Toast We have improved!!

[carlton09]

Can't see Freo, St Kilda and Bulldogs etc getting within 4 goals of the pies.
Usually during a loss you only look for the negatives but there certainly were many positives that I think came out of the night. Include -

- Not getting blown away. Was the case in both games last year.. Especially when Collingwood were controlling the game, we seemed to always be close to enough to strike.

- Depth. Noticed we rotated alot through the middle and backline to keep players fresh. Didak was quiet, Swan wasn't as damaging as usual and could name a few more pies.

- We weren't squeezed by the Collingwood zone etc, We took risks and sometimes came back to hurt us or resulted in a scoring oppurtunity. (especially first half)

- The lesser likes like Robinson, Curnow and Thornton all contributed for us.

Let's hope by round 17 we improve another couple of goals and become a real threat to Collingwood. PS: Doesn't help when umps are Collingwood's best friend.

 

[da_champ]

What a pointless thread. It is round 3. It is very early to jump to such nonsensical conclusions at this stage.

You don't know how St Kilda, Freo and the Bulldogs are going to fare against Collingwood.

And also, how can you say we have improved if we were to miss the finals, or lose in the first week of the finals again...

 

[CarltonFan]

Yay. Now we should aim high, something ambitious like winning one final. Woohoo.

 

[JuddsABlue]

We lost to a team that every team should lose to this year so its not all cloudy weather and rain

we looked very fast
we were able to control the ball
didnt crack under pressure
applied great pressure
didnt let them blow us away

lots of positives, but still some negatives and things to work on

I really give us a top 4 chance this year after tonight

 

[GhostofPP]

Can't see Freo, St Kilda and Bulldogs etc getting within 4 goals of the pies.
Usually during a loss you only look for the negatives but there certainly were many positives that I think came out of the night. Include -

- Not getting blown away. Was the case in both games last year.. Especially when Collingwood were controlling the game, we seemed to always be close to enough to strike.

- Depth. Noticed we rotated alot through the middle and backline to keep players fresh. Didak was quiet, Swan wasn't as damaging as usual and could name a few more pies.

- We weren't squeezed by the Collingwood zone etc, We took risks and sometimes came back to hurt us or resulted in a scoring oppurtunity. (especially first half)

- The lesser likes like Robinson, Curnow and Thornton all contributed for us.

Let's hope by round 17 we improve another couple of goals and become a real threat to Collingwood. PS: Doesn't help when umps are Collingwood's best friend.

crap like this is the reason we are ****ed,
you wouldnt have any idea what Carlton stands for or what it means to be a blue,

 

[CFC16]

Can't see Freo, St Kilda and Bulldogs etc getting within 4 goals of the pies.
Usually during a loss you only look for the negatives but there certainly were many positives that I think came out of the night. Include -

- Not getting blown away. Was the case in both games last year.. Especially when Collingwood were controlling the game, we seemed to always be close to enough to strike.

- Depth. Noticed we rotated alot through the middle and backline to keep players fresh. Didak was quiet, Swan wasn't as damaging as usual and could name a few more pies.

- We weren't squeezed by the Collingwood zone etc, We took risks and sometimes came back to hurt us or resulted in a scoring oppurtunity. (especially first half)

- The lesser likes like Robinson, Curnow and Thornton all contributed for us.

Let's hope by round 17 we improve another couple of goals and become a real threat to Collingwood. PS: Doesn't help when umps are Collingwood's best friend.

Carlton need to change their game style and play through the corridor. Once we get Back Kreuzer, Henderson, Lucas, Bower a fit Brock McLean we'll be a better side. Hopefully Luke Mitchell, Pat McCarthy will be seen this year. Collingwood are very good side but not great. They are boring to watch.

 

[blues4flag]

What a pointless thread. It is round 3. It is very early to jump to such nonsensical conclusions at this stage.

You don't know how St Kilda, Freo and the Bulldogs are going to fare against Collingwood.

And also, how can you say we have improved if we were to miss the finals, or lose in the first week of the finals again...

No less pointless than threads ripping into us after a loss.

