Yep...pre season on Kokoda trail...with skis on.
That oughta do it.
and I mean the posters....not the players.
My 2010 expectations....OMG
i CAN'T WAIT for next season.
Waitey.....Warnock....Everyone fitter,faster,stronger.......
what's not to love???????
Tooo many sleeps away.....but the next 5 years or so are gonna be
SO MUCH FUN!!.....exciting,memorable....
Bring it on.
oh...and thanks blueboys,for many great memories this year.

_________________
That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

Synbad is right, aiming for wins and losses is fraught with danger. Until we get the fundamentals right and prepare our players so that on gameday they are ready to play their best football, mentally and physically, then we won't be a genuine premiership threat.

Improvements in our forward structure, more team oriented and able to think on our feet to provide space for the best placed forward to utlilise.

Improvements in our kick ins, you can cop one or two cock ups a game, but expecting to be scored against from the kick ins is not a good sign.

Need to work on body strength of a few of our guys, Kreuzer and Garlett the most obvious.

Need to develop Austin and his ilk so that if we do get injuries to our KPPs that we have blokes ready to play solid football and not one or two games here and there.

Most importantly our @#$%&! goal kicking! We need to get more clinical and better able to maximise our scoreboard pressure when we have momentum. I reckon in every one of those games that ScottS identified we lost by less than two goals we probably had the opportunities to put the game away, but fluffed them in front of goal (StK game the possible exception).

GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING. GOAL KICKING.

It's been a crucial part of the game since 1896, it's about @#$%&! time we started to take it seriously.

_________________
Click here to follow TalkingCarlton on twitter
TalkingCarlton Posting Rules

it could even be that we go backwards a bit

I think my main expectation is that some who do not work/run/cover hard enough are forced out.

I think we are still weak in important areas and so I want players who work in those areas

Also I want Kruise to learn play CHF from the first day of the first training session. I may be wrong that he can play CHF but I'd like to find out.

T-Bird Jammo Army
Russell Waite Bower
Walker Gibbs Simmo
Carrots Kruise Robbo
Betts Fev Houla

Warnock Judd AJ

Murph Hammer Stevens Yarran

_________________
This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

CARE TO NAME NAMES? For what it is worth I'd like to see the younger brigade start to push out Scotland, Stevens and Houlihan but they've got to producer the goods on a regular basis. We need more accountability but we need class as well. I worry with Judd Murphy and Gibbs all in the middle at once that we lack defensive pressure. My initial thoughts on a best 22 - assuming the younger brigade can step up - is:

ARMFIELD JAMISON THORNTON
GIBBS BOWER RUSSELL
SIMPSON CARRAZZO WAITE
GARLETT O'hAILPIN WALKER
KREUZER FEVOLA BETTS
WARNOCK JUDD MURPHY
GRIGG HADLEY JOSEPH YARRAN

I don't particularly like Gibbs off half-back, but without him there we lack quality delivery out of defence. Johnson is not the answer IMO, O'Keeffe may be but is untested, if we leave out Scotland Stevens and Houlihan who else is there? Yarran might be an option, but that is yet to be tested although he has shown a bit in that role in the 2s. Hartlett has great disposal but yet to show he can cut it at the top level and may find himself delisted. Austin's disposal is neat but not elite and he is in my mind next cab off the rank behind the KPP's I've named. So Gibbs to HBF, which also allows room in midfield for a more defensively minded player. If we need more height in defence we have Waite, or for real height O'hAilpin (Kreuzer in an emergency) or for a smaller opponent Walker or even Grigg could fill a KPD role. If we need pace back Simpson, Walker, Grigg, Joseph or Yarran. We have plenty in midfield and bench who can go forward, as well as Gibbs or at a pinch Thornton, whilst Russell and Armfield could do the negating half-forward role, and any number of players can rotate through midfield. Hard tags? - Joseph/Armfield for a small, Russell/Grigg for a bigger type. Carrazzo/Hadley in and under, Waite/Walker bigger body types on ball should relieve Judd of some of the grunt work and must be told to keep his taggers looking over their shoulder.
We have less of a "down-hill skier" midfield, whilst I'd like Judd and Murphy to be more accountable if we surround them with more accountable types and less Stevo/Scoto/Hoops types and rotate any other less accountable types (eg Gibbs, Yarran) on-ball only if Murphy and/or Judd are resting we won't be so exposed by opponents who are prepared to run hard. And if the less elite midfielders aren't prepared to work hard both ways theres a red jumper waiting.

Realistically, we probably need some of the Scotto/Stevo/Hoops experience in the team, but injuries will open up spots I am sure and the 22 I've named above only has 2 really green players - Garlett and Yarran - the others at least have a bit of experience now.

It's an exciting time to be a Blues fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We should be looking to top 4.

I think we got to where we finished this year despite being pretty dumb. On and off the field.

Hopefully with the three boys missing the Adelaide game (and Stevens and Scotto earlier, it should be said), the first signs of some ruthlessness has been shown.

Which is what this team needs basically. Some ruthlessness, in selection, and on the park.

If we get to a point next year where players are missing games because their not playing smart football, then we've taken a big step.

The game has passed you by, Synbad. Occaisionally it will come back around to flick your ears or tap one shoulder while running off the other, but essentially, you're out of touch.

I think you're in our bottom six.

_________________
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

I fear that we may go backwards next year.
Teams such as Hawthorn and Essendon* who were decimated with injuries will be up there next year so we have to improve to make the finals.
This season we had our best 5 players, Judd, Murphy, Fev, Gibbs, Kruezer play every game (and play well) we may not be so lucky next year.
WCE, Freo and Melbourne will also be big improvers so the competition will tighten up.
The improvement must come from our middle range players.
On the upside, most of last years draftees didnt have much of an impact this season. Robbo will improve, Yarran and Garlett will too. Tiller and O'Keefe had no impact at all.
I just hope we learnt something from last night and this will make the players hungrier next year.

