Lessons From Lance

[pumped]

I believe that there is so much to learn from Lance's ressurection over the past 2 years. He has always had the x factor but was written off by most a year or so ago. Looking at the thread on him it seems everyone now believes in him.

I have written before about energy and I think it relates very much to Lance's situation. To my mind he has the x factor and this is a deep sensitivty to play at a surreal level. ie; A level that most cannot reach and could not be taught to reach. It is intuitive ability and when a player with it is in control of his self esteem he produces high class results.

The thing is players with this God given talent find it hard to handle what they have. They often fluctuate up and down in their performances. Lance has fought hard to regain his level of self belief and is now close to producing his best again.

The following players all have a high intuitive ability in my opinion. Stevens, Koutoufides, Walker, Fevola, Lappin, Thornton, Murphy, Scotland, Houlihan, Betts, Waite and Davies. These guys are gifted with magic that allows them to perform above the norm.However less than half of these guys are not in control of their gift. They play well when things are smooth and go missing when things get tough.

The point I am trying to make is that we have the nucleus of a good side but our gifted players have little belief in themselves. Even Kouta could still be valueable but has little self belief. It seems many were prepared to kill Lance off but now are fully on the band wagon.

So many supporters on this board bemoan our list. Not all of the 12 players named are as gifted as Lance. However at their best these 12 guys are very very good. Surely the quickest improvement at the club would be to find a way to reach these 12 guys to find the consistency and passion of Lance.

This is not all up to Denis but he does have a big influence. To my mind Denis too has heaps of the x factor but is also way down on self belief. Perhaps Denis, Lance and Kouta should get togeather and work out how Lance did it and then try and help the other players to harness their gift with full consistency and passion.

I firmly believe that Carlton can rise very quickly but this facet needs to be fully researched. Other clubs have risen quickly and in my opinion Carlton is highly limited by their victim mentality over the draft restrictions. Someone other than Lance at this club needs to start being positive and reaching the rest of the group.

 

[Muji]

Great post.

 

[pumped]

Very impressed with the WC game and felt that several players from the list of 13 showed what they can do with open minds. I believe that when players are in the moment and not thinking about past or future consequences that they are free to perform at their ability potential.

Ryan's bump and a couple of turns back onto his left were instinctual as was a few of Betts' plays and also Stevens' intercept in the last quarter. In fact the side as a whole showed what it can do when the mental pressure was off.

They were free to just play as they had nothing to lose. However in the last quarter I felt that the enjoyment and passion was replaced by a fear of loss. Suddenly with victory theirs they had mental pressure again. Overall however they played with great passion and can learn from the last quarter.

Something that still worries me is Denis' mind set. I still believe he thinks and stresses far too much about the draft restrictions. He also looks ahead too far. He needs to be happy with the list he has and work with total passion towards the best results now. This is so important as I believe his thinking creates much of the negativity in the side.

At the post match when asked about Murphy he said it is a pity we don't have 4 more of him referring to the penalties. Also said how good would he be in the WC midfield. Further wnet on to say how much better our young players would be with 4 or more pre seasons. I believe he has to be in the moment and instill confidence into the group he has now.

The effort at Subi proves that the current list can perform. It is time for Denis, Kouta and Stevo to really back the list we have now and become positive minded leaders.This side can play good footy and the leadership group need to believe this too! West Coast have amazing self belief...Carlton need to develop this and fast.

 

[JavaBlue]

Not sure if I'm right into your New Age slant on footy, Pumped.

 

[pumped]

Not sure if I'm right into your New Age slant on footy, Pumped.

That's cool Java however I see it as just enjoying the moment and being free to play at your best. Wouldn't want anyone to do any more than just read my comments and comment with a constructive and open mind.

I also don't see anything new age about Denis and some of our supporters refraining looking at what we lost in the draft years ago. Makes much more sense to me for the club to get the best out of the players we have.

 

[doormat11]

That's cool Java however I see it as just enjoying the moment and being free to play at your best. Wouldn't want anyone to do any more than just read my comments and comment with a constructive and open mind.

I also don't see anything new age about Denis and some of our supporters refraining looking at what we lost in the draft years ago. Makes much more sense to me for the club to get the best out of the players we have.

yep, again. for all the positive spins Pagan puts on our losses he does go on a bit in regard to what could've been etc.
I watched the game with great joy and those kids showed they can play footy, no doubt about it. Sunday's game plan was probably the biggest positive we've seen since 2005 pre season.
Develop what we've got, clever drafting will sure help but let's get on with getting this great club out of the wilderness.

