:sooky la la.p:

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Sorry - should never have let logic get in the way of a good argument...

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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

Given the progress fo our players we should be winning more games. What Sheahan forgets, is that while we've improved individually, we are winning less games. As I've said before players improve for various reasions . Even with the worst of coach's players will get better due to experience, maturity, physical size and plain and simple training and playing. Getting better as a team, on the other hand, is purely the coach's domain, and there we have failed badly. If and improving side, we win less games each year. As for being within 3 goals regularly in games, we've been the best junk-time goal-kickers going.

Thw ay I see it the future is extremely bright, player-wise, that's been great. Just need another coach at the helm to make the most of it because it won't happen while Pagan's still here.

When it suits Mike Sheahan, when it suits.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Most of our kids have improved again this year and that is what we should have expected. The fact we have not done any better on the score board overal however is and should be a great concern. I suppose our 100+ point thrashings have gone, that must surely be a positive.

I think we are definitely improving as a team, but given our draft penalties etc, we are just behind teams like Richmond in the cycle.

Actually, I think the 'etc' has been the worst.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

From memory, if we keep our percentage above 76 and assuming we stay bottom, we will be the best performed wooden spoon side in terms of percentage since the Pies in 2000 if that makes any sense

I reckon the team is way ahead of where it was last year in terms of ability and capability. Several younger players have improved thier games and are showing some real star quality. We are playing longer periods of good footy and have taken it up to several more highly rated teams and given a couple a real scare. I have been happy with the caoching and the policy of giving fringe and young players plently of game time and most importantly the freedom to back themselves in and not be punished for errors. While there is still much to be done and a lot of scope for improvement I can see the clear potential of this group and when we 'arrive' and be 'overnight' success's many of us will recall the hard, hard yards that have been put in by all involved. We have pretty much got the process right, it is only a matter of time before the results come.

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06

I reckon some of the responses here are incredible. Throughout the last 5 seasons we've lamented the scarcity of what could be labelled 'positive' Carlton-related articles compared to 'negative' ones. So here we finally find something resembling a positive piece on Carlton but we don't want to hear about it? As if Mike Sheahan acts as Carlton's propagandist!?

I for one actually enjoyed reading the article and am glad that maybe the media is starting to realise that there might just be light at the end of the tunnel. But sometimes this site makes you wonder!

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

I think even the most pessimistic of us would have to agree there's something there that looks like we're turning the corner. You can't quite put the finger on it, but it's there.

Considering the post penalty picks have basically not had a masssive impact (Russell, Hartlett, Blackwell, Raso, Bryan, Murphy, JK, Bower Edwards) the improvement has come from the pre and during penalty era (AW, Bentick, Betts, Carrazzo, Simmo, Fish, Bannister, Waite, Thornton)

I realize that it's all Denis' fault and he is the only one to blame for these young blokes either being injured or not having the form we'd all like, but possibly with lots of luck (not development from Denis) We might get something extra from these 9 young fellas as well as further development form others, plus the additional 3 top 20 picks from this year and a PSD pick.

As for Sheahan's article - Isn't it great to see something positive about the blues in the press? Aparently not .

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Sure its a positive article.. and he has named 5 or 6 kids.

But EVERY club in the AFL can name 5 or 6 kids... without exception!!!

But were still miles behind because even though we have improved.. so has everybody else... thats why were last... again...

What Sheahan has done is give us a sugar coated article.. thats ok... but that does not necessarily translate to blues skies ahead... There is a shit load of hard work and hard calls and investment to be made to ensure that happens.

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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.

What a pack of short sighted sycophants with closed minds and inflexible opinions. If your sole aim in life is to throw sh1t at the blues then pop on over to the Lexus centre and buy a black & white guernesy.

Finally the media release a positive article on the Blues, with a couple of interesting stats to back it up (if you beleive stats these days) and all some people can do is try and pervert the meaning to support their own entrenched views. I cant see too much in the article that I havent thought myself this year.

Answer me this though, if Sheehan wrote an article that the Blues were going backwards, it was all Pagan's fault and a secret cabal of blues loving moguls was about to launch a coup de' tar to wrestle board control, pay out pagan and restore a favourite son to the helm, how many of you would be climbing over each other to say 'told you so'.

Of the naysayers whom amongst you would argue that some of our young players have improved? Who would argue that they wont improve further next year? Who would argue that they have more AFL coaching experience than Pagan?

I realise I cant change closed minds but I for one was happy to be reading something about the Blues that didnt involve the words: Tax, penalty, creditor or assistance for a change.

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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

Could not agree with you more. I walked out of the MCG on Sunday quite pleased with our effort. I went with a few Collingwood supporters who don't praise Carlton too much and they all mentioned that the club has now got something to work with. This all occurred while Murphy, Kennedy and co were sitting in the grandstand.
Our list still needs plenty of work but our recruiting manager had a fair bit to do with compiling the Dockers list

That stands out like white balls on a black dog. but thanks for pointing it out.

You never know Synbad, we might just win 2 games next year - you'll get DP sacked AND more draft picks - an ideal 2007 for you

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But aren't we supposed to be barracking for us to finish last? Isn't finishing last the only way forward for us?

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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

I enjoyed the read. Went with my morning coffee very well but hey I wrote the pleased thread because like Mike, I have seen some great signs this year.

At the begining of the year I stated I thought we'd win 4 or 5 games (I think) but that what I wanted was to see the kids come on - think I mentioned The Irishman, Simmo, AB, Fish, Waite and others and no 100 point floggings and that if that happened then perhaps Denis was doing his job.

Now for a time during this season I doubted Denis and it looked as if we were in for a spate of 100 point floggings but the lads turned it around and have been very competitive the second half of the year.

Yes I want more game time for our kids and less stop gap measures (ie the ruck options) but I have never ever been 100% happy with any coach (hated Walls and the prick coached us to a flag) we've had ('Cept maybe Barass and I was a kid back then).

In the end what I hoped for in terms of performance has been just about been what has happened (and we get the extra pick again) so this year for me has been about on par for a club with a crap list rebuilding with kids who will invariably lose to the bigger bodied sides.

Next year I would not be surprised to see us finish again in the bottom 3 but I suspect we'll get even more vivid glimpses of the starburst that will happen.

Is Denis the coach? Perhaps not but I have no doubt he has not been damaging (even considering he does not play the kids as often as I would like) and may even have been doing the right things to get us back up.

When he is gone (seems to me he is almost a certainty to be gone within 3 years because someone will have to go - self interest and all that) if the new coach manages to continue the side's improvement without the need to massively rebuild then I'd suggest Denis may just have been on the money - course he will not recieve any recognition for his efforts but thats the coaching caper.

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Another negative response from Synbad. Boring? Predictable?...nah, that really came from left field.

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Great post dannyboy, totally agree.

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