What Should Our Expectations Be In 2012?

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Thread starter #1
I'm keen to hear what your expectations are for us next season.

The club has made it clear that a top 4 spot is the minimum requirement but I personally don't think top 4 would be enough.

We've had that many first round picks and have arguably one of the games best players ever and I think that we should accept nothing less then a top 2 finish and we should be playing in a grand final!

The time for excuses and explanations is over and we have to start really performing week in week out like Geelong and Collingwood have done over the past few years.

If we finish top 4 and maybe get as far as a prelim and were to lose that I would mark the season as a fail regardless of who is available on the park.

We can't let another year slip by and wonder what should or could have been!

Too harsh or on the money?
 

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#3
I can't live through another tight finals loss...
I reckon you might have to hope for that at best - otherwise you are expecting to win the GF. I cannot see how a team without a guaranteed key forward could hope that - not impossible but a long shot. I say no guaranteed key forward because until Waitey comes good again and plays some consistent football, we cannot even count him. AW should only ever be your number 3 forward - that does not mean he won't kick the most goals, it just means he should not have to carry too much pressure.

I obviously have a lot more patience than you because I only see 2012 as the dress rehearsal for 2013 - by which time we should have had a big young gun come through (if no progress next year we sell the farm to get one) and someone like Yazza or Gibbs becomes elite and along with Murph allow Juddy to be the icing - a bit like Harvey should have been for the Aints.

:thumbsu:
 
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#4
To me it's pretty simple. From here on in we should be aiming for a premiership. If you aim for it, i think when your list is ready you'll generally get there and achieve it, or at least come agonizingly close. For me, I think our list is just about ready.
 
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#5
My minimum expectation is that we will be a genuine premiership contender. In the way that this year, the only clubs that really had a shot were Geelong, Collingwood and Hawthorn.
 

ESKIE

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#6
Top 4 ..then a preliminary final play off, minimum I can;t see why we couldn't do this, the next 3 years are our chance to snag a flag

But injuries , form , suspensions are a factor

I'm excited, Go Blues
 

parrot

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#7
Pass mark: Premiership #17. Like always. Have zero interest in "acceptable ladder finishes". Means nothing. Anything short of a flag is failure. Period. Flag #17 is the obsession, and we certainly have the list talent to achieve that next year. With a little luck, we could have won it in 2011. I hear the term "Premiership Window", but it really doesn't apply to Carlton. That term is more for weak clubs who have a high-draft-pick then pop-and-slide situation. Our club is about sustained success. History proves that. If you look at our list management, it's designed so that a 2nd wave of talent will come through over the next 3-4 years to maintain the high standards. Multiple premierships is what it's about at Carlton. And it's not far away now. Looking forward to it.

:)
 

GoBlues!

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#11
The top four thing is in the open and quite clear, to one and all.
We won't state that winning the Cup is the aim, but clearly positioning oneself well in the top four gives you the best chance.

I don't care as much for expectations, as I hope for us to finally NOT go through another injury riddled-season.

When we look at names, Waite, Jamison, Russell, Lucas, Kreuzer, Bower, Hampson and Curnow all being struck hard for injury, you can wonder how we even got so close to making the final four.
All teams have injuries Harker, some more than others, and obviously depth plays a big factor. Players like Russell, Bower and Lucas were well covered with the likes of Laidler, Duigan, the stellar form of Yarran, and Curnow (in the first half of the season).

Agree the loss/unavailability of Waite, Jamison and Kreuzer were the ones that were the most difficult to cover. If we can get full seasons out of them next year could make the difference and get us into the top 4.
 

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Tanks_Alot

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#14
Premiership. Nothing less and really no more excuses, this group has the talent and maturity to go all the way. There isn't a team that we can't beat at the MCG. I'll even go as far as saying that if we got over the line against WC, we would've pushed Geelong to the limit and could've beat them. And had we done that, I also would've fancied our chances against the Pies too considering how shit their form was.

I just can't see the Pies being the same with a new coach coming in and Mick leaving. I know some people are probably going to say "yeah just like Geelong huh?" But this is a different circumstance and Scott was the first to do it in ages, it is a very rare thing to occur. I also doubt Buckley will be as good a coach as Chris Scott is simply because he will expect too much from his players and I can see him as being a pain in the arse type of coach. Not to mention that with Brown retired and Jolly another year older, their ruck stocks are going up shit creek. I'm not going to write them off entirely though, they will still be top 3 but they will not be as strong IMO.

