The 'Could've been Anything' thread

[Blue Pirate]

From the appointment of Pagan in 2003 and through our darkest years we've certainly seen some players come and go. Not all recycled hacks like Martyn, Harford etc. but a heap of kids too.

My question is: Of all the young players that have come and gone since the early 2000's (think Blake Campbell, Cal Beasy, Trent Sporn etc), who were you most disappointed to see go. Who was the young player you saw loads of potential in but who for whatever reason just didn't make the cut.

For mine, Justin Davies was one I was really disappointed to see let go. Had good pace, skills, leap and courage, and can't help but feel had he been drafted to a club in the top half of the ladder (or one without D. Pagan as coach) could have really had an impact and would probably still be around today.

 

[4blues]

Not disapointed more surprised at how crap Cameron Croad was, then to retire mid season showed what a tool we recruited. Had hoped he had some of Trents ability, but wasnt worthy of carrying Koutas match bag.

 

[KrabMan]

Angwin.

Had unbelievable amounts of potential, i was so excited about his future with the blues when i saw him play his couple of games. Always had the ability and had great height and athleticism. I legitimately believed he had that potential to be a 'buddy' franklin type player..... I just rated his abilities and potential to no end.

Unfortunately for us his much publicised drug use and major attitude problems cost him and us the player i thought he could be.

 

[Blue Pirate]

Not disapointed more surprised at how crap Cameron Croad was, then to retire mid season showed what a tool we recruited. Had hoped he had some of Trents ability, but wasnt worthy of carrying Koutas match bag.

Ahhh Cam Croad. I'd forgotten about him! One of those classic examples of a player being drafted purely cos he had a recognisable AFL surname (David Kernahan another).

 

[koutamarto]

their were 2 i always liked.

Justin davies- Dominated in the 2's. Always did well when he played in the 1's. Had good skill and good awareness around the goals.

And Karl Norman- I dont think DP cold settle on a position 4 him. saw him play on the wing in the 2's and tear it up. think he could have been a value going forward.

 

[4blues]

Ahhh Cam Croad. I'd forgotten about him! One of those classic examples of a player being drafted purely cos he had a recognisable AFL surname (David Kernahan another).

Yes there have been alot of players taken not just by Carlton but through out the league who have been recruited because of a siblings reputation.

 

[AlecDuncan]

People have already said them for me:

1. Angwin
2. Davies
3. Norman

 

[inyourcool]

Norman just didn't put in in the gym and stuff and loved the piss too much

 

[Jeremias]

Angwin, Norman, Davies and Campbell are the ones that immediately spring to mind.

All 4 of them had a fair bit of talent but couldn't stick around for various reasons.

Angwin and Norman were ****wits.

Davies unfortunately suffered a serious back injury.

Not sure what happened to Campbell.


They would all probably still be on our list if they didn't have the problems mentioned above. Such a waste of talent, self-inflicted or not.

 

[AndyNicka]

Recently i've been watching match replays from around 2002-2006 of carlton. In a lot of those games Trent Sporn didn't look too bad, but he looked extremely slender. Davies was superb in those two matches against Collingwood in 2004, arguably winning both games off his own boot. Angwin always looked like he had potential as well.

 

[Blue Pirate]

Angwin, Norman, Davies and Campbell are the ones that immediately spring to mind.

All 4 of them had a fair bit of talent but couldn't stick around for various reasons.

Angwin and Norman were ****wits.

Davies unfortunately suffered a serious back injury.

Not sure what happened to Campbell.


They would all probably still be on our list if they didn't have the problems mentioned above. Such a waste of talent, self-inflicted or not.

Campbell had a nice, neat left foot kick from memory but was a little injury prone and probably not quite up to the standard either.

One from the same era was Callum Beasy, I remember going to a intra club practice match one pre season and he was taking massive grabs and kicked 4 or 5 goals and certainly stood out. Unfortunatley he was undersized for the ruck and that's where Pagan kept playing him.

