Before I go into the bones of this blog, let me be clear here. I have no issue with those who don’t agree with what I am saying. None whatsoever. However, don’t come at me with emotive language like “you need to see someone” or that “you’re delusional”. I am all for a healthy, rational debate, and we can all agree or disagree; however, the way someone agrees or disagrees, and the language they use, reflect not on what the other person is saying but on themselves. So, agree or disagree with me all you want, but do so with a rational point of view, not a cop-out of using words that do not address your viewpoint.
We are all aware of how disappointed we were with the result on Thursday night. I will not go into the bones of what happened; many others do that. This is not the point of this blog. It was, in a nutshell, not great. Yet the verbal diatribe that came from supporters and commentators is really ludicrous. It is the first game of the season. We had seven new players on the field. We have had a few key players leave the club. It was always going to be a bit of a struggle to get the new players and the other players already at the club to gel together in their first game together as a team.
Sure, some of the club’s experienced and senior players should have been better. But it is the first game! We saw on Thursday night that some new players showed what they are going to be capable of over time. But the team must learn to play together, and this will take a bit of getting used to. It is not the same when you are training or playing in the pre-season games. The pressure to perform is not the same. Learning how to re-play as a team, given the number of “ins” on the field, was always going to be a hill to climb to get used to each other’s style of play. What happens now, moving forward, is going to have to be about growth, understanding, and learning from each other’s capabilities.
But this is not the main part of this blog. It is the utter hypocrisy and disrespectful way some have gone to voice their views. While watching the game between Gold Coast and Geelong, the commentators on TV showed their hypocrisy and bias to the point of inglorious kissing of feet! One commentator said that even though Geelong got thrashed, Chris Scott knows that it is only the first game of a long season. If that is the case for Geelong, then isn’t it the case for Carlton or Hawthorn? I mean, if commentators are starting to make excuses for a team that is seasoned, then given their “so-called” knowledge and experience, shouldn’t they then say the same thing about Carlton? I do understand that we have not been a prolific team for a while, but you cannot say one thing about one team and give them a logical way out, and not do the same for others.
Then there was the explosive release of a discussion between two ex-Carlton players, being Gorringe and Docherty. I have always believed that true colours are revealed in certain circumstances. This is clearly one of them. I have lost respect for both ex-players. Let me be clear here. I have no issue with them being critical, but using the language they used was deplorable.
With Docherty, I expected better. But maybe this is the way he has always been, and instead of thinking rationally and critically, he chose to go down a path that focuses on his true feelings about the club. I know that Gorringe chose to record the conversation and publish it without permission, yet Docherty has come out and stated that he stands by the sentiment. Here is why I have totally lost all respect for the man.
He is no longer part of the game, but he can be a voice that understands it and is critical in a constructive way. Yet for some, their own egos come to the fore when they are treated in a way that makes them feel placed on a pedestal. They then use that pedestal in a way that they feel can never be pushed off. It is arrogant and quite self-absorbed. Now I will probably be lambasted in this regard, but how you carry yourself once out of the game and are then placed in a position of power where your voice is respected, but you use it in a completely disrespectful way, shows who you really are.
There was no need at all for Docherty to say what he said in that manner. He could have stepped back, taken a deep breath and made his point in a rational and respectful way. He chose not to. Gorringe should not have posted that discussion, but he chose to do so for his own benefit and for his own product – himself. So, I have no respect for either of them, and I think they may have lost a lot of people who looked up to them.
Carlton were not great after half-time in the first game of the season. But it is only the first game of a very long season. We, as supporters, whether we are just supporters or previous players, can be critical but respectful. It serves no purpose to be any other way, only a way to make those voices irrelevant.
#GO BLUES!
SPORTZ 