Team changes.

[linchpin]

Can someone please explain to me the facination with Thornton?
NO, he is not a key defender I concur and therefore generally, not always, is well beaten by the better FF's of the league. Fair enough. That means he is a HBF or FP right?
So what do we expect from todays HBF's or BP's? First and foremost they are expected to beat their direct opponent. Beat in general, meaning their opponent has little influence on the scoreboard and game as a whole. HBF or BP these days should also have a skill or combination of skills such as courage, foot skills, good decision making, rebound from 50, strength man on man or good judgement of the ball to name a few. In my opinion Thornton has none!
What frustrates me, and many football fans (not just Carlton) I have spoken to agree with my sentiments, is that I so often read/hear from sections of Carlton fans how important he is to club/back line and future of Carlton. Is this blind loyalty or do we condone mediocracy and infact embrace it? Can we speak of being a genuinely good team in the next 5 years and rest our hopes on the likes of Thornton as so many do? Let's be honest and call a spade a spade as we do with so many other players, so that when we do speak we do so with some credibility.
I don't really have a genuine problem with Thorton, a fringe player at best and I think he would be lucky to get a game elsewhere. It is when he is spoken in the same breathe as the Waite's, Fev's, Lances, Stenens' etc of Carlton that I start to scratch my head and get annoyed.
Another problem I have is his body language. In my opinion it is no better than the heavily criticised Matthew Richardson's. When his opponent takes a mark, he throw his sholders and arms around and glares at players around him with a look of disgust as though they are to blame. We mock, maligne and vilify Richo for it yet tolerate it from one of our own.
Please give me your thoughts as to why he should not be replaced by a Hartlett (when fit), Bannister, Livingston (probable six of one half a dozen of the other) or any other player.

Good post actually. Not crticising for the sake of it. I like T-Bird, but you are right, he aint key position.
I like your passion bleeding through....

 

[murphster]

Gee I'm glad you are not on the selection commitee

Why because i would drop someone who hasn't played a good game for us in 2 years and has been beaten in every game this year and every time he gets beaten for the ball he looks over his shouylder for someone to blame, Thornton was a good player for us 3 years ago and people keep living off that reputation, needs to spend time in the two's learning how to read the play again instead of being reactive and getting led to the ball every time, or should we just leave him in for the hell of it and hope that something changes, as for Blackwell he should be played if it is wet because he gets in and under unlike some of our midfielders who stand around hands on hips waiting for the ball to be hand fed to them, as for the ins and outs this week i am just speculating on what my changes would have been i know they are not going to come in it is called a discussion so stop trolling and looking for things to bag people about.

 

[btdg]

I reckon Thornton is a decent KPP. He is reasonably quick, reasonably strong, reads the game well. His disposal isn't great, but as a pure defender he's not bad. The problem is, he's our only KP option in defence. That means he gets the toughest opponent, week in, week out - regardless of his form, their form, whether he is a suitable matchup for them, etc. Not only that, but he's generally plan A - and there is no plan B, or else, plan B involves taking Whitnall from CHF to cover. Thats a tough gig at the best of times, let alone when your team is getting beaten most weeks, so there's likely to be a fair bit of traffic coming your way. I reckon its a wonder he's kept his confidence for so long. This year, he's been a bit down; lets hope he gets it back up. He's not Glen Archer or Matthew Scarlett, but he does a job for us.

 

[Andyt30]

i tipp Out's Bannister ,deluca & Russell make way for Wiggins,Kennedy & Mcgrath
Wiggins deserves a spot in the 18

 

[Funkalicous]

It would be interesting to see what happened if we left Thornton out.

Personally I think he's going fine. He's getting beaten occasionally, but not by much, and not very often. His opponents only get 2 or 3 goals a game. That's nothing with today's soft interpretations.

IMO, fullback is the most difficult position in the side. If you can tell me how to stop a forward from reaching the ball without touching him, I'd like to hear it. It's nearly impossible. To be honest, the only real way to stop a forward is by putting pressure on the midfield.

 

[BlueWorld]

Final changes:

Kennedy, Wiggins - IN

De Luca, Russell - OUT

 

[Funkalicous]

Hopefully we give Russell another taste of senior footy later in the season. Great to see Kennedy officially named though.

 

[Silvagnis]

Who will Wiggins line up on? Didak?

 

[HBF]

Who will Wiggins line up on? Didak?

Very surprised Wiggins got a game before McGrath, given McGraths job on Buckley last year.

Looks like Denis is giving Wiggins about 4 weeks at AFL level as a last chance to prove himself.

 

[DIG]

Wiggins will have a dip at least. It's shaping to be a miserable day in Melbourne, so his skill deficiencies won't be as noticeable, hopefully he find the pill a bit.

 

[Andyt30]

about time Wiggins got a game with his bog for the Northern Bullants hope he shows em that they did the right thing or face loosing him all together

 

[Effes]

Play him as a defensive forward on Ben Johnson

 

[blueheart]

I reckon Thornton is a decent KPP. He is reasonably quick, reasonably strong, reads the game well. His disposal isn't great, but as a pure defender he's not bad. The problem is, he's our only KP option in defence. That means he gets the toughest opponent, week in, week out - regardless of his form, their form, whether he is a suitable matchup for them, etc. Not only that, but he's generally plan A - and there is no plan B, or else, plan B involves taking Whitnall from CHF to cover. Thats a tough gig at the best of times, let alone when your team is getting beaten most weeks, so there's likely to be a fair bit of traffic coming your way. I reckon its a wonder he's kept his confidence for so long. This year, he's been a bit down; lets hope he gets it back up. He's not Glen Archer or Matthew Scarlett, but he does a job for us.

My thoughts exactly