Carlton Football Club: Rising Doubts

I'm not going to sit around and pretend that everything is going as it should, because the truth is staring me in the face. Carlton Football Club remains in shambles. I mean to think the blues are already the worst of the 21st century and are still looking to disappoint. Honestly, it's baffling. How low can a professional sporting club get? There is no need for answers because Carlton are always there for the demonstration. They just love to find new ways in torturing people, myself included. I was born after the last flag. Never experienced a preliminary final. I have seen numerous wooden spoons and am on the verge of forgetting the feeling of victory. I know something is not right, and it only took four rounds of predictable results for me to work it out. No surprises here, as it is nearly everybody's go-to reason for a clubs on-field woes. It's the coach. It has always been the coach. Allow me to gladly share why that is.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but my view of the new rules of the game share indestructible links with Carlton's contentious approaches over the past few years. There is no disagreeing with the desire of Australia's number one sport being a solidly built spectacle. There is no disagreeing with the desire of each and every participating football club meeting both entertaining and competitive standards. Rules such as the new devil format (6-6-6) before every bounce allows for an ever-so-pleasing expanse of grass to make way for ultimate creativity. A rule to open scoring opportunities and have stars shine brighter than ever before. Some teams have benefited and some teams are still in the adjustment phase. But judging from the actions, it just seems that my dear Carlton Football Club is holding back like they're in desperate search for the ideal loophole. They still have a firm grip of the one thing the AFL is trying to take away from them.

It was sort of the case to begin with. The league brought in the new rules because of Carlton. They wanted to try and open the game up because of Carlton. The blues are everything the game stands against. The slow passages of play. The hesitation to push forward. The under 10's skill level. It's why the blues are considered the joke of the competition. The ultimate laughing stock. The best example of boring and lifeless football. Practically a one-man team with Patrick Cripps playing God, handed every single responsibility. It goes as far as me saying that if this was Gold Coast in our position, they could likely be disbanded (or perhaps propped up more by the league). Then again, maybe not. Whatever it is, I sure as heck know Gillon McLachlan and the AFL don't tolerate it. This might offend plenty of readers but if I could liken Carlton to anything at the moment, it would be a virus. They are displaying themselves as something the league is trying to completely eradicate.

The blues game plan under Brendan Bolton is one that has become much foggier over time. The overall framework however is as clear as day, and it can be said that not many are rushing to throw their support towards this. From the top, I admitted of my dying anticipation to follow my team's progress. How my excitement levels haven't been the same since year one. It all lies in Carlton's procedure walking into battle, and the numbers show. Not only have the blues failed to score 100+ points since round 11 of 2016, they have also failed to score 80+ points since Round 7 last year. Adding to this is a slight decrease in scoring opportunities, with their inside 50's and forward pressure rate having decreased from last year between these four matches. The differentials in both ball-use and efficiency have also gone backwards by small percentages. Not to mention the absence of a plan B, as Carlton continue to proceed with predictable passages of play (this was easy to pick up on during the match against Sydney). This club says it wants to win and score big, but the fixed and frequent efforts suggest it's more of a lie to the face. The blues as a whole are rather showing they are apathetic towards victory.

Now before one can jump to the conclusion that suggests tanking, I'll be quick to rebut with such actions as sacrificing a potential number one pick for a young, big-bodied midfielder at pick 19 and another relatively lower draft pick. The old Carlton Football Club would never have taken such a risk. Along with this decision followed reasons of faith and belief in the current process. It's an action I still applaud to this day, and I see it as a sign of hunger and determination for better results. So it practically rules out the idea of intentional losses. Besides, one can see how disheartened and frustrated a few of the players are at the moment. There are however lines in-between that tell the narrative of how Carlton's actions significantly differ from their words. Little do people know, that this problem has hung around for quite a while since Bolton took the position. Yes, I am alluding to the coach and the coaching department because that is where I believe the majority of the problem lies. 

