Quote ="Pie Eyed"OK. It looks like he now HAS "done enough to get in the first team to date, and HAS proved himself in the reserves enough to be given a shot.".
As stated previously, if he plays, I will back him 100% as part of MY team.
He's done the hard bit (convincing Madge and Waney), so now comes the easy part (turning public opinion)
As I said, others in this team (Richards, Roberts, Riddell) have all been in similar positions and challenged themselves to show us their best.
I sincerely hope that Karl goes on to do exactly the same.'"
The big problem I have with your interpretation is that it relies on things occuring in a vacuum. Karl's selection or otherwise is not solely dependant upon his own performances in training/reserves, but also the performances and form of the other players competing for the same spot. Darrell Goulding has performed admirably this season, as has Amos Roberts, Pat Richards, Martin Gleeson, and prior to Injury Cam Phelps. Who would have been dropped even if it was felt that Karl had been performing well in training/reserves? unless one of the others gets injured or starts performing worse?
It really is quite silly to imply that his previous lack of selection backs up your view of him being lazy, the only certainty that can be deduced is that MM and SW felt that his performances did not warrant his selection over the other players in those positions. Stop being so polarised about everything. The truth lies somewhere between your view of lazy/no heart/does nothing, and my view of he's a talented young player who given the right spark and opportunity could do a real job for us.
Karl was in contention for selection prior to picking up a knock just prior to the season start, Darrell got the opportunity and took it fantastically well. All Karl can do is keep doing what's asked of him by the coaching staff, and bide his time. Hopefully that time has now come and he'll have a good performance though don't expect an on fire performance from somebody who's been out of that level of competition for so long, especially if the rest of the team aren't totally firing - evidenced by a couple of the 'thrown to the lions' appearances under Noble. If he can perform well enough to satisfy what MM/SW ask of him, then frankly I couldn't give a flying one what anybody else thinks of him, and neither should he.
It's also strikes me as a little silly to dismiss that 'dancing' doesn't have anything to do with it, as clearly time after time, year after year, some players are singled out for things that go without a passing comment from others. The common factor seems to be a particular player's popularity with a section of the fans, which in any sport is not always directly related to their actual ability or performance level, and often influenced by their demeanour and how they make fan's feel (see the recent discussion re: Feka and Fielden for a couple of good examples of this phenomenon)
And i'm glad to hear that you'll back him 100% if he plays. No how about backing him 100% even if he doesn't, as he's still actually part of our team and one of our players?
I really hope he does work out, as like Rogue's has stated, the lad really is one hell of a talented player.