 

[MickyB]

I always thought Sporn came back a different player after having his nose broken at Football Park (I think). He looked like he could have had a pretty handy career based on those early games

 

[thylacine60]

Angwin, Marchesa,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Angwin.

 

[Sharks On A Plane]

Most definitely Karl Norman.

Quick, agile, rarely beaten one on one. I vividly remember that day he owned Phil Matera at Princes Park, but he could also play tall too (a bit like Jamo).

Read the play very well and was just obviously a natural footballer. Karl had a real air of class about him on the field, and to be honest I was pretty disappointed that the club didn't persist with him and try and iron out his attitude problem.

Having said that, however, I doubt the club would've given up on such an outstanding young talent without exhausting their options first.

It still shits me to this day that he's not running around for the Navy Blues. An absolute waste.

 

[Bomba Sheldon]

My big 3 disappointments were;

1. Justin Davies
2. Karl Norman
3. Blake Campbell

I think that either injury (Davies) or lack of Development coaches / a good culture to nuture talent (Norman and Campbell) possibly caused us to lose these very talented young players.

With Angwin, he was just a bloody fruit loop and no one could have helped him.

 

[Teagueeee15]

Not disapointed more surprised at how crap Cameron Croad was, then to retire mid season showed what a tool we recruited. Had hoped he had some of Trents ability, but wasnt worthy of carrying Koutas match bag.

I used to know him a little and I know that he Retired through injury FWIW. Whether he had the ability to still be here if he didn't have injury issues is up to debate though.
Just on a few others mentioned, Justin Davies got very homesick and extremely unsettled because of it during his time here. He also has a real bad back condition to do with buldging discs, so his long term playing future would have been in doubt anyway.
Blake Campbell also had similar issues to Davies with his back and found things like doing weight sessions really hard to do.

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

I speak to Angwin a fair bit on Facebook - he reckons he ran the 20 metre sprint once in 2.6

He was a gun though - would have completley changed the dynamic of our side.

 

[Silvagnis]

I speak to Angwin a fair bit on Facebook - he reckons he ran the 20 metre sprint once in 2.6

He was a gun though - would have completley changed the dynamic of our side.

Did Angwin sell you any DVDs?

Blake Campbell was the one who should have made it with his pace and left foot.

Davies was a one trick pony - endurance - and only played one good game.

 

[mediumsizered]

I used to know him a little and I know that he Retired through injury FWIW. Whether he had the ability to still be here if he didn't have injury issues is up to debate though.

There was a little more to the retirement of him than just injury. Suffice to say the club was better off without him.

 

[thylacine60]

Did Angwin sell you any DVDs?

Blake Campbell was the one who should have made it with his pace and left foot.

Davies was a one trick pony - endurance - and only played one good game.

Pretty sure you're referring to the Collingwood game at the G. I also recall him picking up 12 kicks in the first quarter of a game in WA. He was left alone by Freo or WC who obviously didn't rate him and really played well. Early in the next I think he and McKiernan collided near or with the fence and one of them was straight off the ground, can't recall which.

 

[4blues]

There was a little more to the retirement of him than just injury. Suffice to say the club was better off without him.

I thought the same thing, Headcase with very limited ability.

 

[Blue Dimension]

Karl Norman. It's a pity he didn't have his head screwed on right.

 

[The Cranium]

Angwin.

Had unbelievable amounts of potential, i was so excited about his future with the blues when i saw him play his couple of games. Always had the ability and had great height and athleticism. I legitimately believed he had that potential to be a 'buddy' franklin type player..... I just rated his abilities and potential to no end.

Unfortunately for us his much publicised drug use and major attitude problems cost him and us the player i thought he could be.

Concur

 

[Dustyjackman]

From that era, I always thought Luke Livingston could've been anything.

 

[Dustyjackman]

But, for me, the greatest disappointment in any era was this bloke Stephen Oliver