We haven't played finals yet so you're last point is irrelevant. On what we've shown in the first 3 rounds, it's fair to say we have improved. Look a more even team across the board and have been pretty switched on for all bar 2 of 12 quarters (3rd vs. Tiges and 2nd tonight).

Robinson and Curnow are working very well in the midfield at present. Both are uncompromising with their attack on the footy.

 

[blues4flag]

crap like this is the reason we are ****ed,
you wouldnt have any idea what Carlton stands for or what it means to be a blue,

Complete and utter delusion.

Wake up and smell the roses. What have we achieved in the past decade?

The reality is, we've got to work for success like everybody else. Rhetoric such as "we were born to win" is just that. Sounds flashy but at the end of the day it means nothing. We've been ordinary at best for a decade, extenuating circumstances or not.

Claiming we've improved is not accepting mediocrity. It's a gradual rise from where we've been to where we belong (excuse the hypocrisy). We're not going to wake up one day and find ourselves on top of the ladder. It's going to come of the back of performances like tonight where we work hard and don't fall away against the best in the land (like them or hate them, there's no doubting they're the best at the minute).

We're a young group showing growth and promise. In the past we'd have rolled over and conceded 4 or 5 goals late. Look at last season. We had easily the largest discrepancy between winning margin and losing margin, often winning by 7+ goals only to get done by a similar amount the next week.

 

[da_champ]

No less pointless than threads ripping into us after a loss.

We haven't played finals yet so you're last point is irrelevant. On what we've shown in the first 3 rounds, it's fair to say we have improved. Look a more even team across the board and have been pretty switched on for all bar 2 of 12 quarters (3rd vs. Tiges and 2nd tonight).

Robinson and Curnow are working very well in the midfield at present. Both are uncompromising with their attack on the footy.

Just end the circle jerk FFS.

If you want to do a real comparison, in 2010, we beat the tigers by 59 points in round 1, as well as the both the Grand Finalists once, whilst this year, we nearly got beaten by the tigers, have over inflated egos from thrashing the new boys on the block, and lost to the premiers.

...And you have the nerve to say we have improved. It is too early for judgements!

And the other thread is not 'ripping into us'. It is honest, analytical criticism. I'm sorry if you have your head too far beneath the sand to understand.

 

[blues4flag]

Just end the circle jerk FFS.

If you want to do a real comparison, in 2010, we beat the tigers by 59 points in round 1, as well as the both the Grand Finalists once, whilst this year, we nearly got beaten by the tigers, have over inflated egos from thrashing the new boys on the block, and lost to the premiers.

...And you have the nerve to say we have improved. It is too early for judgements!

And the other thread is not 'ripping into us'. It is honest, analytical criticism. I'm sorry if you have your head too far beneath the sand to understand.

Not talking about this week in particular, but after losses in general.

There's a difference between analytical criticism and a realistic outlook. Some seem to demand perfection from our boys every week, irrespective of opponent and the fact is we're not yet at that stage of our development.

If people can't take some positives out of tonight's game I feel for them. For the record, tonight was exactly what we didn't do last year, We had an honourable loss against excellent opposition, instead of dropping our heads and being blown out of the water.

 

[coldpieswarmbeer]

You guys played very well. Kudos. Some hungry players in your side which is always good to see for any supporter Not to mention skilled players.

 

[Dramoth]

Complete and utter delusion.

Wake up and smell the roses. What have we achieved in the past decade?

The reality is, we've got to work for success like everybody else. Rhetoric such as "we were born to win" is just that. Sounds flashy but at the end of the day it means nothing. We've been ordinary at best for a decade, extenuating circumstances or not.

Claiming we've improved is not accepting mediocrity. It's a gradual rise from where we've been to where we belong (excuse the hypocrisy). We're not going to wake up one day and find ourselves on top of the ladder. It's going to come of the back of performances like tonight where we work hard and don't fall away against the best in the land (like them or hate them, there's no doubting they're the best at the minute).

We're a young group showing growth and promise. In the past we'd have rolled over and conceded 4 or 5 goals late. Look at last season. We had easily the largest discrepancy between winning margin and losing margin, often winning by 7+ goals only to get done by a similar amount the next week.

Thats ok... dont worry about Mokum... he is probably pissed off that the mods are deleting all his usual "Ratts is crap sack him now" threads after a loss.

