Kouta MUST retire

[ShlomoGlickstein]

He really didn't show ANY leadership today, in fact our real captian, LARNCE, did.

I know alot of you supporters feel that Kouta is 'criticism free', but c'mon lets be real here, he's travelling this year, he really had no impact on this game, nor many this year at all. He only won the B&F last year becuase we were absolutely terrible, I mean they shoulda given it to Houla or Lappin, but that's ANOTHER story.

There is a positive out of this. Sure he's one of our modern great, but whoah, freeing up $1million per year int the salary cap opens up a BIG DOOR for talent!

 

[damo95]

He really didn't show ANY leadership today, in fact our real captian, LARNCE, did.

I know alot of you supporters feel that Kouta is 'criticism free', but c'mon lets be real here, he's travelling this year, he really had no impact on this game, nor many this year at all. He only won the B&F last year becuase we were absolutely terrible, I mean they shoulda given it to Houla or Lappin, but that's ANOTHER story.

There is a positive out of this. Sure he's one of our modern great, but whoah, freeing up $1million per year int the salary cap opens up a BIG DOOR for talent!

I disagree on your opinion of Houlihan but Kouta is definetely done....he is just a liability out there at the moment and even though my dog is named Kouta I think it is time for the greek adonis to move on to channel 7. Thanks for the memories Kouta but time to move on to your next million dollar contract.

 

[XXX KINGS]

Kouta would be the first to admit that his form is no where near what it has been in previous years. However, he has been an absolute champion throughout his career and his presence in the team definitely inspires the other players. I'd expect this to be his last year of footy and its definitely going to be sad to see him go. I just hope that the fans show this great man the respect he deserves for the rest of the season and don't forget some of the things that he worked so hard to earn throughout his career. Threads like these don't serve any purpose. The young players all look up to Kouta and even though he might not be getting best on grounds any more, the fact they are playing in a team with someone who will be remembered as a Carlton great can only assist their development.

In short, supporters should lay off Kouta for the rest of the year and let him go about his own business. This guy has given us supporters so much over the years, that I could never ever bring myself to criticise his character or integrity. Kouta's impact is greater than just a physical performance. Hopefully he stays involved with the club in some way next year after he retires from playing.

 

[ShlomoGlickstein]

even though my dog is named Kouta I think it is time for the greek adonis to move on to channel 7. Thanks for the memories Kouta but time to move on to your next million dollar contract.

Well said. But being of the 'money making gene' persuasion, I reckon he should start a Souvlaki chain centred around Melbourne night-spots called 'Koutas'. Mate, he'll clean up!

 

[JuddyisGod]

Wouldn't his salary be on the veterans list? where it falls outside the salary cap or only counts for half of it or something. I can't remember exactly.

 

[Lance]

Kouta would be the first to admit that his form is no where near what it has been in previous years. However, he has been an absolute champion throughout his career and his presence in the team definitely inspires the other players. I'd expect this to be his last year of footy and its definitely going to be sad to see him go. I just hope that the fans show this great man the respect he deserves for the rest of the season and don't forget some of the things that he worked so hard to earn throughout his career. Threads like these don't serve any purpose. The young players all look up to Kouta and even though he might not be getting best on grounds any more, the fact they are playing in a team with someone who will be remembered as a Carlton great can only assist their development.

In short, supporters should lay off Kouta for the rest of the year and let him go about his own business. This guy has given us supporters so much over the years, that I could never ever bring myself to criticise his character or integrity. Kouta's impact is greater than just a physical performance. Hopefully he stays involved with the club in some way next year after he retires from playing.

We all know the end is near Kouta. If you watch him carefully when he runs, because of his wonky knees, he can only manage to run effectively in a straight line and has trouble when he has to twist or turn. But his inclusion in the team is important, (as the Captain should be,) for his experience & leadership, and assisting in the development of the younger players. Also, a quality opposition player usually matches up on him, & I don't mind it if he doesn't get many possessions, as long as his match up doesn't get many as well it's OK.
At some stage later in the season, it is up to the club and Kouta to come to an agreement when to announce his retirement, and a suitable retirement game come the end of the season.

 

[SA Blue]

In short, supporters should lay off Kouta for the rest of the year and let him go about his own business. This guy has given us supporters so much over the years, that I could never ever bring myself to criticise his character or integrity. Kouta's impact is greater than just a physical performance. Hopefully he stays involved with the club in some way next year after he retires from playing.

Agree. Let him go out with a quiet dignity. He has been a champion.

 

[stokesy]

It's quite sad seeing him play now, I kinda wished he retired last year because he was still good last year. Now he is worse then our duds

 

[Mentallo]

Yeah i agree.
He is not even a shadow of his former self at the moment, it is a real shame to see it end for him this way.
In all honesty if he was anyone else he would have been dropped weeks ago.
Leadership is very important on the ground i agree but Lance and even Scoto and to a lesser extent even Thornton are showing plenty of that at the moment. We need to look to them and the likes of Stevens to step it up again and Lappo to take us into next season and beyond for us to one day hopefully be successful again.

 

[mediumsizered]

It's quite sad seeing him play now, I kinda wished he retired last year because he was still good last year. Now he is worse then our duds

I agree that he should have retired after last season. Even though he won the B & F there were a number of games where he didn't have an impact. This year he is really struggling and if I remember rightly last week he had Nathan Lonie playing on him for part of the game, demonstrating that opposition coaches no longer see him as a major threat. It would probably be wrong to make him call it quits now, but I would like to think for the rest of the season that Pagan will play him in bursts off the bench because a lot of the time when he is on the ground we are playing one player short, giving the opposition an extra running option.

