I guess that’s why they call them the Blues

Don’t look at it like its forever

– Elton John

 

For decades Carlton was labelled arrogant, insufferable and charmless.  They had pedigree, so it was simple to understand the criticism.  From 1970 to 1999 Carlton won seven premierships from eleven grand finals.  In 2002, three years after their last grand final appearance, the Blues finished last, two and a half games behind St Kilda, and won their first wooden spoon.

Former president John Elliot sacked Wayne Brittain and leaned on Denis Pagan, who’d coached two premierships at North Melbourne.  Pagan accepted the challenge of building Carlton from nothing, as he’d done with North. 

But the Blues were cheating and got caught and pinged for salary cap breaches, the penalty included a million dollar fine and exclusion from key rounds of the 2002-03 draft.  Pagan, without access to the best talent, never had a list he was satisfied with.  Four and a half years later, following a 117-point loss to Brisbane at the Gabba, Pagan was sacked.

Under his guidance, which was expected to glean a premiership, the Blues twice won the pre-season premiership and twice won the wooden spoon.  The spoon, clearly, was more meaningful that the March trinket.

History will analyse Pagan’s stint at Carlton with blithe disregard, but it ruined his legacy.  John Elliot, who presided over the salary cap rort, is to blame.  Had the breaches been made public before Pagan accepted the job, Carlton would’ve struggled to find a coach. 

There are scholars of the game, though, who suggest Pagan and Carlton got what they deserved.  When Pagan was sacked, Carlton was about $4 million in debt.

There are people with mean intentions who were fed up with Carlton and their dominance.  Those people need to start worrying.  The Blues are back, third on the ladder, playing with purpose and intent.  At the weekend they hammered Sydney, a side renowned for its guts effort.  The final margin, 34 points, did neither side justice.  It could’ve been 80 points, had Carlton been bothered in the final term.

They’re playing good footy, their best in a decade. 

Carlton last won a final in 2001.  In the past nine seasons they’ve played in two finals in 2009 and 2010, and lost both.  They’ve been out of contention for a long time.  A lot of fans would suggest it’s been an enjoyable time.   

Some say it was the historical low Carlton had to have, after decades of glory, all those premierships.  In the seventies and eighties, before the draft and salary cap, Carlton’s cash lured plenty of interstate stars and champs from other clubs.  Under the old, unrestrictive regulations, cash won grand finals, and the Blues kept winning premierships. 

The decree, though, that they bought premierships, rings hollow.  In the seventies and eighties, every premiership club bought their cup.  Those with the most money bought more than the others.  From 1970 to 1990, just five clubs shared all the premierships, an indication of how much money there was and where it was spent.

In the past two decades, eleven clubs have won premierships.  Equalisation, the draft and salary cap, has worked.

Ten years after their last finals win, Carlton, injury aside, is on track for another.  They’re yet to defeat Geelong or Collingwood, but they’ve run both sides closely.

It has taken Carlton nine years to recover from the sanctions imposed by the AFL for salary cap breaches.  Amazing to be punished like that.  The AFL certainly set the example.

Carlton has lots of fans.  When the team is firing, a big game against Collingwood, Richmond or Essendon will fill the MCG.  For the last decade, they’ve been playing in blockbusters without deserving them.  AFL boss Andrew Demetriou must be thrilled.  By weight of supporter numbers, the resurgence means money in swelled crowds and television audiences.  The resurgence means a whole lot more to their fans and the game.

Carlton, following sustained failure, is a novelty, a finals exile on the way home.  People are wondering what took them so long, how a club with so much corporate support and fans could wallow, face down in the muck while the rest of the competition rejoiced in their distant memory. 

When I was growing up Carlton rarely missed the finals.  They kept winning flags.  At school they were hated as much as Collingwood, and the Magpies were never described as arrogant, insufferable or charmless.  The Blues, though, reminded other clubs and supporters of what they didn’t have, money, and showed everyone what it took to assemble a list capable of winning a premiership.  You need money.

Now that’s class.  Looking back on that era, it is impossible to be critical of Carlton’s success, because their administration did the best they could for the club.  They promised more money, within the rules of the era, and it netted them champions who helped them win premierships.

The criticism was built and jealousy, but the intent behind it provides ample proof of why the draft and salary cap were necessary.  Money, for Carlton, couldn’t talk anymore.

John Elliot tried to make money sing, setting the Blues back a decade and costing a successful coach his reputation.

Right now, no matter how you feel about Carton, they provide an alternative to black and white stripes or blue and white hoops.  The old, dark, navy Blues, as the fairytale is already suggesting, are the only club capable of beating Geelong or Collingwood in this year’s grand final.  It makes them interesting. 

Consider the Carlton fans among us, those who’ve listened to games on ABC, NIRS or watched TV, wearing hats and shirts with pride throughout nine years of misery.  How they must be feeling, right now, with their club poised to have an impact after so many years in the wrong half of the ladder.

For nine years Carlton was denied any chance of brilliance because of a corrupt administration who cheated in a botched attempt at winning a premiership.  The fallout has been long and spectacular, matched only by the misery.

Over the years, not much sympathy has been spent On Carlton by the wider AFL community, after all, this was a club built on arrogance, self-righteousness and audacity, a club with money.  In the eyes of embittered fans, the Blues were suffering, and they were badly in debt, who cares.

Let me tell you this.  If North Melbourne won seven premierships in thirty years, I wouldn’t have cared if we paid billions. 

What price a premiership? 

Following nine torturous years, the suffering is easing, the malady in remission.  Carlton is back.  It’s been a long time.  Their uprising is good for the competition.

It’s time to pay homage to those fans who decorated themselves in navy blue for the past nine years.  It’s time to forgive and forget.

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