I don't think we will make the 8 next year

I expect

- To see Steven Silvagni at Visy Park at the height of summer doing body positioning drills with Austin, Bower, Thornton et Al
- To see Silvagni sitting next to Ratten next year
- To see Mark Mclure and Robert Walls on the board
- To see sides picked without Wiggins, Cloke, & one of Stevens or Houlihan. I expect to see Grigg, Andersen, Yarran given 6 weeks of senior football before judgements are made not the other way around.
- To see Kruezer at Centre Half Forward all year & the team picked with a permanent spine (Fback, CHB, CHF, FF)
- To see 2 key position players 195cm or above recruited in our top 4 picks & a genuine in and under mid to help Judd.
- To employ a tackling coach who puts our players through the toughest tackling drills all summer
- To see Yarran put through the toughest pre season to get him up to AFL standard. I want to see top 10 time trial results from him
- To see Fevola weight down and set shot goal kicking practice increased
- To see an NAB cup side picked without Fevola, Judd.
- To see/hear & feel a ruthless will to win. What happened last night would never happen at Carlton before 2002. That wasnt a true Carlton heart last night.

That took you ten minutes to type and me 5 seconds to read.. and it was more of a waste of time for me...

Anyway.. keep up the good work....excellent contribution ...

_________________
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.

- We're an emerging side, still learning
- We've had injuries to our two best defenders
- We're just not big enough to compete
- We're still getting used to not being in a losing culture

My expectation for 2010 is that these can no longer be used as excuses. If they are, God help us.

_________________
WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Good point Donstuie, now the excuses and admitting weakness end. Id like to think 2010's campaign will be something like 'no more excuses'. We've come a long way but the line in the sand has to be drawn from being woeful to mediocre - now it's about being amongst the best.

Now that we've returned to finals action I'd like to think the Club would make a pretty deep cut to the playing list and cease the rewards for just being good hard tryers. We've got a core of very good players and some emerging leaders who will learn alot from 2009 but we're still a) 6-10 players short of being a full complement list and b) 3 AFL forwards short of a good forward line. We've relied on some Fevola brilliance and some 'magic' for our goals for too long and I'd love to see either Waite or Kreuzer (or other) tried. Just having our full ruck complement hopefull in place should allow us to make at least 3 cuts to the list of half forwards who aren't going to make it. And I don't want to see Cloke retained - yes he kicked a nice goal but he is too much of a liability when it hits the ground. I'd have much rather had Fisher last night.

Expectations are therefore for a more mature Blues outfit across all layers - leadership, playing list, team selections.

Other teams are going to improve and we have to improve team fitness levels, forward entry and just overall professsionalism. Too many half arsed efforts last night.

Yep.. except for the Fisher bit ..

_________________
There's so much I could say...

Win a final.

_________________
"In fairness it did seem in the early days of the draft teams would just pick a name totally at random out of a hat. I'm pretty sure we picked James Cook at #2 one year. The mediocre forward, not the explorer" - Me, 12/9/2011

Carlton 2012: Lets remind them why they once feared the Dark.

if all teams improve then we will imrpove

unless you mean all teams except us

if not then we can forget about the all teams improve cos that's a given - all teams improve - Carlton is a team ipso facto....

or

some teams improve - we need to be one of those teams.

or

I hope we finish top 4 next year

_________________
This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

With a decent injury run (like this year) top 4 should be the expectation.

We would have to go ahead of some currently ahead of us, but see no reason why we couldnt leap frog some of Collingwood, Doggies, Geelong, Adelaide, Brisbane or St Kilda.

More expertise in the coaches box would be handy too.

..team work.. ..it flashed in and out during the year..

_________________
..if you can't be good, be good at it..

The improvement we made this year is not as big as the improvement required next year.
For Carlton to be a genuine top 4 threat the biggest area of improvement required is for the team to apply consistent four quarter pressure on the opposition. We have enough talent to win 60% of our games but we don't have the work ethic of a premiership team.
I want us to improve our team work ethic.

I can actually see it already - a big double page spread in the Sunday Herald Sun in 4 years time from now where some journo writes about the turning points - the moments which created the dynasty - that turned Carlton from another of the also rans to THE team. It will quote the dropping of Cloke/Gartlett/Betts before a massive make or break game which would determine if our first final for 8 years was a home final or a road trip - for arriving 15 minutes late for training. It was brave - but it instilled a message to all that we were serious in our quest for discipline and professionalism. It will also quote the hurt of the Elimination Final fade out to Brisbane - and how that hurt - deeper than a normal final loss due to the shock it delivered - delivered the spur across the whole club to ensure it didn't happen again.

I honestly believe that we will look back at these 2 defining moments (and maybe a couple more over the coming year - which have yet to occur) and reflect how critical they have been. The glass is much, much better than half empty - although alot of people on Talking Carlton can't see it. I am probably too optimistic - but to me we are looking at top 4 next year with a shot at a premiership, followed by genuine Premiership contenders/favorites in 2011.

Top 2 is what I expect.

But Top 4 will do.

Now get on with it; we don't have time to @#$%&! around. There's a few cups for the taking over the next decade. Lets make up for the dormant decade.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

No dopey actions and subsequent decisions from our captain and club.

_________________
Click here to follow TalkingCarlton on twitter
TalkingCarlton Posting Rules