 

[Lajon]

He was terrible today. Turned the ball over, was unaccountable, could not tackle, did not rally the team at all in the last quarter and was an absolute passenger when it counted .... should bow out gracefully at the end of this year until he really becomes a laughing matter

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Looks injured.

 

[blues4flag]

Has had a bad season, will have to be his last.

 

[av76]

Has had a bad season, will have to be his last.

How about playing him out of the square where he can run in a straight line...seems like the old big guys can play on for a few years as its less stress on the joints and wonky knees and requires less agility/turning. Tell him to focus on sprint training and bulking up over summer and give his knees a rest by letting him skip the long-distance training he probably does now. His bulk will cause problems for a second defender and his clearance skills would be very handy around the fall of the packs. If he is keen, I can see him having a role to play on a reduced contract.

 

[Blah Blah Blue]

He really didn't show ANY leadership today, in fact our real captian, LARNCE, did.

I know alot of you supporters feel that Kouta is 'criticism free', but c'mon lets be real here, he's travelling this year, he really had no impact on this game, nor many this year at all. He only won the B&F last year becuase we were absolutely terrible, I mean they shoulda given it to Houla or Lappin, but that's ANOTHER story.

There is a positive out of this. Sure he's one of our modern great, but whoah, freeing up $1million per year int the salary cap opens up a BIG DOOR for talent!

1.
Kouta has given so much to CFC and the supporters and to see what is being written is disgaceful.
2.
He is not having his best year and this will probably be his last but let him go with dignity.Why assisinate him with some of the vitriol that some of you have written recently????
3.
I'm only recently joined this forum and have really enjoyed the majority of posts however the one who I wish would just disappear is ShlomoGlickstein. Seriously your negativity is simply becoming monotonous.

 

[Funkalicous]

Kouta's a champ, and we love him to death, but he's really struggling atm. I'm not even sure if he can hold his spot. Who do we drop when Waite and Fisher comes back in?

 

[jj1978]

1.
Kouta has given so much to CFC and the supporters and to see what is being written is disgaceful.
2.
He is not having his best year and this will probably be his last but let him go with dignity.Why assisinate him with some of the vitriol that some of you have written recently????
3.
I'm only recently joined this forum and have really enjoyed the majority of posts however the one who I wish would just disappear is ShlomoGlickstein. Seriously your negativity is simply becoming monotonous.

AMEN to all the points... especially 3.

 

[BlueBelle]

I reckon we should play Kouta in the forward line and see how he goes for the rest of the year and then make the decision as to whether he stays on or retires. If he does stay on then he should give up the captaincy to Big Red.

It couldn't hurt for another option up forward, especially with Waitey and Fish out at the moment but Kouta will definately need to work on his kicking for goal if this was to happen.

 

[as0l0]

the title of this thread is probablyright, but it doesn't matter if it right. Kouta isn't having much of an impact on the ground, but I've come to believe that having Kouta out there this year will benifit us for years to come. In 3 and 5 years from now when our youngsters are dominating, they will be doing it with a little bit of Kouta in their soul.

let's all look the other way when Kouta can't give us what he has given us for so many years.

 

[Sticks 4]

I reckon the spot he could fill with some purpose is full forward. The opposition would need to put a big body on him and he could use his footy smarts without having to be too mobile. It would take some of the pressure off Fev and would also give our young guys a target for when they need to bomb it long to full forward under pressure. Coaches don't seem to like chucking a guy down to the goal square to just stand there too much these days but there will always be a place for a tall target inside 50.

I love Kouta, like any Carlton supporter, and agree that he shouldn't be shouted down by people on here. He deserves better than that. But we have to find a role for him to fill for the rest of the year. He deserves to be a valuable player, and is still good enough to do it. Just not in the midfield anymore.

 

[Blues_Man]

The blokes a legend and probably the best player to ever play the game at his peak ...how quickly some on here forget...remember the 99 prelim ???
let the quiet champion bow out with dignity and keep your negativity to yourself . Shmoglicksteen has never posted anything positive yet about the CFC ..i question his credibility ..and would prefer him to go before Kouta

 

[XXX KINGS]

Shmoglicksteen has never posted anything positive yet about the CFC ..i question his credibility

I agree with you on this. It's ok to be a realist and even to sometimes be pessimistic. I know most would be guilty of this including myself. However, supporting the team means you support them through thick and thin. Bagging it every five seconds like said poster does isn't real support.

 

[OZBomb]

We should give him a send-off game in Round 21 against Collingwood.

Might be an idea to fly Ang Christou back, have him and Sticks present him with a framed number 43 jumper and retire his number for 10 years.

It's time and hopefully he realises it, so it doesn't get messy.

 

[ryan2000]

i lost all respect for you and this thread when you said that Houla should have won our B&F last year.

Kouta has been brilliant since signing that contract 5 years ago. He cops his fair share of criticism for it, sure. But he has won 2 B&F's, a runner up B&F and has continually dominated our midfield despite he's ageing legs.

I'm sure he'd love to be able to be sent down forward for the last days of his career in similar style to what collingwood are doing with buckley, but who's gonna get the ball to him.

And all of a sudden, he has a few bad games for the first time in 5 years and 'oh, he should retire.'

Don't get me wrong......i want him to retire - but only because he doesn't deserve this kind of bull**** from his supporters for whom he has delivered so much to over the 13 years he has played football.

Put Kouta into a 'in-form' team.............and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

HOULA?????? Give me a ****en break!

 

[Lukesta63]

Mr.Glickstein, we all know he's on his last legs! You should be more concerned about giving him a proper send off ,instead of bagging the guy. Take away Kouta's history of injury and the guy would be legend status AFL wide....so in short ph uck off back to the magpies!!!

P.S I like your comment " him being of the money-making gene persuasion " , a bit rich considering your surname !!!!!