about the slogan"

Not really that in depth was it...

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Congratulations CK95

What do you think should hve been asked?

"Do you want Sticks to give up the Presidency?"

"Do you think Fev should be traded?"

"Who would you rather have taken at pick 6?"

The funniest part was when GH asked if Wallsy was part of the MC and how much Ratts paid him for his article, Ratts replied with the same Knights paid Hirdy for his article.

Nice come back Ratts

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We are on our way back...

Wow, I really wasn't paying attention ...I thought it came across ok...
interesting to see he rates Bomber Riley and Craig Bradley so much....and he doesn't read his mail ...wise move

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

I thought it was interesting that he totally avoided Hird's question regarding when Ratts thought we would peak - he just headed nicely to the out about playing too many kids and getting it wrong against Adelaide. I thought that was a perfect answer and gave away nothing as to what the club is planning for and anticipating. Well played Ratts.

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I'm shocked to be sitting here

Yep realised they need greater attention to detail, and if we get what we are doing on a week to week basis right, other things will sort themselves out.

Seemed all good to me.

I thought he sold the club short last night.
For example he could have eloborated more on Setanta - could have spoken more positive about him. Setanta efforts in the last couple of weeks have been fantastic on the back of what happened at the start of the year.
It was a very old carlton type of interview (I don't want to be there)

I'm a Ratts fan but in this instance, I definitely agree with your assessment Rhys.
However, I think it's more about Rattens inexperience and lack of media savvy than a predetermined avoidance.
Hopefully he recieves and accepts constructive criticism and improves his performance as he gains more experience.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

I dunno...

not many coaches actually say much these days. I find Ratts a very structured media performer. He tries to talk without saying very much, and if he is going to err on the side of anything, then he errs on the side of positive comments. He handled himself fine last night, particularly as the questions coming from the couch were pretty ordinary.

I wasn't aware that Ratts was going to be one this week from last weeks show, maybe I missed the ending, but was Ratts always going to be on this week or did someone else pull out?

The whole interview looked as though it was a last minute decision and the questions was not insightful or researched. Maybe this is why it was only half the time normally alloted to interviews and I thought that Ratts handled them well, whilst looking a little dismayed as to how generic the questions were. Questions I would have like are

How are the kids progressing and who stood out as being a talent to watch for.
Carlton have made more unforced selections to the team each week compared to other teams, is the unsettled lineup affecting the team and perhaps cost games?
How far away are Walker & Warnock and what is your ideal position for Kruiser when Warnock come into the side.
Murphy has really stepped up this year, but Gibbs has been inconsistant, where is Gibbs ideal position and what role will be playing in the future

there are more question I want answered, but I need to get some work done - damn TC

Terrible interview, all round.

Not sure the Qs were all that great, and Ratts ought to go into politics after footy he was so god at skirting issues.

Sheehan had to ask him one Qn twice, and Ratts still didn't give a straight answer.

Just thought I didn't walk away having learned a great deal, and from a Carlton fan perspective that's what I wanted from that interview.

If it was a rag it'd be paper thin.

Also way too short.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

QFT. Ordinary questions, average answers. A very unimpressive guest. I enjoyed listening to Jobe Watson more last week.

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"I had to eat"

Very weak interview by Ratts but he cant control what questions will be asked. Irrelevant questions with weak answers is all I heard last night. He didnt sell the club at all last night and for someone who is trying to bring back the passion to the club he failed miserably last night

No questions on Walker and Warnock

No questions on Kruz

No questions on kids like Yarran, Robinson, AJ, Garlett, Browne, Austin and Armfield

Where is Gibbs best position???

Nothing on the club direction, president, facilities

I'm expect poor question from MS and GH but I expect more from Hirdy.

Did they ask when he thought Judd would replace him as Captain/Coach?

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end of message

It is a big week for Ratts this week and probably the biggest week in his short coaching career.
- We are not expected to win.
- We have been terrible interstate.
- We have lost whatever respect and credibility we gained at the start of the season.
- We will play a team we beat 8 weeks ago and they are on the up and we are on the slide.
A win this week will change the mindsight of those looking in and perhaps the mindset of those already within.
Ratts was very gaurded last night and did not give much away. If you are expecting him to sell the club forget about it as I think he is an "actions speak louder than words" type of guy. Terry Wallace is good at that stuff and he was still trying to do it yesterday.

I think the Wallace incident might have pushed the interview back a bit in terms of going to air as well.

Overall the performance wasn't much but not unexpected given the 10 minutes given to it.

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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.

The only decent question was from Mike, who asked whether Ratts enjoyed coaching more during the week, or on matchdays.

Was possibly a reference to the "Is Ratts tactically savvy enough?" mini-debate in the media.

As with all the questions, Ratts didn't answer it at all: just said that he liked them both 50/50. Which is the sort of answer you give when you don't want to give an answer.

Hopefully over time he'll learn the art of the interview: it doesn't matter what the question, you can always steer the discussion towards the things YOU want to talk about. So if a journo is trying to get you to admit a weakness in one of the coaching areas, but you'd rather talk about our kids, it's easy:

Mike: Do you prefer coaching on matchdays or during the week?

Ratts: They're obviously both important, especially given such a young list - it's all about constant development, and I think the kids benefit enormously if they have consistent feedback both through the week, and on gamedays. You can't underestimate how important the learning process is for young players.

Well, that's how politicians handle interviews anyway. Just keep pushing today's theme, relentlessly.

Life's too short to over analyse a media interview in a relaxed environment and try to use it as evidence that the world is about to end.

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