Patrick Smith Blasts Carlton

[crashlander]

http://www.sen.com.au/news/07-15/patrick...ry-carlton

Forgetting the bias against the author....I'll take the pick if he can arrange it.

I take everything Patrick Smith says with more than a grain of salt; more like a Dead Sea worth. However, if he wishes to let us have a decent pick, I'll take it as well. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, they say.
To be honest, I think Smith is just trying to take the heat off his beloved B*mmers and our performance was handy.
As for his claims about sacking Malthouse and the state of our list: Malthouse has to take his fair share of the blame there. We recruited certain players and certain types of players under his direct and specific wishes. We did not try hard enough to retain others, again, with his considerable input. He was the head coach and we recruited to suit his directives. So, if our list is crap (and it is), and we were playing with no heart (and we were not playing with any heart at all), removing Malthouse would seem to be a reasonable step.
Smith cannot blame our head recruiters: we have already parted way with them. He can continue to blame the victims as much as he likes but it won't improve our list.

On the other hand, if the AFL wants to help us (and what a shock that would be!), I am quite willing to be helped. Resources we would otherwise be unable to get would be accepted with thanks and humility.
As for Priority Picks, I don't know that they would either us or Brisbane per se. Both we and Brisbane have issues at the moment that do not make us clubs that players want to play for. Fixing that would be more important than anything else. But if they want to give us a decent pick, I will accept it also with good grace.

I doubt that we will get help or a priority pick: the AFL have had too much of a hand in our present problems for me to believe that they will come through. But if it takes being abused in the media by morons who know nothing (and are quite willing to let everyone know that by opening their mouths at every opportunity) to get something worth while, then I am quite willing to be abused.