GWS wrote:
No 1 I understand you're 20 and Kouta's been your hero since when...six, seven years old maybe?
I understand also that you loved watching him soar over packs, charge through the middle and do all the things that made him such a great player. I did too. There wasn't much better than to watch Kouta ripping sides apart back in 2000. Every football supporter in the country wanted him in their side.
Unfortunately that has nothing to do with this decision.
Our club is a mess at the moment and it's crying out for renewal. Allowing the most broken down and oldest player on the list to go around one more time is yet another example of the lack of vision being shown by the Carlton Football Club. And from the player's perspective it's a selfish decision made for financial reasons. His manager said exactly that on Sunday.
Unfortunately whether you like it or not Kouta has become something of an emblem of the self-interest that permeated the club post 1995. He's the last link to a time when the playing group was given their heads and told to go for it. That worked for a while because of the strength of character of the senior players at the time. Guys like Kernahan, Williams, Silvagni, Dean etc etc etc kept everybody in line.
Unfortunately as the years wore on and those guys retired the mantle was taken over by the younger players such as Kouta, Allan, Camporeale, Ratten and co and the results are evident for all. Unfortunately for us they weren't up to it. Whilst happy to take the big wages they weren't able to get the list to knuckle down in the way that had happened earlier. Sadly for us our playing group became more interested in what they were earning and less interested in what they were doing.
And then it all fell apart.
Kouta is a symbol of that decline and for the Carlton Football Club to re-sign him for one more year simply prolongs the agony for those who want to move on from that period and allow the club to return to building its greatness once again. To me Kouta and his mates lost their perspective on what's important in the game.
I recently spoke to a former board member of the club who told me a story about the way contract negotiations used to be handled back in the 70s and 80s with a player whom I consider to be one of the greatest of all Carlton players.
When the end of his contract came up Bruce Doull would be presented with a standard club contract. He would sign it.
The club official would then say "Bruce you haven't even looked at the figure!" and Bruce would reply "It's okay, I'm happy with whatever you think I'm worth".
I'm not suggesting that everyone should deal with their contract negotiations in the way that Bruce Doull did but I don't expect players to allow their agents to trash our club the way Kouta allows David Allison.
That's why when people ask about "club greats" I think of people like Bruce Doull not Anthony Koutoufides.
Ooh! Mike Sheahan eat your heart out...
Great story telling, you should be an author! But the fact is we are NOT living in the 70's and football is a business and a way of life for these guys... What you are going on about is garbage and i refuse to be blinded by this sentimental but narrow minded drivel...
Matthew Allan was clearly a 'self-interested' footballer among a couple others.... To put Koutoufidies in the same boat is a joke as he has put much more into the place than a footballer who had 1 good year in 1999... Koutoufies has finished in the top 3 B&F 5 times and you couldnt put him in the same boat...
Whats done is done and can we please now support one of our club icons!...
Kouta is just unfortunate to have Allison as such a loudmouth for a manager... I truly believe Kouta has Carlton's best interests at heart... Pagan wants him to continue on and we will see a fresher Kouta for season 2007...