are you kidding?

Today's game did Ratten no favours. The team has slowly been going backwards this year.

So we played better when we lost to Fremantle earlier in the year?

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STURDYISM!!

no.

Well that clears that up then.

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STURDYISM!!

not really. you isolated one game. doesnt prove a thing. anything else?

Look a win is a win...and any time our side wins I'm over the moon. It makes my weekend no matter who we beat.

But the win needs to be put in perspective. Freo fielded a very weak side. I havent seen the replay as yet so I will not comment on Ratts performance suffice to say we won and that is good news as it puts us back into the 8. It also takes some heat off Ratts (who I still dont think has what it takes) and keeps him on track to acheive the goal he set at the seasons start.

My biggest want if you like is to see us get some consistency of performance into ur games. Can we win 3 or 4 in a row something almost unheard of this decade for us...we will have turned the corner when we begin to win games on end. That would be the biggest statement we could deliver this year...consistency.

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

Look I wasn't trying to prove anything, I was just trying to get a better understanding of your position, hence my question. Because logic would suggest that if we were going backwards this year, however slowly, every game in the past would be slightly better than the one that comes after it. Hence my question.

But this clearly isn't what you meant and I know that now.

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STURDYISM!!

Its becoming very clear that nothing is clear

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You can just smell that fresh Carlton arrogance coming back into the air

spot. on.

no. its a hint

This line of arguing really frustrates me. Yes, they were without a few, but we were also well below full strength. Add in Walks, Waite, 206 to name a few.....

You can only beat the team which lines up on the park opposite you.



Now you're talking!!

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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.

as much as i happy to win all it does is hide the issues we have for another week. If not for judd, carrazzo & gibbs we would of been in big trouble. 18 points down at 3/4 time and simply a very young and inexperienced freo ran out of steam. ratten did nothing to help. it was actually his negative tactics that got us into a hole in the first place. not until he was forced to attack because we were 5-6 goals down that we looked okay.

Winning doesn't gloss over the issues that we have.

I don't think the Club is thinking that we are on easy street.

Certain players, including the captain lifted, which is why we won. It took several players for us to win.

When we lose, we blame Ratts.

When we win, we say it was Juddy that did it for us.

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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.

your point?

We can take the 4 points from that game but not too much more.

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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.

Still not sold on Ratten.

One win ( and a lucky one at that ) on the road doesn't make up for almost 2 seasons of the same predictable lack-luster way we play football.

Never Using the Corridors.
Too Fev Focused.
A Non-Exsistant kick-out stratergy.
Biased and often questionable MC Selections.
Basic skills still deplorable.
Too often playing 'Defensive' (ie Flooding)


Sure, Ratten may be the first coach since Brittan in 2001 to take us to the Finals but with Judd, Fevola and a maturing Gibbs and Murphy you would expect this to be a given.

Not at all am i suggesting this is all Rattens fault - i think a few players really need to some of the blame regarding their Decision Making and general attitudes.

As i said in another post................. it's GREAT to be back in the 8 after so many years at the bottom.
HOWEVER -
We should be much better than the likes of Collingwood, Essendon*, Brisbane and Adelaide yet they are all in better form than us. We should well be a top 4 side. At the moment, we're just making up the numbers.

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

That some people are quick to lay blame at the coach when we lose. They can be quite savage in that. When we win, they are somewhat more tamer but lay the win in the hands of our captain or players.

I think it's too early to say whether Ratts is the man, but he isn't the prariah everyone is making him out to be after a loss.

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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.

That's what I say DUC . Ratten should be very, very happy he has this guy in the side. He amazes me with his strength and determination. He almost single handedly saved Ratts from a very sad flight home.

Ratts has a touch of the Spud Frawleys about him - constantly quoting stats and making them fit his argument for the neagtive or positive - a bit like TC .

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end of message

If it wasn't for some of our players we wouldnt have won

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How about some patience???

Ratts never claimed he could deliver a premiership this year, only finals, and we are looking good for that. In the mean time he is giving the old and new on the list a chance to earn their spot in the side that pushes for the cup for the next 3-5 years.

I reckon a winning side must have 4 things. the first 4 are created by the whole coaching panel: physical attributes(size/fitness/strength), footy brains, and skills. It's the coach who creates the 4th and most critical one: mental state. Getting the player's brains in the right place to play good footy. Our list is still young and learning just like Ratts. Time will tell if he can get it together.

I suppose the question is, if it takes Ratts 5 years to figure it out, will we have missed the bus??