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Carlton Football Club, nicknamed '''The Blues''', is the . The club originally represented the Inner City Melbourne area of Carlton and its nickname comes from the navy blue colour of its uniform. Also on its uniform is the club's insignia which consists of three alphabetical letters – CFC superimposed on each. CLUB HISTORY Early history Formed in 1864, it originally played in the Victorian Football Association competition. It was invited to join the breakaway Victorian Football League in 1897. The competition was renamed to the Australian Football League in 1990 and is where the club currently resides. Carlton made its first VFL grand final in the year of 1904 to be defeated by Fitzroy . Two years later in 1906, it was to enter the first of five consecutive grand finals. The first three were all premierships and Carlton became the first team in the history of the VFL/AFL to win three-in-a-row. The fourth grand final in 1909 made Carlton the closest team to attempt to win four-in-a-row, as it was narrowly beaten by just 2 points to South Melbourne (now Sydney Swans ). Had it not been for the political trouble that plagued the club early in the season, the result could well have been different. However, this remarkable feat was subsequently surpassed during the Great Depression by the club's greatest rival - Collingwood (which became famous as 'The Machine') in 1927-30. In Carlton's fifth grand final in 1910, they were defeated by Collingwood and this was the beginning of a strong rivalry between the two clubs that would endure for more than a century. Collingwood's working-class supporter base, close geographic proximity, and many historic on-field (and occasional off-field) tussles mark the rivalry as one of the strongest in the AFL. 1910 had been a controversial year for the club, two players including Alex Lang were banned for 99 games (approximately 6 years) after being found guilty of accepting bribes to play poorly. Carlton has traditionally been in the top 2 most powerful on-field clubs, AFL Tables Team Win-Loss Records Carlton Win Percentage - 61.19%, second to Collingwood. Retrieved on . Recent history The development of the game becoming a national league has impacted on Victorian-based clubs and the consequential success of interstate clubs have had an impact on Carlton's current success record. Changes within the rules of the national competition meant that Carlton and other Victorian teams cannot, as easily, recruit the best players from across Australia because many of them are likely to be recruited by interstate clubs. The recruiting mechanism of all such players is now part of the . In addition all teams are confronted by the rules of the Salary Cap which is designed to limit the funds spent of players in any given season, in an attempt to create a level playing field. Prior to the salary cap, rich Victorian clubs such as Carlton were able to lure prospective players to the club by offering more money than the less successful clubs. In the year of its last premiership in 1995, Carlton set a new . In 2002 the club was in great turmoil. Off-field the club had mounting financial losses and accounting irregularities which pursued the then club president as president in 2003. On-field the team went through the entire season without winning a single game on its home ground, which culminated in the club claiming the Wooden Spoon for finishing last on the AFL ladder for the first time in its history. Carlton was the last club of the original AFL/VFL teams to win its inaugural wooden spoon. Under the new Collins' administration, it was discovered that the club's previous administration had been making extra, secret payments to certain players.ABC News ABC Radio Transcript ''"The Australian Football League today charged Carlton with two salary cap breaches in the season 2000"'' Retrieved on 2007-04-15 . This issue violated the AFL Salary Cap and resulted in the club receiving a record total fine of $980,000 and being banned from first and second round picks in the annual player draft for two years, hampering attempts to rebuild the club's player group. Brendan Goddard and Daniel Wells , who respectively went to St. Kilda and North Melbourne at picks 1 and 2, were two players who possibly would have been selected by Carlton. Aussport.com.au Ethical Sports Business Practices ''"...a deliberate, sophisticated and elaborate scheme implemented by some former directors of the Carlton Football Club to breach the total players payments provisions of the AFL's Rules'... This cost the club a fine of $930,000 plus an additional fine of $50,000 recently incurred for another salary cap breach and Carlton were also stripped of their draft choices."'' Its coach Wayne Brittain , who had taken over the coaching duties in 2001, had his contract terminated and was replaced by Denis Pagan for the 2003 season. Brittain's arrival couldn't have come at a worse time since he took over a club on the verge of collapse which severely damaged his AFL coaching career prospects and he remains a potential coach who was never given a proper coaching opportunity at this level. The appointment of . was unable to reverse Carlton's football plight in the short term. It had become apparent that the Carlton team had to be replaced with a more youthful lineup and this has developed over the past 3 years as the club's policy. Recruitment has centred on Carlton attempting to recruit players under 24 years old who are likely to have the capability to play at least 100 games. At the beginning of 2005, the attempt at turning around the club's fortune seemed to have realised some goals with the success in the pre-season . However that success was short-lived as the club failed to maintain its form for the home-and-away season and it again finished on the bottom of the ladder for just the second time in its history. It became the