 

[murphster]

Agree totally on Lance, so many supporters said to me we should trade Lance or delist Lance, the big thing with Lance is that he did his knee a few years ago, which people tend to forget, and has taken time to get back to his best, most players take nearly 2 years to get back to there best after a knee reco but Lance with his weight problems was always going to take longer than some others to rebuild his fitness base after the reco, I said in posts last year that Lance would be back to his best near the end of last year or this year and wala heres Lance back better than ever.

A positive mindset is 75% of the equation when it comes to AFL, which is why it is so important for us and the development of our younger players to play a positive brand of footy which breeds confidence and comradery amongst the playing group, it only takes small things to change a players mindset so you need to implement as many positive moves as possible into your style of play, to play with the goal of minimising the loss is just destroying the confidence and comradery amongst the players, we must keep forging ahead regardless of the results, to revert to a defensive style now would be taking 4 steps backwards and would almost certainly end the careers of some players on our list prematurely.

As mentioned earlier there are players on our list with supreme talent that can not be taught but unfortunately they have not been able to mature fast enough to capitalise on this talent, the players i am talking about are Davies for 1 and Longmuir for another.

Justin Davies has so much ability it is scary and he must be given the chance to mature into the player he can be, lets take Russell Robertson as a perfect example and a similar type player to Davies, Robertson took years to become the player he is today and that was achieved by giving him the time to mature, Davies could easily become a Robertson type player for us, we have seen glimpses of this before when he comes on and kicks 3 last quarter goals in games for us. We must persist and nurture this talent and most importantly create a positive playing style and mindset for these players to grow in, players like these more than any others need the right mindset to play to there potential, negativity will destroy them as players.

Longmuir also has this above mentioned X factor and needs to be handled properly and taking him off and on the bench is not it, he needs to be given the chance to grow into a role at the club, with large chunks of game time not small spurts, if we delist these 2 players at the end of the year we will be throwing away very important Midfield and Goal kicking talent that you can not teach, we must persist with both of these players in the same way that we have persisted with Wiggens as time is all they need to become great players for the Carlton Footy Club.

 

[parrot]

Very impressed with the WC game and felt that several players from the list of 13 showed what they can do with open minds. I believe that when players are in the moment and not thinking about past or future consequences that they are free to perform at their ability potential.

Ryan's bump and a couple of turns back onto his left were instinctual as was a few of Betts' plays and also Stevens' intercept in the last quarter. In fact the side as a whole showed what it can do when the mental pressure was off.

They were free to just play as they had nothing to lose. However in the last quarter I felt that the enjoyment and passion was replaced by a fear of loss. Suddenly with victory theirs they had mental pressure again. Overall however they played with great passion and can learn from the last quarter.

Something that still worries me is Denis' mind set. I still believe he thinks and stresses far too much about the draft restrictions. He also looks ahead too far. He needs to be happy with the list he has and work with total passion towards the best results now. This is so important as I believe his thinking creates much of the negativity in the side.

At the post match when asked about Murphy he said it is a pity we don't have 4 more of him referring to the penalties. Also said how good would he be in the WC midfield. Further wnet on to say how much better our young players would be with 4 or more pre seasons. I believe he has to be in the moment and instill confidence into the group he has now.

The effort at Subi proves that the current list can perform. It is time for Denis, Kouta and Stevo to really back the list we have now and become positive minded leaders.This side can play good footy and the leadership group need to believe this too! West Coast have amazing self belief...Carlton need to develop this and fast.

Totally agree. Lack of self-belief is a major issue with this group. If you look through a list like Collingwood's – there isn’t anything very special there, but they have played with confidence and backed themselves and are all of a sudden top-4 contenders. Also agree that Denis needs to be a little more positive. I find it a bit strange that we’re sitting 15th but have the best FF and CHB in the comp, and a very good forward line. Yes there are deficiencies, but we are clearly under-performing at this stage. Really hope the guys continue in the style they showed in the first 3 quarters V Weagles on Sunday. Don’t want to see anymore negative footy – we’re only good when we play attacking footy.

