Post Game Passion AFL Rd 10: Carlton vs St Kilda

[Vivian]

I make a habit of watching 6 pressers every week, and have done so for a while. No coach in recent memory publicly tears strips off their players. They don't even do a name and shame.

Of course not. No decent manager would. And were Bolton to do so he would lose the players.

Such a young midfield yesterday. Short term it is going to continue to be difficult. The lack of senior leadership is the killer. Ed curnow had 20 touches and was probably in our best, but underwhelming for one of our seniors.  Tough gig this Carlton supporting caper. Must be awful for the club and players

[LP]

Yes, all true, but the head hunters are out in force, and they won't rest until they claim a scalp. And one in particular.

Yes, it's clear the same old same old will rule, Trumps America!

[Micky0]

Even the most ardent supporters of Bolton would acknowledge that 1-9 is a shock - as painful as it is, the joirney that we all expected hasn’t worked. Notwithstanding all is not lost - over the past 4 years we’ve certainly improved the list and the culture. We’re in a far better position today. The club now needs a new set of voices to take the next step - it’s not a rebuild, just a fresh perspective built on the foundations of the past four years. This great club deserves a new coach, a couple of new assistants and probably a new CEO with some corporate credibility (not a membership massager) to revitalise the place.

Agree.  Giving time can’t be infinite. I didn’t even consider going to the game yesterday, and didn’t watch it! This is from a family that used to make every effort to get to every game. I have sat through a lot of painful games including many last year.  We just cannot do it again.  And before anyone says through good times and bad and that we should be ashamed to call ourselves supporters and not even going, we’re 20+ year members.  Our children cry at the thought of going.  Yes they should harden up but reality is, it’s not enjoyable to watch loss after loss after loss year after year.

[LP]

Almost 1/3 of our playing list, and a good portion of our weekly team, are either 1st years or players in their 2nd year blues!

You only need one or two each week who are not competitive and it rips your team apart!

I didn't see one shepherd yesterday, not one shepherd of any value! The Aints followed the Norp blueprint and brought physical pressure knowing full well we'd fold! The problem is recruiting issue!

FFS, SoJ looked like the only player trying to physically pressure the opposition and he can barely keep up with them!

A massive tell is the faces of the players at 1/2-time, go back to the replay and watch them with their line coaches, they look confused, that tells me they are being way over-coached!

[JonHenry]

Yes, all true, but the head hunters are out in force, and they won't rest until they claim a scalp. And one in particular.

The real world works that way, people are accountable.
That said, what time frame would you give Bolton?
Say to get 10 wins in a year.

I would have thought the expectation was we would win 6-8 games this year.

[LP]

It's interesting, fans wanted Simmo back like he was a miracle cure, yesterday he was obviously the disease!

[capcom]

I too would hate any coach naming specific individuals in a post game interview... that's left to internal discussions.

But are we really better?  The ladder position suggests otherwise.

But (and though this was not on Bolton's watch) think of Robinson and Betts still with the club.  We sold ourselves into mediocrity.  Same with Waite despite the fact he's now retired.

This obsession with youth gives us little grounding.  Those clearances for little return or salary cap impact were beyond dumb. 

[JonHenry]

Almost 1/3 of our playing list, and a good portion of our weekly team, are either 1st years or players in their 2nd year blues!

You only need one or two each week who are not competitive and it rips your team apart!

I didn't see one shepherd yesterday, not one shepherd of any value! The Aints followed the Norp blueprint and brought physical pressure knowing full well we'd fold! The problem is recruiting issue!

FFS, SoJ looked like the only player trying to physically pressure the opposition and he can barely keep up with them!

A massive tell is the faces of the players at 1/2-time, go back to the replay and watch them with their line coaches, they look confused, that tells me they are being way over-coached!

We had 4 players in their first or second year at AFL level.
Walsh, Gibbons, Stocker and Dow.

[laj]

Yes, all true, but the head hunters are out in force, and they won't rest until they claim a scalp. And one in particular.

Update: 4 wins from 42, 1-9.

At this point you must admit the head coach need changing. A look yesterday shows he has no idea. He certainly doesn't seem to have the players playing for him. It's at the point now of being able to admit you are wrong.

[PaulP]

The real world works that way, people are accountable.
That said, what time frame would you give Bolton?
Say to get 10 wins in a year.

I would have thought the expectation was we would win 6-8 games this year.

If we stick with Bolton, make some changes to the assistants, and a couple of other things wrt the list, I'd be hoping for 6-8 wins next year, and 10 in 2021.

Yesterday was the first time in ages we flew the flag, and even then it was because we were shamed into it. A cultural shift like that, plus the maturing of the list (not just years in the system, but also games played), cohesion etc. takes time. Also, Bolton has been coaching a brand new list every season.

The Hawks -Ess line in the sand game (R11, 2004) took time to bear fruit - in that game the Hawks still got smacked by 74 points, and finished 2nd last. Next season, they finished 3rd last, and lost by 2 points in R3, then won in R20 by 13 points. And then won the next ?? 9, 10 or whatever it was.

These things take time, a commodity which people simply won't give.

I laugh when I hear Maher saying the word on the street is that Bolton is stubborn. The same set of personal characteristics get different names depending on the success of the person. So Bolton (unsuccessful) is stubborn- Clarkson (successful) is uncompromising.