second club to win the pre-season/night series competition and the Wooden Spoon in the same year, with Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs ) having done so in 1967. In 2005 the club also became the last of the former VFL clubs to move away from its original home ground when it played its last match at Optus Oval against Melbourne in Round 9 of the 2005 season. Official Website of the Carlton Football Club 1864-2005 ''"In round 9 Carlton plays its final game at Optus Oval, an 18-point loss to Melbourne."'' Retrieved on 2007-04-15 . Carlton had played at Princes Park for 108 years. Carlton now play half of their home games at the Telstra Dome and the other half at the MCG. (The games at the MCG are generally against traditional rivals Collingwood, Richmond, Essendon and Melbourne). The 2006 season saw Carlton win back-to-back wooden spoons for the first time in its history. At season's end, this led to widespread unrest within the club whose board had initially voted to terminate Denis Pagan's contract, but subsequently overturned the vote on a second ballot. The Australian Losers all round as Carlton stumbles into spring ''"Initially Pagan was to be sacked... The board met again on Wednesday and by 7pm announced that Pagan would retain his position."'' Retrieved on 2007-04-15 . A group of out-spoken and disgruntled former players who were part of the clean-out a few years earlier, lead by Fraser Brown and Barry Mitchell , wanted to have Pagan replaced by Mitchell as coach for the 2007 season. Brett Ratten was mooted as a replacement coach as well. The board decided to allow Pagan to coach for the next two seasons through to season 2008. 2007 began on several bright notes for Carlton. The appointments of . have calmed the off-field controversy. These events have also been reflected in growing membership numbers, with the club almost reaching a previously hopeful target of 30,000 members before the start of the season. Carlton made a good on-field start to the year, defeating Essendon , Hawthorn and the Kangaroos in the knock-out NAB Cup competition to reach the Pre-Season Grand Final. On March 17th, 2007 Carlton defeated the Brisbane Lions to win the NAB Cup by 25 points in front of over 46,000 fans at the Telstra Dome. On , 2007, the club announced that Ratten would become full time coach for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. PRINCES PARK The club is based at Princes Park oval (officially known now as MC Labour Park in a sponsorship deal) in northern Carlton. Australian Stadiums Princes Park Retrieved on . Despite an overwhelming majority of members voting for the home ground move, it was not altogether popular with all club supporters. Training and social club facilities at Princes Park remain. Carlton became the final suburban club to move away from its original suburban home ground. It also ended the only unbroken playing venue link throughout the entire 108 year history of the VFL/AFL. There are proposals to redevelop the ground to make it into an elite training facility for the players. CURRENT PLAYING LIST CLUB JUMPER The current jumper design consists of a navy blue backing, CFC monogram and AFL logo on front, and bold white numbers on back. The club's current major sponsors are Optus , Dan Murphy's and Nike . For home games, the Dan Murphys sponsoring is displayed on the front, while Yes Optus sponsoring is beneath the player numbers on the back. The sponsors change positions when the club is playing away. In April 2006 , the club announced a "clash" jumper in accordance to the AFL 's request that each club have an alternative jumper to be worn against other clubs in similar design. The jumper consists of inverted colours from the regular home season outfit, complemented by blue stripes on the sides. This white jumper was first worn on Friday, 4 May, 2007 in the club's 43 point loss to St Kilda at Telstra Dome . CLUB SONG ''We are the Navy Blues'' is the official club song of the Carlton Football Club. It is sung to the tune of " Lily Of Laguna " by Leslie Stuart . CLUB MASCOT The club mascot is known as 'Captain Carlton' and appears as a superhero dressed in blue. The same person behind the mask has been Captain Carlton for many years. He used to stand on top of 'Optus Oval' and watch the match. CLUB HONOUR BOARD CORPORATE/ADMINISTRATION Membership base In 2007, the Carlton Football Club had a record membership of 35,431¹. ¹as of 6th July, 2007 {Link without Title} Chief Executive Officer s CEOs since 1980. CARLTON'S TEAM OF THE CENTURY
AFL Team of the Century: 'The Fortunate Five' Five former Carlton players qualified for a place in the , or valiantly defending against high quality opposition like Bruce 'The Flying Doormat' Doull ''' or ''' Stephen 'SOS' (Son Of Serge) Silvagni ''', they were there...week after week...game after game...it went on for years. It is no surprise that every member of this group was instrumental in guiding Carlton towards victory in the most important game of the football year...the Grand Final to win the premiership. In the 1972 premiership, Jesaulenko and Nicholls kicked 7 and 6 goals respectively. In the 1981 premiership, Doull won the Norm Smith Medal for a sensational game. In the 1995 premiership, Silvagni kept Geelong great Gary Ablett goaless while Williams won the Norm Smith Medal for a sensational performance as the best player in that game. INDIVIDUAL RECORDS Most career goals Most career games INDIVIDUAL AWARDS Best And Fairest Award - John Nicholls Medalists :See John Nicholls Medal Brownlow Medal lists Norm Smith Medal lists Coleman Medal lists Mark of the Year winners Goal Of The Year winners Michael Tuck Medalists Leigh Matthews Trophy winners National Team Representatives (since 2005) Grand Final Sprint CLUB RECORDS Premierships :See Carlton Football Club Premierships Finishing positions (1897-2007)
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