I always thought velociraptors were hugely overrated. Stegosaurus was my favourite. Grimlock was the best cartoon dinosaur ever.

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The only way for some people to understand is for them to be on the receiving end

Left wing moralists
In self serving denial
They shit me no end

I was always a fan of the Pteranodon

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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.

I loved the Dinobots too.

As much as there is fun being had with this new thread about the removal of Sticks, let's see about merging with one of the other threads on the removal of Sticks.

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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.

He is ultimately his boss and has had far to much influence for to long on the football department at Carlton and Ratteen is not strong enough

I asked how he influences him.

What is it specifically about our style of game or our preparation thats influenced by Kernahan?

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

I'll weigh in here with my 2 cents.

I don't know specifically how much sway Kernahan has within the club, but I do know this:

Leaders influence the organisation not necessarily by specific deeds, but by their mannerisms, their ideals, their beliefs and their actions. In a way, what that esteemed lawyer Denis Denuto would call "the vibe".

To me, Kernahan doesn't have a very good "vibe" as an off-field leader. Love him for what he did as captain, but in his off-field roles for the club his fingerprints are all over some of our most ill-advised decisions and the lowest point in our history. Clearly, the man casts a huge shadow over Princes Park, and even if his role is somewhat nominal, it's difficult not to think that he defines the culture of the organisation.

Now sticks is in many ways a great man, but in all honesty he doesn't have the professionalism and pragmatic hard edge I want in the leader of the club. He's a from-the-heart guy, super admirable in a friend, but as a president?

Another thing to consider is that when Ratten got to the club all those years ago, Sticks was The Man. He was his captain, the leader, the undisputed voice on the field and in the locker room. I think that no matter how much Ratten would want to be his own man, it would be exceptionally difficult to divorce the current reality from the history of their relationship. In short, Kernahan was and always will be the alpha male in that pairing. So it would be very hard for Ratten to feel truly like he can do things his way. Even if nothing is said, he'd always have one eye on Sticks (not hard to do if he's also in the coach's box with you).

So while we'll never be privy to specifics, I'd be amazed if Kernahan didn't have a significant influence on Ratten.

Now, who knows what's in the pipeline? If there's still Pratt family money coming into the club, then it may not be beyond the realms of possibility that Anthony might want a say in things. At the moment, Kernahan is the Pratt's man on the ground, so to speak. If and when he steps down (and who replaces him) will tell us a lot about the machinations at the club at a high level.

I suspect things have to be played out, due to the sad and untimely demise of Dick Pratt. And until they do, Kernahan is our guy. But it's not healthy for him to remain beyond 2010.

My money would be on Newton, or someone not currently on the board (depending upon the level of involvement of the Pratt family).

It's agreed, it's been a trying two weeks for the club, in a year where not much has gone smoothly- injuries to Waite and Walker, plus the protracted lay-off of Warnock. Getting pumped by Essendon* was a Barry but I've seen a few to know whether it's a portent of things to follow- and I'd like to think it was a bad night where things went fantastically well for the scum and so bad for us (as the 2nd half showed). On the topic of Sticks and who'll be the next president, there are some things worth noting:
[*] What Big Jack did last week was, by consensus (in the public and on TC), shizen for the CFC- whether by force or by design, Sticks has acted to clarify CFC's position in this sorry saga and that of the Victorian Police in their investigation. Let's not forget, the police bungled the initial investigation;
[*]The passing of Dick Pratt has had a great impact, none more so on Sticks, from what I can see. Don't forget, Sticks was acting at Dick's behest- no doubt, Sticks is feeling possibly a bit lost; however, he has good people around him. More significantly, I see this as a great opportunity for Sticks to assert himself as a leader. And he may have just done that with the findings on Elliot;
[*]The season is not yet over- please entertain and feel free to contradict me but, I never recall having this kind of hope during Pagan's reign. In Ratts' two seasons (2008/9), we've been in the hunt past the halfway mark of the season. OK, we've been in winning positions in all but a couple games and we haven't put them away this year, either through skill errors, inexperience and/or lack of composure at critical moments;
[*]Other sides have steeled themselves every time they play us- this is invaluable to our young group and will prove a dividend; and
[*]Finally, everyone at the CFC are trying- from Sticks down to the bootstudder. Ratts deserves the benefit of the doubt because he's coming in when the rot had eaten at our psyche and confidence and he's doing his absolute best to restore our belief in ourselves. Not our "swagger" or our "arrogance", but belief in something that he and the players represent- the Carlton Football Club. If that takes some time (and a few ups and downs), then so be it.


Go Blues!

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Be positive to all those @ TC- the wait is almost over!

Surely you are kidding????? There is NO WAY I want Sticks as president come draft day. He needs to get someone on board as the next president as a TOP PRIORITY.
Sadly Dick Pratt is dead and gone, we are 14 years since a premiership, and we don't have time to lose.

All those people saying that Sticks is 'lost' - gimmee a break. If he is the PRESIDENT OF THE CARLTON FOOTBALL CLUB he needs to get his flowering act together and lead decisively.

Sorry, meant to write "beyond 2009".

Here's how I think we're tracking:

- I said 18 months ago Newton was highly rated and had been earmarked as our next President for a while.. Sticks needs to stand down for the good of the club and somebody (be it Newton or even someone outside the current board) to step up. Sticks is a brilliant Carlton person, but how many former Geelong, Hawthorn, Collingwood, St Kilda superstars have as big an influence on their football club as Sticks does on ours? He might have been the best on field leader we have had, but he is not the best President at this critical time in our history. He most certainly needs to have NO say on our on field performances-- no other Presidents do this-- it smacks of a club being stuck well and truly in the 80's.

- Our current board are pretty talented as a collective, but may need one or two real business heavies to spice things up...

- Id also implement mandatory 5 year sunset clauses on every board members reign- there are enough wealthy experienced Carlton people out there for this policy to be implemented. Newer ideas with fresh faces to deliver them is a necessity to stay ahead of the rest of the competition.

- The issue with Fevola is a microcosm of an internal culture issue at our football club. If the club is bigger than any one individual, we arent showing it.. Every bit of self promotion that Fevola propagates degrades from our necessity to look like a strong 'football club.' The negative energy that permeates from our full forward is destabilising to our ambitions to be the best football team, and makes us look more and more like a club with a few guns and thats about it.

- Ratten: Great bloke, passionate Carlton person, but wasnt the best available football coach when he was appointed, and isnt the best available football coach right now.

Tough decisions are needed. Pride needs to be swallowed, or it could well be 2002 all over again. And this time Dick wont be there to bail us out.

Well said JohnM.

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