It may have been not Swanny's decision to make in 2008 or Pago Pago's before that.
In any event it's fantastic to move on from the culture of the dark years that seemed to be the more talent you have the more you can get away with. At least for the older players. We're a different club now and it's gonna be a great ride

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Bawditawaba

I would say he wrote that letter as a means of relpying to everybody who had gone out of their way to contact the club. That is just good manners and an easier way to do it than writing individualy to everybody. And cheaper.

I loved watching Fev in full throttle but I also agree we have to move on. I am happy he has gone if that's best for the club. I wasn't too pleased when Jezza left, either but IIR we did OK during his playing life even though he was at another club.

Footy IS an emotional game. It is also one of choices. If you barrack for Fev and not CFC, you can always become a member at Brisbane. The Melbourne members had the same choice in 1964.
The Collingwood members had the same choice in 1971. The Richmond members and Collingwood members had to make the choice every year during the late 70's.
The WCE members had to do it in 2008.
Now you have to.
If you stay, good. If you go, good riddance.

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

I think we all have to accept that this is a very emotional issue. We just traded one of the 2 superstar players on the list. We, as supporters are always going to be divided on the issue, if not there wouldn't be web forums. Voicing your opinions and either agreeing or disagreeing does not make you a Richmond supporter/clueless etc etc. Burning your membership card, dumping chicken hearts at Visy Park etc would be but we shouldn't be accusing folks because they have a different opinion. For the record I am not comfortable with trading Fev. I wont be burning anything and I seriously hope Henderson and pick #12 are the reincarnation of sticks and Fev but as it stands now we traded a Porsche for the plans to a new holden and a lottery ticket.

I agree with many of the posts in this thread. I think that the influence of the media is much overstated. We have named our B&F after a bloke that was actually in trouble with the law. We have had presidents hiding payments from the league etc etc. What fev did at the brownlow was bad, he is a serial offender and he will probably muck up again in the future. I cant help think though that we have been bullied into this by the PC media. They love a scandal and then love to beat it up and compare their own sensational reports against the politically correct agenda that they themselves set. We have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker. As far as Swann writing to members, my letter hasnt arrived yet and I buy 4 memberships every year. The letter posted on here was no more than should be expected, run of the mill PC boilerplate. I hope this works but I go to the footy to see the Blues win, not to marvel at the immense character of the boys. Hopefully I'll see both, if not I'd prefer a win. As far as our new 'structure' being unpredictable etc, give me a spell. If it was that easy that all you needed was a couple of draftees to become unpredictable and unstoppable we surely would have been doing it for years along with everyone else. If star players arent important why did we throw the kitchen sink at Judd. How many of the folks saying they agree with the Fev trade are now saying they hope we get Bradshaw. Good luck to the new players and I'll barrack for them regardless but I'm not convinced and as has been mentioned I seriously hope that I have to eat my words.

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"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?" Billy Connolly

Possibly, but it's a Porsche which has been flogged pretty hard, and might only have a couple of years left in the engine and transmission. And while a new Commodore may not be as glamourous as a Porsche, it gets the job done, and are a hell of a lot better then many give them credit.

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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.

Judd is the sort of player and leader you build a team around. We were in the absolute poop, and he was worth his weight in gold to us.

Fev's the sort of player who's been taking the piss out of Judd and other team leaders very openly in the team environment, in front of the younger players.

For every game Fev won for us, he was doing stuff that the supporters didn't see, to undermine the team ethic. It's not about being a cleanskin - it's just about respecting what the club needs to do in order to be as strong as possible. Fev didn't do that.

You talk about Big Nick - sure he got in trouble with the law, but he'd NEVER do the disrespectful stuff that Fevola did inside the club: NEVER. We've had plenty of 'bad boys' over the years, but they've all respected the club. Fev hasn't (and I'm not talking about his getting pissed either, more about his attitude towards coaches, captains, etc).

That's why we were prepared to throw the kitchen sink at one, and get rid of the other. The Brownlow night was just the straw that broke the back.

The theory that the club reacted because of the media is short-sighted and AGAIN makes excuses for Fev.

This has and always will be, the story of Fev's life - someone making excuses for him.

The club's decision to get rid of him came well before some of what really happened on Brownlow night came out.

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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.

Yeah i can see all the 80+ goals kickers coming through

lets see what you post when all we're screaming for is someone in our forward line to kick it to

chyna.....worst post of the year so far !

Nah, not all of us are so fickle.
Thankfully the club had the courage to move on Fevola instead of caving in to the blind Fev supporters.
Good riddance to Fev. It might take some time but we'll end up with a better functioning forwardline than we had. Mainly because we'll have people willing to play the "team" game.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

You need to do some homework ....

2009 Goal kickers

Cats Premiers Mooney 46, SJ 40, Chappy 36
Saints - Roo 78 (he had a poor GF maybe the reliance on 1 goalkicer in a GF was too much)
Doggies - Aker 43, Hahn 38, Johnno 37
Crows - Porp 57, Tippett 55, Knights 43
Pies - Anthony 50, Davies 35, Lockyer 32

You don't need one to kick a 80-100 you need to spread the load. The question is not - do we have 1 who can kick 80 the question is do we have 4 who can kick 130-160 between them i.e 40 each.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

Further to the last - It also helps if you can limit the opposition scoring.

2009 averages (rounded)

Saints 14.12
Opp 9.8

Cats 15.13
Opp 12.10

Pies 13.13
Opp 11.11

Crows 14.12
Opp 12.10

Doggies 15.12
Opp 12.10

Blues 15.12
Op 13.12

If we spread the goal scoring load around and cut a few goals a week from the opposition then winning is not all about having an 80 a year goal kicker. On Average the Saints kept their opponent to under 10gls. That's the new banch mark to aim at.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

You were doing real well, until that last para Mr C. The only thing the Sainters are bench marks for is choking and wooden spoons.

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06

I still reckon he should have been traded in 2008.
Coming off a 99 goal season, no brownlow night antics.
We would have got a better deal.

And if your Grandma had balls.....

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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.

She's got a beard, does that count?

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

It does if it's hiding her balls...

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STURDYISM!!

.......coulda.....woulda.....shoulda....

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

...

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There's so much I could say...

Yeah and if CFC hadn't of let Fev get away with so much and actually dropped him for a while like the Saints and Pies did with their players then we might not be where we are now. Fev failed the Blues but the Blues also failed Fev !

So.......we're now putting up St.Kilda and Collingwood as role models?

Fevola is no longer a Carlton player; he's a Brisbane player........he has left.....he's gone........it's time to move on.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.