Interesting article by Gary Lyon

[domus]

Have a read.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...h-young-guns-at-the-ready-20140801-zzby4.html

 

[TradeDraft]

He is right. Even if we don’t make the Finals. The Future is not as bad as some people.

Technically next year we have 3 top 10 Picks in Moore,Scharanberg and Freeman

 

[Big Bryza]

Good article. We've taken a step back this year for a bigger step forward in 2015/16 and beyond.

 

[TradeDraft]

Good article. We've taken a step back this year for a bigger step forward in 2015/16 and beyond.

Everyone was saying that before the Season.

Not Sure we be a Top 4 side in 2015 but we should be by 2016 season

 

[PieNSauce]

Everyone was saying that before the Season.

Not Sure we be a Top 4 side in 2015 but we should be by 2016 season

The bolded bit is absolutely on the money Dave. Makes you wonder why we've seen so many headless chooks on this board lately. 2014 was never going to be a year where we would be serious contenders even if early form suggested we might exceed expectations. You can certainly understand the disappointment of fans given that early form but to have people running around calling for sackings and generally trying to burn down the clubhouse is pure lunacy. We are a serious threat going forward but for sure some people need to put this year into perspective.

 

[ColinWood]

Nothing we didn't know here but the timing of this article is perfect - we need to focus on the long term positives after recent weeks.

 

[pennym]

Finally, a voice of reason, Amen brother and go the mighty pies!

 

[Black_White]

There is merit in his argument.
But it has been a hard road for us supporters, going from a Premiership, to runner up, to struggling to get to the finals.
All in 3 years.
The future looks bright. But that future also holds the mega clubs GC and GWS.
Will be very hard to flag in the next decade given those clubs and the Swans AFL sponsored leg up.

 

[Hardas]

There is merit in his argument.
But it has been a hard road for us supporters, going from a Premiership, to runner up, to struggling to get to the finals.
All in 3 years.
The future looks bright. But that future also holds the mega clubs GC and GWS.
Will be very hard to flag in the next decade given those clubs and the Swans AFL sponsored leg up.

True, but honestly, it's always hard to win a flag.
Article mentions 23 names, all of whom are 27 or under, except Swanny.
Somehow doesn't mention Wittsy; and then there's the likes of Thomas, Karnezis, even Sinclair as well as others that you or I might rate as prospects such as Marsh or Gault etc.
There's plenty there to work with for 2015-8 - many of whom have the kind of ball skills needed to compete going forward...
now, to get them all playing regularly together...is there a God of Injuries in any of the religions?

 

[SuperSteele22]

Fantastic article. When you put it in that context I have no doubt that in couple of years time (maybe a touch longer depending on how quickly our younger players mature) this football club will be back up where it belongs and challenging for premierships again.

Garry Lyon is the best football columnist in the business. I'm not saying that because of the pump-up he gave us, I've maintained that view for a few years now. When he's not f***ing around and carrying on on The Footy Show with the other boys, his football views and opinions are bang on the money 99 times out of 100. I make a habit of reading his columns and watching Footy Classifiedjust to hear what he has to say.

 

[jjsmitty8]

I've got a lot of time for Gary. I think he's one of the more sensible media personalities despite the fact that I think he's quite pleased with himself.

I read this article prior to stumbling across this thread and thought he absolutely hit the nail on the head.

One of the newest videos that CFC media has released on the website from the most recent episode of "On the couch" also made a lot of sense. Mike Sheehan seems to think it's half glass empty, meanwhile Gerard Healy had a bit of a similar opinion to Gary and suggested that Mike was wrong it's a glass half full situation.

 

[Copeland]

There is merit in his argument.
But it has been a hard road for us supporters, going from a Premiership, to runner up, to struggling to get to the finals.
All in 3 years.
The future looks bright. But that future also holds the mega clubs GC and GWS.
Will be very hard to flag in the next decade given those clubs and the Swans AFL sponsored leg up.

Its a bit like post, 2002/3.

 

[peatease]

I never expected success this year but I was happy with all the youth we brought in. Whether or not these young players all develop into guns, there's always the potential. For good or bad I prefer that rather than recycling older players all the time.

 

[Markfs]

It must be contract time for Gary at the newspaper. .....so he writes an article about Collingwood to bump up his readership. Nothing in it that says anything that the world hasn't known. This is the man who helped to pick the last couple of coaches for Melbourne before Roos. He seems a nice guy

 

[BillyElliott#19]

Looking at our future stars in Moore (yes pun intended) detail.
And I have taken the liberty of including Moore as many in the media and BF believe he will be a Pie next year.
This is obviously not our best 22 next year and not all will become stars but, combine this talent with Cloke, Toovey, Goldsack, Pendlebury, White, Maccaffer, Brown, Reid, Beams, Lumumba and Sidey (who are all under 28 y.o.) over the next 3 years and we have the makings of a team that can challenge for our 16th premiership (and 17th,18th I hope ) Swan and Ball become the proverbial "cherry on the sundae"
Still this is a pretty talented and youthful 22 and I believe it justifies my positives thoughts for 2015 and onward. All listed below have played less than 60 games
(No of Games played as of RD 19)

FB: Williams (33) Frost (20) Langdon (17)
HB: Sinclair (41) Keefe (36) Sharendberg (0)
C: Freeman (0) Adams (42) Seedsman (36)
HF: Elliott (51) Moore (0) Kennedy (18)
FF: Karnezis (21) Grundy (19) Fasolo (48)
R: Witts (23) Thomas (30) Broomhead (4)
Int: Martin (6) Dwyer (31) Armstrong (30) Oxley (2)