We're not allowed to have blue skies ahead......yet.

Not until DPs sacked, apparently. If he was sacked tomorrow suddenly the sun would be shining, the birds chirping and the grass growing .

Instead we have grey skies, pissing with rain with fields of cow shit and mud .

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end of message

i agree with duke, we will come good. its all just a matter of time, its a cyclical thing. you need to be at the bottom to appreciate the top. who isnt excited about the future of our club? give it a couple of years and all these bad memories will be erased and the mighty blues will shine again.

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dane's trolling again

Great seeing positives about our young players and we have also had good news about Princes Park being upgraded this year but the clubs finances are still a mess, the football dept divided, our coach more interested in his own wealth and financial development rather than junior development and to me no clear direction or plan.....getting a loan of the AFL isnt a plan.....lets celebrate when we have a secure future..

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

no, lets celebrate each step towards that secure future

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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!

Opinions are wonderful. They promote active discussion and can give an understanding of a persons philosophy. Obsessions aren't opinions!! A new thread is opened with a link to a positive article about the Blues.... and within a handful of replies it has changed into a "hang Pagan" thread. That's OBSESSION!! As always, the "usual suspects" start belting Denis..... or Kouta ...... or Lance ...... or Stevo....... FFS get a life!!!

There are those of us that enjoyed reading the Sheahan article. Some of us aren't upset that Kouta re-signed.... like the idea of Lance being Captain.... think Denis is handling the most difficult job in footy as well as anyone could.... believe that we did really well in picking up Stevo in a pre season draft!!

OK.... People might have a problem with those of us that have a "rose colored glasses - glass half full" attitude to our Blues!! ..... BUT.... we will take out our memberships each year without question. We enjoy reading positive articles on the Blues. We sit in the near empty members areas of Telstra Dome each week and cheer on our team. We see a brighter future ahead.

That’s our opinion ..... and maybe our Obsession!!

Lighten up, there is light!!!!!!

We have heaps of talent; they're just too young to show their stuff at the moment.

Quality Tall Backmen with pace:

1.Thornton
2.Bower
3.O'hAlpin
4.Flint

and

5.McLaren

Quality Tall backmen that can be forwards:

6.Waite
7.Hartlett
8.Raso

and

9.Saddington

Quality Tall Forwards with pace:

10.Fevola
11.Kennedy
12.Fisher
13.Edwards

Quality Tall Forwards:

14.Whitnall
15.Kouta

and

16.DeLuca
17.Batson

Quality Tall Midfielders:

18.Walker
19.Russell
20.Houla

and

21.Wiggins
22.Bannister
23.Jackson

Quality Small Midfielders:

23.Stevens
24.Murphy
25.Simpson
26.Lappin
27.Scotland
28.Blackwell
29.Carrazzo

and

30.Bentick
31.Betts
32.Smith

Rucks are the BIG problem with only 200cm players:

French
Aisake
Batson


We will discard end 2006:

Davies for Pick #1
Chambers for Pick #17
Longmuir for Pick #18
Livingston for Pick #33
Bryan for Pick #50
Prenders for Pick #67
Sporn for PSD #1
McGrath for Rookie Batson
Smith may make room for another new rookie

End 2007 we will lose:
1.Teague
2.French
3.Kouta
4.Lappin

and maybe

5.Bannister
6.Wiggins
7.McLaren
8.Saddington

Next year is the ruck superdraft....I hope

We have the choice of trading the following that noone will be likely to take (except underlined as a slight chance):

Davies
Chambers
Longmuir
Livingston
Bryan
Prenders
Sporn
McGrath
Smith
Wiggins
Bannister
Bentick
Betts
Smith

So given the huge number of good up and coming tall players, we have the choice and can afford to offer the above with the following tall players for a 1st or 2nd round extra draft pick:

Fisher (very enticing, and can be replaced in the side by Edwards)
McLaren
Saddington

So, you should see that we have a good list of up and coming talls, we need a few more quality midfielders and 2 genuine ruck options, and many options to trade delist to turnover the list over the next 2 years. Why wouldn't the future of the Carlton FC not look rosy.

Imagine adding Gibbs/ Hansen,a new rookie project ruckman
3 other quality midfielders from the draft, and a quality PSD (ruck pref), to the above list.

We are a much better outfit, than some like to think, and if you can't see that our list is in better shape come 2007, than it was at any stage in the last 5 years from 2002-2006, you haven't done your homework.

Bring on the draft!
Bring on the PSD!
Bring on the preseason!
Bring on 2007!!!!!!!!

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Love your enthusiasm for the Blues, but some of this goes a bit beyond enthusiastic and into the fanciful.



The only one there that could be called Quality is Thornton. The others have all shown promise, so perhaps if you put them under Promising Tall Backman I'd be with you. I don't think Flint is particularly quick either.



Waite has never shown he is a backman. He might be, but he hasn't shown it in any game he's played. Unless you've seen something I haven't, Raso looks more like a Flanker/Winger than a tall.



Again, Fevola is definitely quality. Kennedy and Fisher have both shown good signs (where's that promising category?) and Edwards is just starting out.



All the enthusiasm run out before you got to Wiggins, Bentick and Betts?



Why trade an upcoming youngster? You're not going to get huge value for them, and we just end up with approximately equal value, but 3 years behind in development.

And you're taking the piss with McLaren and Saddington for a 2nd rounder, let alone a first rounder.



I agree, we do have plenty of good youngsters, plenty of hope for the future, and the best thing is I don't think you need to go over the top when rating the quality and value of our players to feel that the future is bright.

Good points Mordan...yeah plenty to be enthusiastic about.

