Trying to look at everything in the broader sense in terms of where I think we are at as a side and where we should be with what we have, we have to face the reality that were not that good.

Im dubious on Ratts, but he needs to be given time to see what he can do to generate a forward line post-Fev. We always knew this, but our optimism was raised with the slaying of VFL Richmond and a decent follow up against Brisbane, which is what made the Essendon* loss so galling. (and the fact it was Essendon*, and well we know what happened).

But here is a breakdown of how I see each area of the team:

Forward line - The biggest and most obvious problem. Fev's loss is massive, and no amount of sugar coating can change that fact. We didn't want to let him go, in an ideal world he would still be at the club and we would be at a vastly different stage of our cycle (one that may never have worked).

At the moment though in Ratts defence, anyone coaching Carlton would be struggling to come up with a decent structure with our current personnel to kick enough goals to win games. Betts is our only proven forward, Waite is better as a swingman and isn't right yet, Setanta is good as a decoy, while Hendo and Yarran are very raw. I don't really have the answer of what to do apart from persisting with what we have, and continue to rotate guys through there.

League Rank IMO: 14th

Midfield - Our strong point, but not Geelong level just yet. Keep the basic core together though and it will become elite.

League Rank IMO: 5th

Defence - With Bower its a good defence, without him its average. Its a testament to him and the club how he has come on so well, from the beginning of 2008 when many (like myself) had their doubts about him. Jamo is a bankable stopper, T-Bird is a good third backman often asked to play out of his weight division, while JR has become a quality half back.

Doubts remain over Walker and Armfield, namely their kicking. But the basis of a good defence is in place. I think this area has been the big win in the Ratten tenure so far. When he took over we were by far the worst team defensively in the league, and now we are about mid-range.
League Rank IMO: 10th

I would like to think this is a realistic assessment, losing to Essendon* all the time, while bad and pissing me off to no end, is not the end of the world. They are at a similar level to what we are (to all those who think our list is so much better, its not, at least not now) and they match up well on us, its just one of those things. From 81-85 we couldn't beat them, but we won 2 flags, but they were also a good side.

Obviously both sides are fighting battles a lot more lightweight now, but the comparison remains valid.

I mean its not like we are Man U constantly losing to a Sunderland (side well below their level) or something.