Michael Voss is both fortunate and cursed to live in these strange times, when fans have more outlets for their anger – and more reason to be aggrieved if they follow Carlton – but when his club is wedded to a more sober response.
Carlton’s options for repairs, at round 16, are pretty limited.
They can’t sack Voss. Not now, despite what a portion of their enraged fan base craves.
Michael Voss, Patrick Cripps of the Blues pre-game.Credit: AFL Photos
If the coach is to be moved on, it should not happen until the end of the season. They are not in competition with another club, at this point, for the services of a new coach – be it a proven premiership coach, like John Longmire, or the best credentialled assistant who suits club needs.
Voss’s Blues have six wins from 14 games and are 10th on the ladder. Had they beaten North, they would be 7-7, with Port Adelaide coming; finals would be still less than likely, but they would be reachable.
Further, another mid-season coach sacking inflicts reputational damage on the Blues, a reality that the hanging fans don’t seem to get. Either that or their rage is such that they dismiss that as a consideration.
Once, sacking the coach – or another sacrificial lamb – might have sated the odd beer, pub or cardboard baron’s lust for change, but it will not change the reality that the Blues don’t have enough cattle to beat the best teams. Not consistently.
On Monday, the Blues declined to make public their private support for Voss, save for Patrick Cripps’ off-the-cuff comments.
They did not wish to talk about Voss’s position, on the grounds that it did not serve anyone’s interests – least of all the coach’s – to do so. But privately, the message was that the hierarchy had not even discussed Voss’s position – he was coaching on, and they would not respond to external noise.
Voss has a contract for 2026, but this wouldn’t necessarily be his salvation if Graham Wright, the incoming CEO who has been reviewing the club’s football operations, decided Voss wasn’t the right man to coach next year.
Carlton’s loss to North Melbourne prompted some booing from fans. But the result, while a genuine upset, wasn’t so shocking when you examine the weeds of each team’s personnel and fitness.
No one in a decision-making position at Carlton would argue with the proposition that the Blues rely heavily – even excessively – on their top six stars.
Of that super six, Sam Walsh and Harry McKay were missing (and have had star-crossed seasons), Charlie Curnow has been hampered (and had surgeries pre-season) and wasn’t at his bounding best, and Jacob Weitering hurt his ankle early. Cripps, perhaps under the weight of carrying the midfield as if it was a boulder, has been well below his Olympian standards.
The Blues lack for quick and reliable small forwards, despite owning about eight of them, and also for repeat speed runners of the Max Holmes kind. Or a smooth mover such as Hugh McCluggage. Who wouldn’t want one like him?
Wright has been up to his neck in list management. By this stage, he will be well versed in their weaknesses and examining the list holes, seeking creative ways to improve a list that also is light on for depth.
