keogh wrote:
Nobody has been as critical of the board than me. It’s where the problems start in terms of onfield success.
It’s a thankless mind you being a President. The club is out of debt which is great and like the academy stuff so he was a better President than Sticks although that wouldn’t be hard.
However he is a Mathieson clone. He also to some degree live in that Carlton bubble which essentially is the problem that the club still has.
The first thing I want to see is Jeanie Pratt and Craig Mathieson gone from the club. They are relics and have had their time. The presence holds us back.
The President also appointed a mate SOS a Carlton legend which was a big mistake that finally people are acknowledging.
Again an example of “ The Carlton bubble” and that success or failure starts at the top.
I don’t know if Sayers is in that bubble either. We will find out. I don’t like the fact that members can’t vote Presidents in. That’s wrong and hypocritical given the spin from the club about how we should respect our fans blah blah blah.
As far as Sayers honors and stuff. I couldn’t give a shit about that.
Peter Garrett is classified natural treasure with humanitarian awards coming out of his arse. He is the biggest hypocritical, pretentious flower you could ever meet.
I just want Sayers to steer the ship in a more global, non Carlton successful onfield direction.
We need a Peggy O’ Neal, Frank Costa person at the helm.
Plenty of life experience but old thinking set in their ways.
The second part of the equation is often missing.
I know a few bits you don't keogh, and I was hoping you'd show some respect for MLG's success, in a difficult job, in an environment you declare the "Carlton Bubble". He's done good things even you could list whilst you feel adverse to trusting anyone at Carlton given the last 20 years.
I like your line of questioning, and I see parallels with the great Don Chipp's motto to "Keep the Bastards Honest", but I also know how inaccurate you are making sensationalist accusations which are unfounded, but some that are. Sometimes I see a hint of jealousy, envy, I don't know, but maybe you always wanted to be a leader of the club, such is your love of our club, maybe because you have leadership qualities but haven't been discovered. There you go, I'm sounding like you, second guessing, drawing lines of connection. Hey, that's life. Just have to be able to know Fact from Fiction.
Like you I was an ex teacher in my early 20's, but get this right, I didn't apply for the job, because I had a business at the time. Funny story. Like you, as a teacher, I experienced the bureaucracy that hinders good governance and good education, and I see 'some' of those "us vs them" qualities expressed in what I would consider pure vitriol, without foundation at times. You draw lines of connections when sometimes they are just pure coincidence. Doesn't matter.
MLG is an innocent applicant. Everyone is innocent till proven guilty, and he's innocent. Right place Right time. A candidate everyone could agree to at a time where the proverbial hit the fan and we were rock bottom where factions knew better. He is Educated. You don't need to know more than that, other than he innocently landed the gig because he is not connected to the factions, and that's pretty obvious because, he wouldn't be there if he was. They wouldn't have it! Agree? Believable?
Mathieson and Pratt these days are benefactors, rusted supporters of Carlton, like you and I with a love and devotion of something precious to them and their loved ones for a long time. The old era when they were young and frisky in the 80's and 90's are gone. They take the backstage thse days. Figureheads. mentors. They do not interfere, they offer. High achievers can be a pain in the arse, in your face, dorky, but you need them in life. I am nothing like that. I'm lazy and take the easy way out and I still like to party, hard, despite entering my 60's. I'm not grey yet. Weird...and still connected to the music industry...we have a lot in common. But I appreciate what high achievers do for our club, not don't do like me and you. They all want the best for Carlton. Sometimes they stuff up. They are human too.
The appointment of SOS wasn't MLG. Silvagni had industry cred from stints at saints and GWS. He was privy to a lot including to the high end of town: the AFL Commissioners because of GWS. He divorced Carlton end 2002. MLG was the one who could get him back because he didn't belong to any of the "Carlton Bubble" you refer to and still think it exists. He was respected by SOS and SOS backed him by coming back to the mother ship to lend us a hand. He was appointed to perform a very difficult job with a poker face, like only he could do, and he did.
People make mistakes.
There are a lot of influential people in football clubs; its normal, but hardly any of them get to lead. These days, with Carlton in Business the biggest Network in Australia, collectively its bigger than Mathieson or Pratt. That era of the "Carlton Bubble" is in the past. Because of your age, and mine, it still feels like yesterday. ie front of mind. Carlton is a different club to the one you envision. Its a juggernaut and its about to take off.
There is change happening at Carlton, but change is slow, and planned succession and successful smooth transition requires an orderly approach. The flipside is a coup. That's too disruptive and not likely to last in the new world run by a different generation.
The SOS appointment was mot a mistake, but mistakes happened. Its easy to say that in hindsight. The respectful thing for all of us to do now is to let the likes of Dow, Stocker, Cuningham, DeKoning, Philp, Kemp etc find their feet as they mature, because they haven't peaked at 21yo, and some take longer, and the Gov's and Austin's boys Saad and Williams let them get fit and show some pride in performance before we make final judgement on their careers. Ditto Teague, but he's the now, he's the game plan, he's the selector, so he's got the toughest gig. He has to get tougher or else.
Point is, Carlton will always be a target by the jealous individuals in the media: those that fear us poaching players from their teams, those with long memories of our arrogance and success, and those who have lost a lot of money betting on the Blues this year, and other reasons. We have to stay the course and recruiting is a continuous process. Injuries have curtailed our momentum, including to Saad and Williams, but they will all align themselves to do what they have to do to achieve the end goal, as we expect, as we get players back from injury, and we will get a better game plan suited to the personnel we have or Teague knows what's next.
This new man Luke Sayers is not a "Carlton Bubble" man. He is the successor who will give us the credibility we finally need to get this show on the road. He's a good communicator, very very smart, inclusive, ex CEO of PWC, so he knows governance back to front, and respected by our foes in the AFL Commission. He's a high end corporate who knows what it takes to succeed and by no means needs the financial support of Mathieson and Pratt for him to find money, IF needed. MLG has given us, and Sayers, a debt free business with great cash flow (and you just have to look at our ladder positons over the last 5 years) to know this is the springboard for great things for our club.
You better believe it. Its real. We are Carlton free and strong, and we will succeed no matter what our foes in the media are saying, or our fairweathered supporters and opponents. We've been an institution in Australia since 1864. We are the pioneers of VFA, VFL and AFL. We stand for a lot, despite todays headlines.
Get onboard. No need to jump at shadows any more. This is the new Carlton. Advance Australia Fair.
BLUEBAGGERS