For some, their loathing of the Navy Blues
has been saved up for many decades and the club has borne the brunt of
being the laughing stock in football circles. Critics have targeted
the lack of leadership off the field, the troubles on it and the lack
of foresight by those entrusted with laying the foundations to cushion
the impact of the deficiencies of our list as the major causes.
The fact is that there have been a number of causes that have brought
about the events of this year. Planning is clearly one of them.
Another has been injuries and I would not be a Blues supporter if I
did not make mention of our luck. Unfortunately, when your stuck in a
rut things tend to snowball. Things have conspired against us at
critical times. At times it has been unbearable. To quote from the
classic U2 song "One", where Bono ponders: "I can't keep holding on to
what you got when all you got is hurt". All of us have questioned why
we bother to care such has been
the hurt!!!
Ironically, the hurt was probably worst felt during
our Round 2 game against the Swans. The ire of the supporters was
there for all to see. Instead of the Old Dark Navy Blues billowing
out of the Optus Oval speakers, it was "Cheer, Cheer, the Red & the
White".
The events overnight in Sydney have in a way
reinstated my faith in our footy club. The Carlton
Football Club has been under the pump probably like no other has in
recent years. The level of criticism has probably been unprecedented
such is the expectation of success at Royal Parade. In spite of all
of the criticism, the response has been to maintain a united front
from the Board down to the coaching panel down to the playing group.
Despite what each of us may think of our current President, for whom I
have my own personal reservations, he and the rest of the hierarchy
have at least had the dignity to not use the coach as a scapegoat,
have accepted responsibility and
recognised the need, albeit belatedly, to redress some of the errors
of the past. As a result, the outlook for 2003 is already looking
rosier. In contrast, the Swans have blighted perhaps one of
their greatest coaches, tarnished perhaps their
greatest ever player (at least of the modern era) in
Tony Lockett and have shown there is no plan to remedy the situation
in the coming years with a list more bereft of talented youngsters
than ours. What must have also come as a shocking revelation was one
of its celebrated players in Schwass retiring because of a lack of
passion to play the game.
Compare this to the efforts of Craig Bradley this year where I can
safely say that no one has tried harder to redress the team's on-field
predicament, despite the fact that he has nothing more to prove as a
footballer. Braddles has shown leadership and played a role to which
he probably has not been accustomed in his previous 356 games for the
Blues.
It was Patrick Smith who was daring the Blues in an article just last
month to sack the coach, even if it was under the guise that Brittain
did not deserve the boot. His article was along the lines of...
Brittain is a good coach, but the club being as arrogant as it is
would make him the scapegoat for its predicament. He would no doubt
be disappointed by the fact that the club has not ripped at the seams
and kept its eye on the ball notwithstanding the fact that the results
on the ground have not necessarily followed.
It is inevitable in the modern era - to quote Danny
Frawley - that "every dog is going to have its day". We have had
a successful run and are in the process of building for the future.
One and eleven looks bad no matter how you look at it. However, there
are now the likes of Livingston, Sporn, Thornton, Wiggins, Davies,
Campbell and Waite to compliment the likes of Houlihan and Fevola
taken from the 1999 draft. The future is not as grim as some will
have you believe.
When one compares what the Blues have been through over the past 12
weeks to Sydney's response overnight, one starts to get a greater
appreciation as to why the Navy Blues have been able to weather storms
where others have not.
In truth, the plight of the Blues so far this season
has been a smoke screen for much greater
disappointments performance-wise. Aside from the events in Sydney,
Richmond and Hawthorn were genuinely touted as the clubs at their
prime and ready to take the next step this year. Those in the know
had them as premiership contenders. In that context, their seasons
must be seen as even bigger disappointments than ours. We all knew,
perhaps not to the extent that it has eventuated, that this year was
going to be development year for our list, especially in light of the
retirement of SOS and Kouta's long term injury.
I am not justifying what has happened nor attempting to endorse the
idea that there are no problems at Optus Oval. There is no question
that a clean out is needed at some level. Having said that, however,
it is good to know that the grass is not all that greener on the other
side and those who have been quick to throw stones may just realise
that they have been living in a glass house for the past 12 weeks.
Bring on the second half of the season and more
importantly 2003 where we can win back some respect in the football
world.