We are on the rise and things will get much better for us as the team settles down over the course of the season.

Take away the goals they got through the soft (and dubious) free kicks and the game was a lot closer, but people like Mokum doesnt seem to get that. Even Tony Shaw couldnt believe that the umps gave Blair that free right in front when Russell muscled him off the ball.

We have a lot to take out of this match. Watson was obviously outclassed against much older and more experienced players, but he was still quite good and showed a lot.

 

[Sir CJ]

I'll be convinced we have improved if we knock of Ess, Adel, and give Syd a run for their money on their home soil.......I just hope we don't fall into the trap of thinking tonight was a good performance and will be enough to knock off the Bombers next week, because if recent history is anything to go by they match up pretty well against us

 

[Dramoth]

You guys played very well. Kudos. Some hungry players in your side which is always good to see for any supporter Not to mention skilled players.

Cheers, there were a couple of good new ones out there tonight while some of the older guys in the side seemed to go missing.

Frustrating about the older guys, but damned exciting about the new ones.

Also, I think that most clubs in the country are heading off to their recruiting managers and asking them how could they have passed Jeffy in the 2009 draft.

 

[Uhumagoo]

Looked OK tonight, great in patches.. much better than last years efforts against them, and most of the scribes have decided the Pies have improved on last year.. Don't know how many games Bower and Jamo have played together, But real improvement will come once they can string a bunch of games together with Yarran and Russell, settle the back 6 and finally get some familiarity in backline.

 

[blues4flag]

Cheers, there were a couple of good new ones out there tonight while some of the older guys in the side seemed to go missing.

Frustrating about the older guys, but damned exciting about the new ones.

Also, I think that most clubs in the country are heading off to their recruiting managers and asking them how could they have passed Jeffy in the 2009 draft.

Reckon they'd be asking the same questions of Ed Curnow.

 

[blue gunslinger]

crap like this is the reason we are ****ed,
you wouldnt have any idea what Carlton stands for or what it means to be a blue,

enlighten us

 

[Dramoth]

enlighten us

Mokum cant enlighten us... there is a single thing going through his mind...

Carlton are crap while Ratts is coach so we must sack Ratts.

 

[TNBT]

Not sure why people are bashing the thread-starter here. He is right in that we have improved. There was the shitty calls all night, but regardless of that, we put in a really good effort. The media have been saying all off-season about how the Pies have improved, so for us to play them as well as we did tonight, given how badly they beat us last year, shows that we have clearly improved as well.

 

[40yearBLUE]

Wow, just love the posters like spirit that think they own what it means to love the club.

For the record. With exactly 11 mins to go in the second qtr, Krakour snaps a goal that puts them in front (the one where he shows the jailbird sign to the crowd). From the next bounce Garlett shanks a kick out of bounds that would have put us level again, from there they clear and Jamo only gets his finger tips to the ball despite being in a better position than Cloke, who gets the crumb and goals, 2 up. Then Judd wins another clearance but we cant take the mark in our fwd line, they clear again and score another goal from the contested possession to Ball and are 3 up. All in a 2 minute period. So with now 9 minutes to go they are 3 up. Then we hold them up for another few minutes, no one scores a goal. Then the ultimate insult for JR, he outbodies Blair and marks and gets a free against him in the square. That goal pus them 4 up. With 5 minutes of the quarter to play (4.55 to be precise). A margin they hold for the rest of the game but do not increase on. We outscored them by a point more before that run, they outscored us by a point after it and by 4 goals 3 during it. So other than that 5 minute burst of 4 goals 3 points, the game was tied up. Now if that is not an improvement I dont know that we can ever improve enough to satisfy some of you posters.

And Spirit you might like to try to bully some of the posters here, but you wont bully me mate. I dont cop tools that think they have a superior love for the club or understanding of what it means to be Blue. My 40 years continuous membership of the club says I have well and truly earnt my right to call fools out for such rubbish.

 

[TNBT]

Wow, just love the posters like spirit that think they own what it means to love the club.

