Carlton Supporters Club

Gold Coast are at best an average team with a standout tall forward. They didn't win, we lost.

Every missed kick, every poor hand pass, every fumble when not under pressure, every missed tackle and every player who didn't push hard both ways was a nail in our own coffin.

I think that may be where some of us get a bit anxious.
We've been sold this slow rebuild that when it bears fruit will see us with a sustained period of success.
Problem is there are no guarantees....and we'll soon get envious of the sides that shoot past us and wonder why we cant do the same.

Two things.

1.  We were dead last with a better team on the field three years ago.

2.  These guys essentially have built this side that beat us from 2011 onwards.   They have one of the games premier key forwards in his peak,  a raft of talent all between 50-150 games with a couple of elders in the 200+ club and played about 4 players that were essentially newbies.   Of those 4 players only two are relatively new to AFL with one of them being nick Holman.

They didn't go past us recently.   They have a serious coach for the first time in their lives and they are hot to trot.  We thought we went past them last year but the reality is we went backwards with the trading of Gibbs and when Charlie and cripps are 100-150 gamers that's when we will be where the Gold Coast is at yesterday. 

Reality gives you a smack in the face sometimes.   I think too many have been reading fly boys posts and had too large an expectation on this season because they think blokes that have shown a little bit are going to be seasoned performers.  In reality it takes seventy games to show someone's stuff and our first year rebuild players like weitering and Curnow are only just starting to approach fifty games.

Could be worse, we could be the Bulldogs..lol. Something isn't right there.

1.  Gold Coast might turn out a much better side than anyone thinks they are this year.  They have good key position players in good form and have enough players around the ground that are 100 games or thereabouts to touch us up. 

Bolton is a good educator of young players but a inexperienced match day coach and tactician IMO....also he seems to trouble learning from previous defeats....this game was a repeat of last years GC game at Etihad. It was the Lynch show and nothing changed, GC ran the same game plans they did then, clear out the forward line and have Lynch one on one with his opponent. We had no second player to help and if ever there was a time to play an extra player back it was yesterday.

Fair call. Also means we are still at least 3-4 years from being competitive?

As has been pointed out previously, Bolton has had as much time with the list as what Malthouse had. Arguably, he's had a lot more support behind him too.

I call crap.

Malthouse was given a side on the fringes of the top 8.   A kick away from a Prelim 12 month earlier.  It had Judd, Gibbs, Scotland, Murphy, Waite, Betts, Simpson, Henderson, Kruezer and co.   He was allowed to top up with Thomas.

Bolton was given 4-18 side that had palmed off a lot of it's A grade talent.   Had to trade Gibbs and did so for the long term future of the club.   No way would Malthouse would have traded the long term for the short term.

As disappointing as Saturday was it's ridiculous to compare two.

Reality gives you a smack in the face sometimes.   I think too many have been reading fly boys posts and had too large an expectation on this season because they think blokes that have shown a little bit are going to be seasoned performers.  In reality it takes seventy games to show someone's stuff

You can call crap. The points you raised as to why actually had nothing to do with why the comments were made.

I never suggested Mick showed more improvement than Bolton.
I never suggested the list was in a better/worse state before/after Micks tenure.

Simply drawing the comparisons that both were coach for a similar period and the natives start beating their drums when results don't show an incline.
IMO Bolton has had the whole team behind him, whereas Mick was at least partially hamstrung. He wouldn't have had Murphy as captain for one. Since your captain sets the tone for the whole team, its a significant yet often overlooked issue within the club...and that spans back further than Mick as well.

My only issue with Bolton up to this point in time has been his inability to pick a side that can actually win.

Others have been more scathing in regards to Bolton than that.