Don't take offence Suzz , Your one of my faves mate . An independent thinker who doesn't run with the pack . I was not having a crack at you . That bloke Sidey seems very calm and just complimenting him for it . Calmness is very underrated .

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All my dangerous friends

I don't give a shit about winning clearances if we can't kick the bloody thing to a player in the same colour jumper.

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Congratulations CK95

Clearances are important as always but you need structure and setup to be able to kick to open areas and space.

Our forward line has been very congested, so much so, that all defenders gravitate to the one area and our midfield kicks go to contests. People abuse Motlop but he at the very least tries to create space by run and carry. Just can’t get separation because of the congestion.

Our midfield setup around the ground has nothing structured to utilise the outside give. Everyone is pushing into the contest. We need to work with each other on the outside in clearances. You don’t need extreme pace to run the ball with multiple handballs as a unit.

Get these two setups and structures working and you’ll see a difference Cripps, Walsh and Cerra. We need to work as a team with cohesion and as one.

That’s not true, I’ve seen plenty of blame laid on the coaching, just not the senior coach. We’ve sacked most of them now, despite them having had to deal with the same limitations as the senior coach.

For me, the biggest failure has been to address the cultural malaise. Whether you’re talking player entitlement, cohesion or overall standards, that sits with the senior leaders and especially Voss and Cook. I have to wonder what they’ve done across their tenure and why it’s taken Wright to address it.

Correct. Nail on head.

Ps. Des you don’t read my posts or don’t get my sarcasm. Sorry.

Surrey the problem with sarcasm, on the printed page, is that there is no nuance of a smirk or glint in the eye, from which to get emotional pointers from. It is just black and white.

You know you are being sarcastic, but the rest of us just think you are writing your stated take on something. Might I add, that also goes for anyone attempting sarcasm on the Internet.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

C'mon SB, no one is saying that.

You are saying coaching IS the issue.
I assume you have coached football at some sort of level to know this?

What myself and others are saying is we have blamed the coach for 20+ years now and still have not won a premiership.
The probability that it's the coaches that have failed us every-time would be so small it's impossible.

Let's be logical and look at some facts.
We built a list that was pushing for a premiership, they got close in 23, even with a list that most believed were over achieving.
Then we came out strong in 24 before we were smashed with injuries exposing our lack of depth in the list and the need for more durable players.
The club made moves to make the list more durable and the belief in the playing group, club and general public was that we were still in the window and if everyone was fit and firing we could go again.
Seemingly the issue for some in the playing group was that instead of bringing in more ready made players we went to the draft, this obviously effected the mindset of a group of the senior players as Doc alluded to, they wanted a premiership now.
Then before we get to the start of the season we lose Newman a key defender and the kid we went all out for and was the missing piece in the midfield went down with an ACL.
In the first game, we start off with the handball chain game plan but work out very quickly that the players can only do it for a 1/4 and a bit before they run out of steam against faster younger more skilful players.
We then kept with that game plan as this is what is winning games in 2025 and is what exposed us in the back half of 24 hoping it would work itself out, but it didn't, our players weaknesses were exposed.
We also added speed on the ball but it was beyond the skillset of a lot of the players to deliver under that pressure into the F50.
Adding to that the injuries kept piling up, one key forward was rushed back, the other had health issues and our HF was allegedly back on the Venga bus trying to drag players with him.
We lose Cottrell and Kemp early on in the season, Durdin doesn't really get going and our small forward Evans turns out to be a flop for most of the season.
Two of our key mids are managing injuries and never really hit their straps, although Walsh was getting there at the end of the season and our Captain was no where near his usual level.
Then we have senior players dropping their heads because of a combination of the TDK situation (probably JSOS too), mounting injuries, discord about player acquisitions, the Venga bus situation and the fact we are winless until the Eagles game. They lost belief, when 90% of football is played above the shoulders, standards dropped.

To blame this solely on Voss or Cook is ludicrous, you can only do so much as a leader to get buy in but ultimately it is up to the individual.
The club knows this, the players know this, why else would Walsh get up and say you either play for the jumper of you can F off.
GW has come in and seen this with an approach that if you can't change the people, you change the people.
We have changed head coaches more than Bonnie Blue has changed partners and to date that has not worked.
Time for a different approach, the left over players that have had this as an option have now been put on notice, that is cultural change.

We need to address the list issues first, plug the holes for the game plan of today and add depth so injuries do not define us and we can have the next man up option and not rely on key individuals to win games. This will also help with player injury management. e.g. Geelong and Martin injury management approach.
Then we can talk about coaching, game plan and structural deficiencies when they have the right tools to do the job.

Standards are set by coaches, ie. Hardwick at GC.
Voss has had 4 years and it’s taken Wright to pull HIM in line = simple failure.

If only it was that black and white.
You don't think that having a premiership coach come into a club full of depth and talent didn't make players think, now we can do this?
And with the amount of talent they have and the standards Hardwick demands according to you, why didn't they win the premiership.
What about Clarkson, I'm sure he's got pretty high standards?

Given the kind of player Voss was to assume he doesn't have the right standards is beyond ridiculous.
Plus you conveniently forget that when the whole club was working together we got to a prelim, my guess is that the standards would've had to be there.
Your argument has no legs SB, it's just easy pickings to blame Voss.

