Carlton Supporters Club

"In summing up, it’s the constitution, it’s Mabo, it’s justice, it’s law, it’s the vibe and aah no that’s it, it’s the vibe. I rest my case"
BY DENIS DENUTO  "As seen on TV" - The Castle·

I think it's recruiting, development, culture, bad appointments, the board..................

The only period when we were generally moving in the right direction was 08-12.

There's a bit of Ratten bias there methinks.
Have a close look at our drafting over that period

The upward trend was in ladder position, W/L etc. The recruiting was as blah as ever.

Pagan won 9 games or something in 2004, in hindsight it was miraculous.
With three number one picks, Judd, Walker, Stevens, Betts, Waite and a few others Ratts was bound to win a few games but it was never going to be sustainable without good recruiting.

If recruiting is the problem, then why sack the coach ? And that applies equally and fairly whether it's Pagan, Ratts, MM or anyone else.

Because the members, sponsors and supporters demand it, and the board needs to look as though it's doing something to ensure its own survival.

And our club seems to fall into this trap more than most.

It's an old club, full of old men and their old ways!

But I'm confident it's changing which is why I changed my message signature.

But like a misbehaving high performance car, I can still detect the odd misfire as it accelerates, and I see the old-time mechanic standing on the sidelines with a hammer ready to lightly tap the carburetor or the distributor, even though it's a fuel injected beast with all electronic ignition!

Sorry, I should've been clearer - my question was essentially rhetorical. I know exactly why it happens (not forgetting the media influence). But it's a deplorable state of affairs that invisible men (and a few gals) with deep pockets, many of whom know jack-sh1t about football, should be allowed to get away with it. And our club seems to fall into this trap more than most.

Our club was run as a rich man's fiefdom for many years until Elliott brought it to the brink of destruction from which we've never fully recovered.
Even the Judd trade was a poor long term football decision but his value in attracting members and sponsors outweighed football cosiderations due to our precarious financial position at the time.
Carlton has been about as badly managed as it's possible for a club to be and we're now in a state of decline, it will take a mighty effort to turn the ship around.

Agree with all, except I was and am a fan of the Judd trade.

I'd do the Judd trade again tomorrow!

What I'd be looking to do very differently was the players around him. In particular I'd find extras / others like Carrazzo and McLean who could do the heavy lifting inside work and leave Judd on the fast-break-away with Murphy. For example, I think Gibbs could have gone inside mid a long time ago, while Judd was still in his prime.

Agree with all, except I was and am a fan of the Judd trade.