So the trade period has ended and Carlton came out with four new players to add to the current list. We know who they are and what they will bring to the team. Yet for some, it seems that SOS and his team failed – miserably. That Carlton is the laughing stock of the AFL. That SOS, Bolts and their team really don’t know what they are doing and that basically Carlton ‘panicked’ in the trade period. That we have not picked up any marquee players as no-one wants to come to us. While I understand that everyone has their opinion, view of the situation at Carlton and how that for some neither SOS or Bolts are the ones that have the ability to re-build this club. My view, my opinion is – I don’t agree.
The talk that we didn’t get Hannerbery because he did not want to come to us because he saw a club that was, well ‘shit’, is wrong. Has anyone ever thought that maybe Carlton did not want that type of player at the club, and so, did not even think about approaching him? What about McGovern? Is he just a mediocre player and not considered a ‘marquee’ player? He chose Carlton from the onset because he is not only the type of player the club needs but he because he can see what is happening at the club and the future. Then there is Setterfield, Fasolo and Newman all chose to come to Carlton and they are at the club because these are the type of players that the club needs for more depth. If the club is a laughing stock of the AFL then why did Crippa re-sign? Why did one of the best endurance and fitness coaches, Russell, leave a successful club to come to Carlton? Why is it that only now does the media see what Carlton have been endeavoring to achieve since Bolts and SOS were brought in, as being the makings of a solid foundation for the future? Sure we didn’t Sheil, but we didn’t want to give up our number one draft pick and Essendon are not at the same level as we are, and so given that, of course, Sheil will pick Essendon and look what they had to give up to get him. I would much rather get a player from the draft who we can mold and shape to become the player that Carlton needs than an older player such as Shiel.
Then there was someone who said that Carlton failed miserably because we didn’t do all we could to get Betts back! What they don’t realize is that at no point did he say he wanted out of Adelaide. He said that he has another two years on his contract and will fulfill it. Betts is an outstanding player and would be an asset to any club, but he is not the player that he once was back at Carlton. If he did want to come back to Victoria, then as an assistant coach, he would probably be welcomed back with open arms, in two years time!
There are some out there in the social media world who continually see the negativity of this re-build which has been stated all along since Bolts came. They believe that there are other coaches out there who would be much better. But the question needs to be asked, ‘are you sure they will be?” Are you sure that team, who back Bolts to the end, would respond better to another coach? Are you sure that bringing in a new coach would not disrupt the team and the club? Are you so sure that your way and your view is the best way to go? Don’t agree. I was one of those who said that Nathan Buckley was not the coach for Collingwood or a coach at all – I was wrong and would have to say, even though he is from Collingwood, I have a lot of respect for what he has achieved at the club, and I believe that you are wrong when it comes to Bolts.
I see in Bolts the ability to lead the club into success with the backing of a new crop of assistants both on the footy field, fitness and the culture at the club, and it is in this area that mediocre clubs – succeed. GWS have a team of champions, but they are not a champion team because their culture is too self-absorbed. They don’t play as a team or for each other, only for themselves and won’t win a Premiership this way. Sure they will get to finals, but to take that leap from being a team in the finals to a Finalist is something that requires team-manship, which they don’t have. No-one thought Collingwood would get to the Final, or Richmond last year, or the Bulldogs the year before. Sure Collingwood didn’t win, but they got there through sheer determination and team-manship. I’m not saying that Carlton is near that – yet, but they are putting into place the mechanisms to get there.
To suggest that the trade period for Carlton was a case of panic and saving face and that it will take years and years to achieve what the likes of Collingwood have this year is rather arrogant really. Because it suggests that Carlton does not know what it is doing and that others do. They cannot know what goes on behind closed doors, or decisions and discussion held and made. The culture at Carlton has changed, and current and future stars of the game want to stick around because they believe in what is happening at the club. They understand and support the process to get Carlton back to the top.
What we all need now is patience and positivism. Watch below.
#EXCITINGTIMESBLUES
SPORTZ 