English cricket died the day some colonials flogged the poms on their own soil

The music died the day the Big Bopper, Ritchie Vallens and Buddy Holly met their maker.

Football died the day that Carlton supporters couldn't enjoy a victory over Collingwood.

I cannot stomach what we have become. Welfare addicts praying at the altar of the AFL's PP draft system.

Call me short sighted, call me stupid, call me whatever you like, but the day that members threaten tearing up their memberships if we win too many games after witnessing the disappointment of beating Collingwood is the day that everything I grew to love and cherish about this game is dead.

I'm not sure if I even care about this football club anymore.

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

what the hell
your being stupid man

Blake, this sort of crap has bein going on for far too long.

Deano's anger, and frustration is fairly typical of a lot of people both here and in the wider population. If the joy taken by some "supporters" in every loss by the Blues becomes anymore widespread, then it will stop new supporters getting on board, and turn older ones off. When that happens, we will become the new Fitzroy, and we'll be totally f*cked. Carlton will stagnate and die.

And the abuse levelled at supporters like Deano, who just can't stomach any loss by the Blues, let alone taking joy in it simply HAS TO STOP. We all support the Blues in different ways. So be it. But no one of us is any better supporter or worse, for advocating a particular attitude or tactic, like *shock horror* winning.

We're all Blues supporters. We're all cut from the same cloth. We're all the same, yet different.

Ah....F*ck it. I have more to write, but can't be bothered.

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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.

Deano, I am with you but also I am not.

I have hated this system for a long time, even before our draconian penalties in 2002. I have hated the equalisation measures that the AFL put in place to artificially improve poor clubs and severely hinder great clubs such as ours. And whilst we bucked and resisted succumbing to the system for as long as we could it finally caught up with us in 2002.
I dislike the fact the only avenue to recruit young talent to our club is through the drip-fed draft. I despise that a football club cannot have autonomous control over identifying, recruiting and training young footballers. The salary cap irks me as well but nowhere near as much as the draft. How can any sporting competition justify having a club like Carlton languishing for 4 years without any unfettered possibly to improve our greatest resource - our players. We have had to sit by and wait for our penalties to expire and then take our turn in a lottery system that means you have little control over what you select. It is absurd! Yeah I know the USA use it for their codes but a lot of other leagues around the world don't use it and they are just as successful. I don't like it and if it wasn't for my sheer love of the Carlton Football club I would piss the AFL off!

The purpose of this preamble Deano is to highlight that whilst some of us hate the system and disagree with what it has done to supporters such as me who half-wish for our team to lose with a few rounds to go, we also realise what rewards we are bound to receive if we fail. It is simply too precious and too rewarding to ignore. Having 1st access to the best available talent in the land. Being in the box seat for trade week with pick 1 in the PSD. It is a position we have never had the pleasure to exploit. It is the best place to be in the off-season for a club like ours who has major talent deficiencies with our list. And that is a fact.

Clubs like the aints, weagles, even the dogs now are showing what can be achieved by having great draft picks and building a quality list. Yes, they haven't achieved anything but even blind Freddy will tell you that we are poles apart from these clubs in terms of player talent. If you can't beat them Deano, join them! I want to see the club I love, the Carlton Football Club, back fighting for a flag in as little time as possible and if swallowing my pride for a couple more weeks and finishing last is what it takes to help achieve this then give me a wooden spoon right away (besides, notice how they are referring to the spoon as the "Golden" spoon nowadays. The rewards are too great!).

Deano, the footballing landscape has changed (and for the worse) since the great days when football really was FOOTBALL. I want to be singing our great song at 5pm on the last day in September sooner rather than later. And I am happy for the club to do whatever it takes to get us all there again. Even if it means finishing last!

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C'mon Blueboys!

Totally agree with you marciblu.
I really cant understand how we can whinge about the system.
Is it REALLY beacuse were shit and were starting to understand how shit we are?
You cant possibly hate a system thats helping you turn around quicker.

The real problem is were the worst list in the AFL.

The hating of the system is a defence mechanism.

Youd hate your lot much more if we were where were at right now with no way out....

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Well said marciblue.

If we can all agree on something it's that the system stinks.
But while the system exists we must use it to our advantage.

The system promotes supporters wanting their team to lose... in my books that cannot be good, no matter which way you look at it.

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If meat is murder then yoghurt must be burglary
GO YOU BIG RED FIRE ENGINE
Move aside Kouta, Lance etc - you're holding us back... from entering the under 18s

Yeah but it also helps a shithouse year go by and gives you MORE hope for next year.
If the system was around for Fitzroy they would still be alive. (And they had more good players than we do)

.

Wanting to lose means wanting to win but the timing is different.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I think a lot of "so-called" Carlton supporters should just come out of the closet and announce their support for StKILDA. Fair dinkum, if we cannot enjoy beating a 100 year old enemy and getting off the bottom (even if it was for 1 night), then we should NOT be members of the Carlton Football Club but go and follow the "wooden spoon specialists" StKilda. Carlton supporters who WANT US TO LOSE are NOT TRUE SUPPORTERS.

