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61
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by kruddler -
@Lods...
To paraphrase Malthouse - The 22 blokes in the team love you. The 23rd bloke hates you.

Every coach has its detractors. IF that has anything to do with the reason any of them left.....maybe Kennedy aside.....but maybe we needed to mix it up and he was 4th banana.....and oldest behind Cripps.

So i wouldn't put too much stock in 'the coach has lost the players' cliche.

Plenty of other players could've left, but haven't.
62
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by Lods -
I'll preface this by saying I think we'll improve our ladder position next year and I think as a result Voss may be offered a new contract.

The reality though is that if we were to say finish bottom 4 how could the club possibly justify re-contracting him.

You can get away with one year, and a shocking run with injuries.
You can probably get away with a second year of injuries and turmoil.
I'm not sure you get away with a third year, especially if the bottom drops out of the place.

Yes, we've lost key players but as has been pointed out often, their 2025 seasons all presented with issues that saw them at less than their best.

Curnow's departure has been seen as due in part to his injury situation being mis-managed, and being forced to play against better judgement.
Who is responsible for that?
What was the issue with Silvagni.
Was he fully on-board with the club's on-field direction.
Kennedy's departure the year before has been attributed to a conflict of sorts with Voss.
The overall tone of the place last year, seemed to be a team with divisions.
And while not totally responsible, the coach surely has some impact on team unity and getting everyone on the same page.

It's pretty apparent that Voss may not be everyone's cup of tea.
The hope is that the players reamaining do have a bit of respect for his approach, and understanding of the direction Voss has for 2026, and we see good, consistent efforts.
Even a mid-table finish may be enough if there is enough positivity, and improvement in many players.
But if it goes pear shaped (bottom 4) the ending will be pretty predictable...and pretty much the right one.
64
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by kruddler -

Certainly not out of the question.

Best way to look at that is who will be worse than us?

From the bottom 3 last year...
Both Tigers and North are predicted to rise.
Eagles, less so.

Who will drop?

Melbourne seem to be on the slide as much as us.
Maybe Essendon, but i'm sure they think they are top 4.

Definitely possible. More possible than most will admit.
Missing finals will be the end of Vossy.

Quite possibly....and thats probably unfair since he lost a lot of talent in the offseason.

But, no point saving him if we haven't got a better coach to replace him.

Based on our previous coaching appointments, I'm not sure 'who' or more accurately, 'what' type we would be targetting.
We've had the favourite son.
We've had the messiah.
We've had the young up and comer.
We've had the players favourite.
We've had the redemption after an extended apprenticeship.

Whats left?

Playing coach??
Get Daisy Pearce or Erin Phillips???
65
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by PaulP -
I think it's also worth mentioning that the off field appointments outside the coach can make a real difference. I don't wish to start another Neil Balme discussion (we've had plenty of those), merely to point out that we can see in cases like Richmond and Adelaide, sometimes these types can give a nudge in the right direction that make a big difference. Hopefully Wright or Davies (or both) can fulfill that Balme-type role for us.
66
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by cookie2 -
Not clear to me yet where we’re likely to end up as l’m not clear on exactly what was at the root of our problems last year and whether or not we’ve effectively addressed them.
I’m running on hope for this year that we could make finals. We’ll get a better idea soon enough.
67
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by shawny -
13th -15th i picked but i think the lower end of that scale as long as we get an ok run with injuries.

For example lose the likes of both Harry and Weiters for an extended period and apart from WC i cant see us beating anyone

Reckon Port, Melb and St kilda will all jump over us this year while Richmond and North will be closer to us as well - remembering both those 2 bottom teams beat us last year when our side was on paper stronger and both their lists are still young and building so both of their natural improvement will make beating them harder this year.

Voss will quit by mid season - nothing surer. Pressure will be too much with the wins column going backwards again from last year - Horse will be the new messiah. Lock it in
68
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by ElwoodBlues1 -
10-12 Finish in 2026
Voss not recontracted.
Simpson the new coach, who then leads us to the bottom four and another rebuild from the ground up before he is sacked after two years and gets another McDonalds franchise with the payout.
69
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by Lods -
I think it's important to remember that were the results to go poorly next year that we wouldn't be 'sacking' Voss.
We just wouldn't be extending his contract.
It's a subtle difference.
But it plays into the  narrative that we "honoured the contract" until the end.

Now if we are to extend him, it's doubtful it would be for just a single year.
Because that shows little faith in the coach.
It would need to be a multi-year deal.

So from that point of view our finishing position is important for Voss's future.
A bottom four finish would have him at long odds to be re-contracted.
It get's harder for the club to let him go the higher the ladder finishing postion.

There is an unknown factor here.
Has someone been spoken to about the position for 2027 and said, yes, but they need a year off in 2026, or stated that they will wait to make  decision when the position becomes vacant,

70
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Where will Carlton finish?
Last post by PaulP -
You might be right but it’s back to the ol merry go round isn’t it ?
Given the instability is it “right” to judge Voss on finals…?
I’d say not but I’m not loud and vocal.

One hopes that if it gets to that point, then Davies, Wright et al are able to correctly identify the issues, able to identify if there are deficiencies in Voss' coaching, and are able to determine whether those issues are rectifiable in a sensible time frame, or whether they're not. Not just capitulation to external pressures, change for change's sake etc. The club has for too long worn the "impatient" label like a badge of honor, and not the delusional, revisionist nonsense that it really is.