For the record. With exactly 11 mins to go in the second qtr, Krakour snaps a goal that puts them in front (the one where he shows the jailbird sign to the crowd). From the next bounce Garlett shanks a kick out of bounds that would have put us level again, from there they clear and Jamo only gets his finger tips to the ball despite being in a better position than Cloke, who gets the crumb and goals, 2 up. Then Judd wins another clearance but we cant take the mark in our fwd line, they clear again and score another goal from the contested possession to Ball and are 3 up. All in a 2 minute period. So with now 9 minutes to go they are 3 up. Then we hold them up for another few minutes, no one scores a goal. Then the ultimate insult for JR, he outbodies Blair and marks and gets a free against him in the square. That goal pus them 4 up. With 5 minutes of the quarter to play (4.55 to be precise). A margin they hold for the rest of the game but do not increase on. We outscored them by a point more before that run, they outscored us by a point after it and by 4 goals 3 during it. So other than that 5 minute burst of 4 goals 3 points, the game was tied up. Now if that is not an improvement I dont know that we can ever improve enough to satisfy some of you posters.

And Spirit you might like to try to bully some of the posters here, but you wont bully me mate. I dont cop tools that think they have a superior love for the club or understanding of what it means to be Blue. My 40 years continuous membership of the club says I have well and truly earnt my right to call fools out for such rubbish.

*Gathers around with others in a schoolyard-esque manner*

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

 

[Team Mo']

Ahh we still lost. Until we improve to beating sides constantly it's not enough "improvement."

 

[TNBT]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that we have improved as much as we need to Mo, but you can't deny that this team is looking better than last year and is closing the gap between us and the Pies.

 

[40yearBLUE]

In the end it came down to a 5 minute stretch of footy that we lost but matched the "Best" for the other 115 minutes. We even came out after half time and kicked the first 2 after attacking for the first 5 mins and really should have kicked more (Judd missed from directly in front that he should have kicked, Betts dropped a mark he should have gobbled and kicked another, then we get a holding the ball decision plucked from nowhere, is it any wonder Simmo abused the tool that plucked it to give away the 50m and a little later they do it again to Gibbs after he has a head high tackle applied but they dont see that) to halve their lead and if not for some poor decisions against us in our fwd 50 could have got even closer.

What that tells me is we are within 5% of the best. They had a full strength team on the park with only 1 injured player (Nathan Brown) unavailable. We had just the 1 player injured and unavailable, Kruezer (you cant count players like BowWow or Hendo or Mclean that are running around with Preston) so we have to say we were close to full strength too. Maybe there is a case to say Irish and Hoops are also injured but to be fair, we gave it all, they gave it all, both full strength and we came up 5 minutes short.

I was pretty annoyed by some umpiring decisions but the result was a fair indication of the difference between where we are and where they are. I will take that. I think we saw signs tonight of why we are now a genuine top 4 team. Signs. But as I keep saying, I will be fully convinced in 2 weeks time if we are 4/1. Then after beating sides we should be beating we can say we are where we should be. So far so good. Pretty happy with where we are so long as they bring it in the next 2 weeks and on from there and dont drop away again. Losing to the best is not a sign we are not good enough. Collingwood did not go through undefeated. But you dont see top teams lose to bottom teams often. Thats what we have to fix. So all of this agro and hatred for players that made mistakes really annoys me, these same players got us within 5 minutes of the best and but for a few poor umpiring decisions and a missed goal and dropped mark by our players we could have been right back in it and who knows what might have happened.

I just love what I am seeing from the club at the moment. In the past flags came thick and fast, one every 3 years. But seeing us build this next flag in this new socialist paradigm is quite satisfying.

 

[rp84]

We lost to a team that every team should lose to this year so its not all cloudy weather and rain

we looked very fast
we were able to control the ball
didnt crack under pressure
applied great pressure
didnt let them blow us away

lots of positives, but still some negatives and things to work on

I really give us a top 4 chance this year after tonight

serious? we got smashed mate. very lucky to be so close.

we worked so hard to score goals. and they got them easy as anything.

we are only a top 4 chance because of how average our competition is. at the moment, we are not a premiership contender. nor i hop ewe make it, playing like tonight. played scared,and under pressure. we would get done by 10-15 goals in a GF at the moment.