 

[pumped]

Hey Murphster and Parrot,

Thanks for your input on this thread. It is good to know that there are other Carlton supporters who believe there is potential with what we already have on our list. I also agree very much that we should continue with the attacking game plan and persist with it even if it doesn't bring results straight away.

For what it is worth I think Denis as a coach also has the x factor but imo is limiting himself by trying to conform to the modern trends. I believe that most of us supporters dislike the way footy is played with the kicks backwards and the possession at all costs game. I believe that AFL is the best game in the world and that many coaching panels are becoming too technical and beginning to over strategise like their counterparts in some o/s sports.

To my mind Denis Pagan is a gifted footy mind and should concentrate more on footy basics and intelligent direct attacking footy. It is what he knows best and if he follows his insticts should overcome the present trends. Real honest footy principles will stand the test of time. Trends are short lived.

Lance is a real footballer and with confidence he has shown what can be achieved even in modern footy.

 

[SurreyBlue]

Positiveness has been lacking in our club for 2 years now.
Hence the frustration of many. We are better than what we are displaying and self belief can and will go along way to fix our current predicement. Koutoufides is the prime example of this, his belief in himself has reached an all time low and from an outsiders point of view, no-one is doing anything to fix it.

 

[parrot]

Hey Murphster and Parrot,

Thanks for your input on this thread. It is good to know that there are other Carlton supporters who believe there is potential with what we already have on our list. I also agree very much that we should continue with the attacking game plan and persist with it even if it doesn't bring results straight away.

For what it is worth I think Denis as a coach also has the x factor but imo is limiting himself by trying to conform to the modern trends. I believe that most of us supporters dislike the way footy is played with the kicks backwards and the possession at all costs game. I believe that AFL is the best game in the world and that many coaching panels are becoming too technical and beginning to over strategise like their counterparts in some o/s sports.

To my mind Denis Pagan is a gifted footy mind and should concentrate more on footy basics and intelligent direct attacking footy. It is what he knows best and if he follows his insticts should overcome the present trends. Real honest footy principles will stand the test of time. Trends are short lived.

Lance is a real footballer and with confidence he has shown what can be achieved even in modern footy.

I must admit I was a little nervous when Lance was first used in the backline – thought his lack of speed would be an issue. Glad to be proved wrong. Lance’s ability to read the unfolding of the play is just freaky – he just has a natural instinct as to where to go and when. Great to watch. And I agree – this type of skill can’t be taught. From what I’ve seen of Murph, he too has some of those natural instincts. Lance will be a great captain next year. Even though the Blues haven’t achieved much this year in terms of wins, I’m more optimistic about our current player group than I have been for the past 3 years. That lost the Weagles could be a major turning point.

 

[ShlomoGlickstein]

Part of Larnce's ressurection was his going back to basics pre-season last year and hard work. Sure there's an attitudal thing, but isn't that part of the coach's job?

1. Sports. A person who trains or directs athletes or athletic teams.

I mean for a perfect example look at Guus Hiddink during the recent world cup match, not just physically but how he got them going mentally.

 

[WTTF]

Agree totally on Lance, so many supporters said to me we should trade Lance or delist Lance, the big thing with Lance is that he did his knee a few years ago, which people tend to forget, and has taken time to get back to his best, most players take nearly 2 years to get back to there best after a knee reco but Lance with his weight problems was always going to take longer than some others to rebuild his fitness base after the reco, I said in posts last year that Lance would be back to his best near the end of last year or this year and wala heres Lance back better than ever.

Lets clear something up, Lance did have a knee injury, but it was not a knee reconstruction, as in an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury.

 

[Free Willy]

I must admit I was a little nervous when Lance was first used in the backline – thought his lack of speed would be an issue. Glad to be proved wrong. Lance’s ability to read the unfolding of the play is just freaky – he just has a natural instinct as to where to go and when. Great to watch. And I agree – this type of skill can’t be taught. From what I’ve seen of Murph, he too has some of those natural instincts. Lance will be a great captain next year. Even though the Blues haven’t achieved much this year in terms of wins, I’m more optimistic about our current player group than I have been for the past 3 years. That lost the Weagles could be a major turning point.

Hey Parrot,

Love your work buddy, but couldnt resist a chuckle at :

I’m more optimistic about our current player group than I have been for the past 3 years.

GOLD