Deano you are wrong

I loved floggin the filth with our star youngsters leading the way. I loved watching Eddies face after the game and looking forward to the bagging he will cop on the footy show and media if they win the spoon.

Stuff the PP, I sleep much better after a win although Liverpool drew so it was a 75% happy nights sleep.

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Mjonc signing off at 8888

Carlton supporters who WANT US TO HAVE JUST ONE INSTEAD OF TWO PICKS IN THE TOP 5 are NOT TRUE SUPPORTERS.


It's not always clear cut.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

I understand Deano's sentiments and my heart was elated watching the game with my 9 year old and 5 year old cheering on...

But my head also accepts that the quickest way to get back to where we belong is by getting as much talent onto our lists as possible.

Finally I want this stupid dichotomy to stop and as soon as this season is over the better because I have had enough of every TC thread turning into a "I'm right, you're wrong" slanging match

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Carlton - Nothing's changed
I still love you, oh, I still love you
Only slightly, only slightly less
Than I used to, my love

YES.

This season, and the fact that EVERY thread here turns into that is f*cking with my head!

AAAAAAAARGHHHH!

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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.

Can we just get a gathering of like-minded supporters and head to AFL House with torches and pitchforks and burn these AFL frauds at the stake??!!!!?? PLEASE!!! They've [REDACTED] up our game!!!

It is absurd that we have a sole recruiting system in place that actually rewards mediocrity that well the it compromising the basic principles of sporting competition, especially high-level competition. All in the name of TV ratings and corporate profits

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C'mon Blueboys!

Wilst we are all arguing over the tank/no tank thing and beating ourselves up, dont you just know that that smug balloon faced McGuire over at the Carringbush has stage managed his late charge for the spoon. I reckon they would just about have blokes out for the season to have a Botox injection right now. They can whinge all they like about not having a team left and having injuries etc. I wouldnt be surprised if players from the filth were given the rest of the season off for surgery to get themself onto "extreme makeover".

I loved watching us thump the filth but in the back of my mind I could see a smiling McChins laughing all the way to the Draft table. I love how Buckley, because he actually stood up and played (and good on him for doing so) is now looking like he too will miss the rest of the season. Cant have Bucks standing up in the heat of battle and rallying the troops could we now.

We were done for rorting the system, and we've taken it on the chin. If we suddenly check 12 blokes into hospital this week and send the Preston under 12's out to take on the Scum, you wait and see how Demetrispew and co will go after us. But roll on the filth Juggernaut. I am not saying that all of their players are faking injuries, I am sure that nobody wants to get hurt. I've had an ACL reco and a couple of Achilles ops thanks to footy. But where there is smoke there is fire. I just dont get the feeling that Ed and Co are doing all that they can to win every game.

I did notice that Ed has been good at deflecting the accusations though!! Good old Channel 10 and their broadcast schedule. As shite a decision as it was, Ed must have been thanking his lucky stars that a distraction like that just hoved into view as he was about to cut another couple of regulars from the squad.

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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

We are turning into TBV if we dont look out we will turn into Bigfooty soon.

Deano... you can still care about Carlton, because of people like you and me, who will celebrate a great win over the magpies... It is people like us who will keep Carlton alive.

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GO BLUE BOYS!!

Classic post

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Love Cricket? Love me

I loved that one too. For some reason, I can picture a cantankerous 73 year old sitting in his overstuffed armchair, brandy balloon in hand.

Here, Here. At the risk of being an accused "fence sitter" I too can see both sides without shitcanning fellow Blues supporters. I cheered as much as ever last Saturday whilst letting out the phrase "Lets bury this scum" on more than a few occassions. I loved watching some our youngsters gaining in confidence regardless of the quality of the opposition. I was absolutlely stoked at getting off the bottom of the ladder, regaining a bit of lost pride and STILL looking at worst, Picks 2 and 5. Then Essenscum go and @#$%&! it up by losing to the Dawks meaning that the only way we get those picks is by finishing bottom. Something that I can not stomach. I just cannot for life of me bring myself to hope we lose. Its not in my nature, especially to the 3 teams I hate the most that we have/will played over this 3 week period. (Port, Collingwood, Essendon*) but I accept that this is now essential if we are to move forward. Just cant wait for this season to end, regardless of where we finish so this shit can end a very undignified death.

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No1 draft picks mean @#$%&! ALL. Look at Bryce Gibbs !!!!

I went on saturday, along with 45,000 others, to watch another chapter in a great rivalry.

I loved it, simply loved it ...... watching the joy on the kids faces, watching the filth slink away, making up excuses, watching our young guns march out of the centre, watching Eddie livewire, the fish and the woof, was @#$%&! fantastic.

what's better, a winning culture or the priority pick ( and I know its the wriong end of the season).

Anyway, next week is next week.

Last week was yet another victory against the enemy.

I cannot abide playing to lose, and I don't want to watch it. i just don't think we are very good, but I did enjoy the win.

Oh, and I'm going on Sunday too.

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"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost