What’s the fix?

“THOSE who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” So said writer philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist George Santayana.

Given that he wrote this in the late 19th century would suggest that he probably knew bugger-all about AFL football, but his words are prophetic nonetheless in assessing the Cats’ dismal surrender in yet another finals outing.

The Cats’ inability to perform will ring the odd bell or two around the traps.

Yes another wimping end to our final’s hopes and yet another season where our mighty Pussies fell short and not even at the final hurdle.

As has become the custom, essentially over the past decade, we finished in the last eight.

Three premierships have been our reward but no silverware for the last seven years. So why is it so?

Is it the coach, Chris Scott? Is it the chief executive, Brian Cook? Is it the players, recruiters, assistant coaches or even the boot guys? Well I don’t know, but we need to find out before the next season starts.

The jungle drums are in full voice down at Kardinia Park and Brian Cook (pictured) has announced a thorough review of all things Cat and football.

He’s promised a no-nonsense review with no stone unturned and no feelings spared, just like in 2006.

That gave us two premierships and the solid lead-in to a third, with just a hiccup in 2008.

However, did that review lead to a rambling, grumbling dissatisfied Mark Thompson with his eventual and deceitful exit to Essendon? Do we actually care as he gave us two premierships anyway?

Chris Scott has given us a premiership as well of course, but given that the only absentee from the 2011 side was the moneychasing and captain positionseeking Ablett, many credit him with merely inheriting a championship side who did the job irrespective of who the coach was.

His record since then has been to keep us there and thereabout but not even close to the holy grail which in AFL, is the only measure of success. Football fans are hard to please.

As a devotee of the game but equally with no expert qualification in anything AFL, my observation is we have three problems.

Firstly we have failed to absorb pressure throughout the season and similarly failed to apply

it. Secondly we also seem incapable of playing four quarters with the predictable result. We play catch-up football and just fall short in our endeavou rs. Moral victories possibly, but definitely no four points. Against both Hawthorn and Richmond at the back end of the season, we really only played just one quarter, so imagine a different result if only we had played for two.

Third and tellingly, since Ottens retired, we have been unable to find even a passing resemblance to a ruck-man in seven years of looking.

We need to take a haircut and a la Hawthorn, get rid of the dead wood, whether they be “old faithfuls” or the younger players who quite simply are not going to make it or if either category is holding back development of the “next” generation.

Football is an unforgiving world with little loyalty shown in any direction — players to clubs or clubs to players. I hope the review looks at everything, and by that I mean everything.

How is the board functioning and is it making a positive contribution?

For instance, what was the rationale for giving Scott an extended contract before the end of season or even the finals series was played out?

Brian Cook has been with the club since 1999 and has achieved much in that time including three flags, but is he now in just a little bit too much of a comfort zone, as he contemplates his retirement years? If a review is so important now for Brian, why wasn’t it needed over the past two or three years when the results almost exactly mirrored this season — or was he too preoccupied with lobbying for the top AFL job?

I’ll leave the last word to dear old Einstein: “Insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Geelong, that really describes us over the past seven years, doesn’t it?