The trading of Saddo and McLaren were options that could be considered when coupled with say a Fisher and/or a late pick, but that wasn't the underlying theme of my post. That was just an option, and if we don't do it, it doesn't matter.

You're dead right that there's a difference between quality and promise.

But the underlying theme is that we do have depth, but it is too young to stand out atm. The kids have shown promise and signs, but that's a good thing that they've shown something when they haven't reached 20. How about Bower on Sunday? Murphy? Flint was in line for promotion...bla bla bla...

More importantly, the depth allows for some to make it, and for others to fall by the wayside, but a lot of these promising talents are relatively high drafts unlike, Fevola, Fisher, Simpson, Houlihan....and there's a greater probability that half should become stars, just as some of the higher picks that were less likely to become stars of the game have.

It's a numbers game, and the given the numbers of kids we possess, and a having a lesser dependency on the older players as other clubs have, there is a good bet that the wheels of fortune will turn our way soon. Probability moreso than fanciful promise in my books.

In addition, knowing we have some more quality picks to add to the list, and that there will be a turnover of, potentially 17 players over the next two drafts...well for mine, the numbers do stack up.

Finally, I believe we have left our dismal pre 2002 recruiting methodologies behind, and I doubt we will be wasteful as we have in the past. I believe we showed that in last year's draft.

It's more than fanciful...it's a bet for money for mine, and i've gotta look at the numbers.

The moral to the story...the more quality kids you have the higher the probability of keeping a greater number that will give you success. There's no guarantees, as there isn't for teams with an abundance of quality 28 yo+ seasoned players with skills and experience such as Adelaide. But as they grow old and retire, their list will be turned over, just when ours should be on the rise.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Siegfried reporting in from my cover selling ice cream on a cruise liner...

For those anti-Pagans (admittedly, I am one of them), do people think that we were better off...

2 years ago, when to have a team that might challenge for a finals spot, we had to get rid of the coach AND rebuild the team from scratch, or...

Now, when perhaps a change of coach alone would see us challenging for a finals spot?

That is, the improvement in our list is tangible, and while it is true that MAYBE we are being held back by our coaching department, and MAYBE we are being held back by a Board that is struggling, our players are improving. We are getting closer to being a better side. We may not be fulfilling all the improvment as a team, we may not even be fulfilling all the improvement as individuals, but the individuals ARE improving. And if that is the case, then it is much easier to create an effective team if you have players who are better than they were 2 years ago. Mayber it does just involve sacking the coach.

Whatever the scenario, the fact is, we are in a better position now than we were 2 years ago. And very slowly, there is evidence to show that. There are patches of blue skies ahead.

How big those patches will be, time will tell. But the patches are there.

Vot do you zink of zat, Miss 99?

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Mens sana in corpore sano.

Bring back the laurel wreath logo!!!

Would you believe that we will be premiers next year?

I find that very hard to believe

Would you believe the top four?

I don't think so

How about tanking for four wins and getting picks 1 and 2?

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If you'd given me the choice of going out and beating four men and smashing a goal in from thirty yards against Liverpool
or going to bed with Miss World, it would have been a difficult choice. Luckily, I had both. - George Best

Wolfister , perhaps a Mike Sheahan feel good story does nothing for me unless i see with my own 2 eyes blue skies...???

Im not a child i dont believe in the tooth fairy... feel good stories are inconsequential unless the nuts and bolts of out club are right.. and there are blue skies for our kids...

Right now im pessimistic and no amount of sugar coating by a ripper journalist like Mike Sheahan can change that for me.. or the club.

Ill let you know when there are real blue skies ahead...

In the meantime you read Mike sheahan articles over and over again.. to make sure you feel dandy????

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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 this is going well then

Hands those synners hasn't had a crack at?

Now just be patient, it'll come....

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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!

Marc Murphy, Eddie Betts, Kade Simpson Setanta O'Hailpin, Paul Bower, Luke Blackwell, Josh Kennedy... Plus Bryce Gibbs or Lachlan Hansen and 2 top 20 picks..

Along with Bret Thornton, Jarrad Waite and Brad Fisher who will be better next year with uninterrupted pre-seasons...

No blue skies anywhere eh Synbad

By 2008, You'll understand what Mike Sheahan meant when he wrote "Blue Skies Ahead"!..

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Corinthians 9:6- 8

Yes but right now .,.. as things stand... Kouta.. Lance... a shit board... and Denis.. its hard to see them blue skies....

*BUMP*


Im not saying there is no hope of blue skies.. im saying were miles away from blue skies..

and how come im negative .. but the positive people keep pushing blue skies further and further 2 years away.. at the end of each year???
Can some one please explain that to me???

In another 2 years.. someone will say and Synbad youll see in 2010 why Sheahan( as if id listen to what he has to say about the club i see week in week out.. and training too)... says blue skies ahead...

Blue skies if you do everything right.. if and when.. niot regardless!!!

Trippers!!!

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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.

It's a worry when ``gloss-over'' Sheahan reckons we're going alright. Must have seen a few replays of us on the telly.

i think its easy to assume it will be ok... but that doesnt mean it will be.. especially if sheahan says so...

i dont have a problem with positive articles.. but i want the guts of the club fixed if im to believe it will all be ok...


i think i am better credentialled for the reality than sheahan is... sorry mike but youre a b grader on footy.. and an e grader on my club...

noone wants blue skies more than me... but we have a lot of things to do before were there...

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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.

It's almost embarrassing how little some high-profile journos know about clubs.

and what some clubs no about the knees and feet of some ex highflying footballers

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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!