No, I read them and got the sarcasm, but wanted to add my point of view.

I can only judge Voss by what I’ve seen, and I’ve seen enough across 2 clubs to form a view.

He’s had 200 games as a coach, it’s a fair sample. The player somebody was doesn’t equal the coach they become, Fagan is the current example of that.

Voss has had 4 years, he’ll get his 5th. Then what? The club has retained him, not backed him as that would equate to an extension. It’s not great, no matter what view you have of him as a coach.

You can't just change your standards and there is a reason most coaches are ex AFL players that have had high standards.
I agree, a gun player does not just mean you will be a gun coach as most are selfish, but to say your standards are not transferrable is not correct.
Voss is our most successful coach this century, opinions or not, he has won the most games even with an injury ravaged side for over 12 months.

Just because the club has not extended his contract a year out, doesn't mean anything.
By that logic Walsh, Saad, Lord, both Campos, Durdin, Wilson, Newman, Williams, etc are also gone next year.
And the club has not retained him, GW came out and backed him as head coach going into 2026.
The rest is just speculation and people trying to prove their biases.

The same GW.









https://www.sen.com.au/news/2025/08/12/why-new-carlton-ceo-wright-stuck-by-voss

Voss has also had the best assets of any coach this century, with the exception of Parkin/Britain in 2000/2001.

What would Teague’s record have been if he’d had access to prime Curnow? Did you advocate for his retention (genuine question, I can’t recall)?

I’ve accepted Voss’ shortcomings with regard to tactics, but he’s been there while players have been indulged, and that’s a standard that can’t be accepted. There’s also been a lack of connection and cohesion between players and the broader coaching group.

If you don’t see these as issues, or hold him accountable to them, then we’re just going to continue to disagree.

That is not true.
We had Judd, the mosquito fleet, Fevola, Murphy, Gibbs, Walker, Simpson, Kreuzer, Doc, Waite etc all playing together.
That was a pretty insane list, that list would've flogged Voss's list.
Like Voss, Ratten should've been given the time to see what he could do.

Teague should not have been head coach in the first place either, that was a knee jerk reaction from the club, Bolton should've been able to see the list re-build through.
I doubt any team this century has had as many coaches as we have had, that should tell you something.

I agree with his short comings regarding tactics but I also believe that maybe with better options that will change, Fagan as an example.
As far as players being indulged, that would only be a couple and most if not all football clubs have to deal with this, just look at how Bailey is going down at Geelong, he's creating quite a problem already according to reports. To say the head coach is accepting that is to know what is happening inside the 4 walls and most of us don't.
As for the connection and cohesion, I suggest you read my other post.
I have quite clearly stated that blaming this on 2 people is ridiculous and frankly a bit narrow minded, it is bigger than that.
Sorry for being blunt but you need to accept the facts, the club wants Voss, they have backed him and the players have too.
That is what is happening and will be happening next season.
Time to get behind him and the club, even if it is with grit teeth waiting for an 'I told you so" moment.

Last in kicking efficiency by a big space.

If every kick has someone at the beginning and the end, it takes both of them to drive the metric down to where we were.

This isn’t a simple case of failure having just one father.

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

I agree and the club does too.
New players, new coaches and new football boss.
It takes more than one cog to turn a wheel.

I think the current 2023 list was better, but take your point, that list was pretty good too.

Agree on Ratten.

Britain was shafted by Elliot, knowing what was to come from the cap penalties and wanting to keep power.

Pagan probably had a fair crack.

Ratten should have stayed on.

Malthouse was just a stupid decision.

Bolton was the sacrificial lamb, I liked him but it was as only ever going to end one way.

If Voss deserves better support same should be said for Teague. The list was still young and developing, we’ll never know. Teague’s gameplan probably resembles the current system more so than how we play now.

As for ‘I told you so’ I’d rather you say that than me.

I guess we’ll see if the club and players back Voss, at this point it’s just words, and I’ve heard enough of them from the club to be sceptical.

Pretty much agree with most of that.

Yeah, let's hope we have a great year.
I just want to see more wins, happy to start with that.

There was a failed Richmond board challenge at the end of 2016 and Hardwick was gonna get sakced (his 7th year at Richmond). I guess he was just a bit slow at setting his standards.

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Like Dimma, Fagan won his first flag in his 8th year as a senior coach.

I don't know if Voss is the answer or not, to be frank, none of us really do. But if people are going to compare him against the likes of Hardwick and Fagan, can we at least acknowledge that a) none of them were overnight success stories and b) all of them faced real threats to their job before winning a flag.

We can all cherry pick stats, they don't really mean all that much. I mean there has never been a premiership coach with the surname Voss, It's worse than that too, I'm afraid, no coach with a surname starting with V has ever won a flag. And in the entire history of the VFL/AFL there's only been one premiership coach named Michael, and even he calls himself Mick. So, y'know, what are we @#$%&! thinking?!

Voss is our coach going forward. Going into 2026, for the first time perhaps, he's going to have support around him that's been shaped to do just that, support Michael Voss. Sure, there might be some assistants that were here before him, but I think Voss will be the only person in the footy dept doing the same role next year.

We probably all have some doubts over his ability to do the job, but he's here, and that's not changing before the start of next season. Let's get behind him and back him in.
Time will tell if we're just moving deck chairs on the titanic, or if it was finally what he's needed all along.

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