Only team that worries me a little is the Hawks. They're the team we have to beat during the season next year to solidify ourselves as a major premiership favourite.
 

parrot

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#17
Speaking of expectations, did anyone else have a big laugh at the way the Essendon CEO, Spinner Robson avoided giving any predictions for 2012. The 2 mill+ coaching team dodged the question as well. Weak leaders avoid stating their expectations publicly because they don't want to be held accountable. The truth is they know they have a terrible list, and it's going to require a massive PR exercise to keep the frustrated Essendon supporters from going into meltdown.

Massive contrast to Carlton. We're more than happy to put on the public record what we expect. We don't run from pressure. We thrive on it.

:)
 

GoBlues!

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#18
All teams have injuries Harker, some more than others, and obviously depth plays a big factor.

Players like Russell, Bower and Lucas were well covered with the likes of Laidler, Duigan, the stellar form of Yarran, and Curnow (in the first half of the season).

Agree the loss/unavailability of Waite, Jamison and Kreuzer were the ones that were the most difficult to cover. If we can get full seasons out of them next year could make the difference and get us into the top 4.
I don't think we were covered at all.
We just had too many injuries to key players, for protracted periods of time.
Our squad was in a constant state of flux.

Fremantle and Essendon had the most players injured, but if we were to scale for the importance of players injured and for the period of time they were sidelined, we may well have been hardest hit.

I know all teams get injuries, but I just hope we sit on the lower end of the scale, for injuries to key players, next year. (Fingers Crossed)
Don't disagree we had injuries to key players this year which we didn't cover very well - namely Waite, Jamison and Kreuzer.


I just wouldn't put Russell, Bower and Lucas in the same category. They're great players but I wouldn't call them Key Players and as critical to team structure compared to Waite, Jamison and Kreuzer, who were harder to replace.

Also, with Bower playing 13 games with the Ants, and Lucas 17 games with the Ants, its not like they were out just because of injury - they were also out because of form and we had better options to cover their position/roles.

Anyway, here's hoping all the above players are fit and in form next year and fighting for positions.
 

deadoralive

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#19
premiership minimum, then hopefully a dynasty...

obviously that is a lot to ask for, but we are carlton, historically we demand success, we have an arrogance historically that tell us this, and i want it back

list is very good, keep them healthy and the depth is there, even if other supporters can't see it, that's better i say.
 
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#20
17, then 18, 19 and 20. We used to be the best Club in the comp by a long way. The intention is to reclaim that status. Any flag would be amazing but I can't escape the feeling that we demand more.

With the exception of Hawthorn, no other Club is that ambitious.
 

chaser1

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#22
We should be pushing for top four minimum, and then anything can happen.
But I just cant see our list winning the the big one. As many i think we are lacking a key forward who can kick you fifty to seventy goals are year guranteed. Preferably someone who take a mark, when the pressure is on and in finals games. our mids are ok, and the backline is nearly there.

But we cannot say injuries anymore, everyone gets them but we are vulnerable in the big man department. if Waite and or Kreuzer go down long term we are in real trouble for top four.

Lets hope we get one ou of the box like Hammer, Mitchell, Casboult etc.!
 

blues4flag

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#23
A premiership is the hope every year, though this is the first time in over a decade that we're in a position to turn that into reality. Will be disappointed with anything short of number 17.
 

marcmurphy#3

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#25
Speaking of expectations, did anyone else have a big laugh at the way the Essendon CEO, Spinner Robson avoided giving any predictions for 2012. The 2 mill+ coaching team dodged the question as well. Weak leaders avoid stating their expectations publicly because they don't want to be held accountable. The truth is they know they have a terrible list, and it's going to require a massive PR exercise to keep the frustrated Essendon supporters from going into meltdown.

Massive contrast to Carlton. We're more than happy to put on the public record what we expect. We don't run from pressure. We thrive on it.

:)
Great post. Shows great character in our coaching staff to be able to come out and say this. It's more than can be said for other coaching staff
 
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