Brendon Bolton is without doubt, a man of great joy. A man of ethics. Someone with strong connections and great knowledge of human welfare, even with little to no experience in the field of psychology. Bolton is the sort of person one looks to for both inspiration and a glimpse of the greater picture. But that is where it stops. When it comes to the inner game and performance, this coach holds barely any advantages. He lacks both the vigour and the aggression to get the best out of his group. His messages come without any clear meaning. From what I've heard about his relationship with the playing group, it has been more about connecting with the men rather than the footy side of them. With everything going awry, Bolts doesn't seem to have the right solutions. There isn't any back-up plan in place. Once the team are tangled up in their own cords, that's it. Doom is written on the wall. In the current position, the coach and the players are unfortunately not a match.

Behind every system lies a catalyst or two. In this case, many wouldn't be wrong to point their fingers at the coach. I am not one to immediately join the resistance when things suddenly go wrong. But given the unchanging position and worsening state of the club's on-field execution, my fidelity is slowly fading away without surprise. Now more than ever, I am beginning to doubt whether Bolton is the right person to take Carlton forward. A coach with a knack for clichés and mixed messages. A coach with a heavy reliance on a defensive-minded plan the players can't connect with. A coach with a measly winning percentage of 21. Usually there are times when I can search for issues that surround the man in charge and bring them to attention. This time however, there isn't much I can see. In regards to the playing group, I maintain belief that this playing group with the right system in place can impress like any other team (especially those in similar stages such as Brisbane, Gold Coast and St. Kilda). That with the right system, they would at least have a win or two already. But the fact is they don't, and it doesn't look like there is another win coming anytime soon. There is just no nexus between this group of talented players and the approach to the game they've been handed.

Many are saying it. From regular viewers to footy gurus. The talent of the Carlton list is there. The potential of the Carlton list is there. This team has the capabilities of producing admirable and exciting football. Much to the point where there nearly are no excuses for ongoing disappointment, and any brought forward can be thrown out. The Western Bulldogs fought all the way to 2016 glory with a younger list. The punished Essendon team of the same year, was able to take it up to most sides with a few state league top-ups. The Gold Coast Suns have made good out of very little so far this year. The Brisbane Lions overcame greater problems in list maintenance and now show promise through an exciting and free-flowing brand. If these clubs can overcome tougher situations and deliver satisfactory performances, then it only makes for my team to look even more ridiculous now given what is taking place. Most of these men are nothing like what they are showing. Sam Walsh isn't a turnover merchant with a disposal efficiency rate in the 50's. Michael Gibbons isn't a fumbling, non-existent small forward. And Harry McKay wouldn't sit on just five goals from three games if he were in any other side. They are in ways under-performing because it's Carlton, and Carlton is persisting with a game style unfitting for most of its players.

Unlike the rest of the competition which have the capacity to run, take the game on and keep in touch with the play, the blues are only ever attempting with failure to do so whilst Bolton keeps hold of a highly defensive foundation. The players have had their brains wired to deliver slow footy with minimal risk, chip-kicking around the back and entering the forward fifty at the last second when the opposition is well and truly prepared to counter attack. Adding to this is the zoning method, where players rotate on their opponents on a frequent basis which for Carlton is unsuitable with the poor level of communication. Blues defenders as a result of this have easily been exposed over the past year, and the team has been the victim of multiple hidings from opponents (including three 100+ losing margins). The game plan overall is basically a hybrid, and one that has come with a heavy price.

Players have had their ability to think slowed down to the point where any attempt to play quick will see them prone to more errors. The balance of speed and control of the ball has been lost among a few of the boys, as they struggle with their disposal efficiency. The game plan has also seen the team fail to create space and too few are left with heavier workloads including Patrick Cripps in the middle as well as the entire backline. Not to forget forwards are left having to regularly produce miracles (e.g. all of Charlie Curnow, Mitch McGovern and Harry McKay expected to take regular pack marks from hack entries). This brand of footy is why some players like Jarrod Garlett and Cameron Polson deliver below-average performances and are lambasted for them. They aren't given the proper time and space to use the ball effectively and both the level of confusion and lack of communication sees them fail to occasionally provide the necessary pressure to their opponents. These sort of small pacey players aren't suited to such restrictive methods.

