It was so funny listening to the press conference after the game. You could tell that someone had told denis to stop with the negative crap.

He had to bite his tongue about 5 times to not say "we butchered it...we have no skill". One time he started then stopped himself and said "I don't wanna go into that".

Don;t worry, he still gave this old chestnut:

"I asked the players and they came up with the same answers as we did"

Great.

It was very obvious though that someone (board maybe?) had told him to stop criticizing players.

Our club is a mess

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They will know that they've been playing against the famous old dark blues

Coming up in a few minutes on Fox Footy digital active if you want to see it.

You cannot turn shit into strawberry jam, so don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.

[url=http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/06/04/1149359609492.html]
Pagan won't sacrifice young Blues[/url]


If we had a Cone of Silence between the players or the players and the coach then we might put the score on the board.

Random irrelevant post of the week.

Good going, HP... is this your first RIPOW?

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Love Cricket? Love me

I think maybe for the first time in years (if ever), Pagan explained his selections when he was referring to 'balance'. I thought he was right.

Whilst I would like to question his ability to fire up his troops before a game, I don't believe for a minute that the effort the blue boys showed in the first half was all his making. That was the most inept prformance I have seen since that dreaded round 22 game against the Kamgas a few years back. At least they showed some ability in the second have (albeit when the pace of the game slowed down).

Earlier this year I started a thread "Whose got the pace?" and what I was referring to was pace to keep up with the modern game. If a player is lacking pace but can compensate with footy smarts eg Whitnall, he has something special to contribute to the team, but if he doesn't have the team around him to compensate his shortfall, we're in trouble. I questioned our pace before round 1 and in this press conference Pagan referred that this may be a weakness in our make up.

What I know is that Murphy, Walker and Simmo show pace, but they still have a long way to go to match the pace of leading onballers; but they are young and have time to improve, and probably will. Players peak around 25-26, and they're only 18, 19 and 22. Bettsy has got it right now, at 19, but needs to learn to use it smarter.

If we were to stack our firsts with kids, ie throw Russell, Kennedy, Blackwell, Hartlett, Bower, O'hAlpin and even Flint and Jackson at the same time, to join the other kids, we're more than throwing these kids in the deep end when they too are not developed. Protecting the kids and developing them in the reserves is what Pagan was referring to, hence his reasoning why he plays the blokes who can amass 25 possessions a game in the two's eg Sporn.

Reality is when we lose up and coming players (not stars yet) in Fisher 22 and Waite 23, our lack of depth highlights where the group is this year. The list is lacking senior players good enough to guide them and take some of the pressure from the kids. Some people think that these kids on our list are ready to play firsts, when that is so far from reality. They're going to get smashed if all are out there at once.

Pagan did wave the white flag though, when referring to him asking the players for answers, and imo that is something that should not be raised in public, as that may be read as a sign that he may have lost the players.

List is too young to expect more in 2006.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

gee, did any of you actually see it.

for the first time in a long time i thought pagan was honest with himself, and with the questions being asked of him.

for once, there was no sugar coatings, and it was the first press conference that i have seen him do in along time that had me saying at the end

okay - not bad, you have explained why you do certain things (drop JK etc, play Sporn etc..) why you made certain changes during the game.

IMO it has been his best press conference for sometime, for no other reason that he told it how it was, not sugar coat it with bullshit and catch phrases.

that is all i ask, and i dare say most ask, is honest answers to decent questions.

all of the supporters should know where we are at, and if they dont well im not sure what to do about that, but for those that do, it was refreshing to hear dennis tell it how it was, and not go down his usual path of standard one liners.

was a good press conference in my opinion.

for the record he praised the kids and how they are advancing, with special mention of Simpson, mention how Setanta, JK, Russell etc.. all played really well

a good press conference, and for me the first time in along time, that i havent minded pagan and they way he is doing something.

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

Yes it was his best after match conference for a long while. It's difficult to strike the right balance when your team is at the bottom. Do you go with giving nothing away, keeping your cards close to your chest or do you keep spinning shit like Sheedy?

By the way this comment from Sheeds was a beauty "In the 1972 Grand Final I missed three goals against Carlton and we didn't lose by much" - the game was over at half time, the Blues had 18 goals on the board to their 10!! Big wanker this bloke.

"nuff nuffs", "basketball" ,"courtney johns" its all the same shit. Your team is going down and you are scared.

sheedy is a muppet, but the media continous to swallow the shit he talks about all the time.

but im with your rod, the best press conference he has done for sometime

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

This drives me nuts. Yes, Sporn averaged 25 possies in the Bullants as a midfielder, but comes in and gets barely half a game as a hbf when we have a midfield that is clearly crying out for breather. Prenda earned his spot as a forward, yet plays a run with role on Chad Cornes. Needless to say neither had any effect on the game. Wiggens on the other hand plays a similar role to that which won him elevation and wah-la, with game time, he appears to be making the transition (dare I say 'developing').

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Patrick Smith - Just another reason to HATE Essendon*!

it just shows we're in the hands of the phillistines

fair call that, and spot on

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

disgaree with u knackers - prenda and sporn were given chances all over the field - sporn was in the middle on a number of occasions and couldnt get near it - furthermore, sporn plays in defence at times for the bullants as well. Prenda also spent time forward for the blues on sunday, and didnt get close to taking a contested mark - both prenda and sporn just dont seem up to it. However, i must reserve my position as I, and basically every other carlton supporter have said the same about wiggo - and he is playign great footy at the moment! but in any event, wiggo has always been wuick - where as prenda and sporn are unskillful and slow!! I think sporn is a monty to be dropped. I think it is good tho that pagan is giving them a go to prove themselves - wiggo has - prenda and sporn havent. it doesnt get fairer than that.

Please don't read this as an endorsement of either player and I was sure to clarify 'game time'. What frustrates me is that these guys get 5 minute spells in every position on the ground and 70 off it. If they don't have an immediate impact, they are moved or removed, and Pagan has the balls to announce that he doesn't want to hurt the confidence of the kids . Who will be first omitted next week?

You yourself acknowledge that both were given limited opportunity in their respective positions, Sporn midfield (how many midfielders won contested footy) and Prenda forward (how many forwards took contested marks)?

When faced with a choice of what is NOT working versus what MAY NOT be working, we opt for the the former before we get the answer to the latter.

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Patrick Smith - Just another reason to HATE Essendon*!

Jim's sister?

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

That's a fair typo

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#DonTheStash