All of this stems from Bolton and his team of coaches. They are merely toddlers hugging a lolly jar, not knowing how much is enough. As the league desperately seeks the competitive factor to bring in the crowd, only Bolton's blues wish to push them away. I mean sure, most of the games so far this year haven't been exactly high-scoring. But it's never fun knowing we're getting it from the same culprits. This inept, snail-paced football has already been injected into the blood of all at Ikon Park. Members and supporters are discontent and the media are too starting to see right through every smile. To rub salt into the wound, Bolton is one of the only students turned senior coaches under Alastair Clarkson to show no clear sign of direction. Luke Beveridge, Damien Hardwick and Adam Simpson would succeed their former master with flags through exciting aggression. Leon Cameron is praised for his sustainability and Chris Fagan has the Lions loving their footy. The navy blues unlike the rest of the league, are prisoners of their own hype. They've failed to notice the ball and chain around their ankles. They have been engineered to accept mediocrity and bring forth unskillful displays.

It wasn't that long ago, I trusted Bolts. I gave him the leniency and time to prove that he knew what he was doing. But in the space of a few weeks, the sudden thought hit me. A team with arguably so much talent, cannot possibly be this atrocious. They cannot possibly be making these sort of horrid choices. The insanely bad structure. The little co-ordination. The abuse of the basic fundamentals. All for just 15 wins over 70 matches, and very little promise breaking through. With the younger crop, it's only Charlie Curnow and Zac Fisher impressing one year, then it's just Sam Walsh (with his natural talent) and Jacob Weitering in the other. Whether fans like it or not, the question marks over development are there. These players are tradesmen with the wrong tools. Barbers with blunt scissors. Carlton undeniably has a coaching problem. Bolton doesn't present himself like a coach. As his resume would suggest, his status of moral educator completely overshadows his supposed experience as a game strategist.

Once again, I do feel the need to reiterate the message of the club's attitude. Nothing has changed from when I last mentioned it. The Carlton of 2019 isn't anything like the Carlton from around ten years ago. Throughout that period, fans were behind a club buoyant through the dodgiest of systems. A club with a hierarchy (or pecking order) resembling those of medieval periods. Sort of a 'rich get richer' regime, where those with greater assets get excessive praise, and the henchmen remain what they are. It was a team still somewhat tainted by old habits. The same ones that saw them breach the salary cap. Thankfully these ugly visions were destroyed. But there was one thing the blues had then which they don't have now, and that's the drive. The ability to compete and become one with the competition. Since the sacking of Mick Malthouse, I have failed to see much of this. Just when I think there's bound to be improvement, Carlton do everything they can not to show it. It's nothing but pure stagnation, with a hint of delivering greater displeasure.

Believe me, I don't wish to sound all negative. And I wouldn't if these standards were just for a season or two. But Carlton is on the verge of obtaining yet another wooden spoon, to make it 6 in 18 years (a third of them). On top of this, comes little promise moving forward under Bolton. One can't really sugar-coat this stuff. The club is in its third trough, only ever looking to dig deeper in. When a club experiences a situation such as this 2-point loss against the suns (a team which may I add, was meant to be much worse compared to the blues) after a huge series of defeats, action has to be taken. Players have to be criticised and others have to be dropped. The system needs to be pulled apart. And most importantly, the coach needs to be put under the pump. I've never felt as deflated about my team as I do right now. It's draining my passion and it's killing me inside. it means so much for me to see my team up and about, but such an idea has become a stranger. I can handle losing but I won't ever handle a losing culture. And with Bolts, that isn't looking to change. So I say maybe it's time for a new man at the helm.

Travis "TJ" James