Opinion Brendon Bolton

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Coops93 said:
This is the exact same criticism I have of our coaching.

SOS going into midfield worked, but I don't think he went back after his one stint in the 3rd qtr, did he? Goes in, gets 3 clearances, then sent back forward for the rest of the game. Bit harsh. Also would've been good to see Charlie up the field or on the ball. Just didn't try enough, and they rarely do.
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Something has to give. Dow, Walsh, Fisher and SPS looked exhausted yesterday. Obviously we want them to be 15 year midfielders, but the burden on them now is too great.

Reduce their midfield minutes and centre square attendances, get some mature bodies in Kennedy, E. Curnow, Gibbons and even Silvagni and C. Curnow to lessen the load and cop some physical punishment. Heck, Stocker can handle some minutes in there.

The kids are banged up, sure we want them to endure, but at what cost? Brisbane use Robinson and Lyons as punching bags. McCluggage and Berry have been eased into midfield minutes over their young careers.

Can the coaching staff be a bit more sensible with player management as exhaustion kicks in and the young guys become prone to injury? Dow is too important to be getting smashed weekly.
 
thylacine60 said:
I'd have thought half the posters here atm would consider themselves worthy candidates to coach the carlton football club.........
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But only one who could actually do the job. Right, thy? You know what I’m talking about...

Coaches get way too much credit, and way too much blame. There have been, and will always be, coaches who can influence and determine outcomes. But for the most part, teams make coaches, not the other way around.

As for Bolton specifically, I really doubt his instructions are “as we transition from defence to attack, make sure you kick to the opposition”
Or “listen guys, great three and a half quarters. Now take the rest of the day off”
Blaming him for skill errors is like blaming Ronald McDonald for a bad quarter pounder.
Maybe the mental toughness is his responsibility, but does anyone really think he’s not addressing it?!

I’m as frustrated and angry as anyone. But we need to be careful not to be too knee jerk or fickle. Outside of Clarkson or maybe Roos, who would do a better job with our group? And what exactly has Bolton done wrong?
My view is, he’s a quality person, and a very good coach. It’s probably cliche, but the signs are there, and he’ll have it all “clicking” soon. I’d hate for someone else to come in and claim the glory for Bolton’s work.

Granted, we’ve let some winnable games slip, and we’ve looked uncompetitive twice this year. Yes the win loss ratio is testing everyone’s patience. But it’s coming. Anyone who knows anything about footy can see its coming. And Bolton is the man to guide us when it arrives.

He should, and I hope, will be, our next premiership coach.
 
The list is the problem, played a team that on paper should be hot favourite for winning the flag but due to a few floggings away from home aren't, their coach should be under pressure but due to flogging the worst list in the comp with a few players out wont be.

The task is enormously too big with the resources we have, it's going to be 7 years before we have a good list at Carlton and unfortunately this is just year 4.

Very clear our midfield were purely outplayed and that doesn't come down to coaching.

Anyone who thinks we should be winning very much overrates this list.
 

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Coops93 said:
Just to hammer home this point:

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it's a fair point but we are getting absolutely killed in some of the quarters we switch off, it's cost us 2 or 3 wins so far.

I don't think anything good can come of sacking a coach at this point in the season but it goes without saying he needs wins if he is to be there next year. At least 3 or 4 more I reckon. Not saying it's his fault - I think in hindsight the list was cut too hard - but someone has to carry the can in these situations.
 
Was all for Bolton being appointed but we are close the end now. He will be gone at season end in my opinion and maybe some others who had the idea that the Stocker trade was a good idea will be gone too.
 
TheCoach16 said:
But only one who could actually do the job. Right, thy? You know what I’m talking about...

Coaches get way too much credit, and way too much blame. There have been, and will always be, coaches who can influence and determine outcomes. But for the most part, teams make coaches, not the other way around.

As for Bolton specifically, I really doubt his instructions are “as we transition from defence to attack, make sure you kick to the opposition”
Or “listen guys, great three and a half quarters. Now take the rest of the day off”
Blaming him for skill errors is like blaming Ronald McDonald for a bad quarter pounder.
Maybe the mental toughness is his responsibility, but does anyone really think he’s not addressing it?!

I’m as frustrated and angry as anyone. But we need to be careful not to be too knee jerk or fickle. Outside of Clarkson or maybe Roos, who would do a better job with our group? And what exactly has Bolton done wrong?
My view is, he’s a quality person, and a very good coach. It’s probably cliche, but the signs are there, and he’ll have it all “clicking” soon. I’d hate for someone else to come in and claim the glory for Bolton’s work.

Granted, we’ve let some winnable games slip, and we’ve looked uncompetitive twice this year. Yes the win loss ratio is testing everyone’s patience. But it’s coming. Anyone who knows anything about footy can see its coming. And Bolton is the man to guide us when it arrives.

He should, and I hope, will be, our next premiership coach.
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better than this joint deserves at the moment........:thumbsu:
 
Canyouhearthedrums said:
I think this argument ignores the possibility that the two standout horrible performances might actually be a reflection on the coach. The North and Giants games stank of a team not turning up to play. We can of course have a debate about the extent to which that is the coaches fault v us having a young inexperienced team but it's not a binary question. You can accept that the age profile of our team is a cause while also believing that the environment and structure (which the coach is ultiatmely responsible for ) is also problematic.

That's not to say that he should be sacked now because the positives to date FAR outweigh the negatives. It would also be a knee jerk reaction of the kind that tends to set teams backwards.

However, the end of the season may be a different situation if we have more of these performances. The difficulty for us is timing. The end of this year might be too soon to properly judge Bolton and the playing group but equally I'm not sure we can wait another season if there are question marks. Probably stating the obvious but the second half of this year will be huge for Bolton.
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Have always said Bolton is a transitional, developing coach

If he evolves like the group, remains competitive, he stays, if we continue to cop pastings, then Bolton and the club will part ways

I
 
Mr_Plow said:
Something has to give. Dow, Walsh, Fisher and SPS looked exhausted yesterday. Obviously we want them to be 15 year midfielders, but the burden on them now is too great.

Reduce their midfield minutes and centre square attendances, get some mature bodies in Kennedy, E. Curnow, Gibbons and even Silvagni and C. Curnow to lessen the load and cop some physical punishment. Heck, Stocker can handle some minutes in there.

The kids are banged up, sure we want them to endure, but at what cost? Brisbane use Robinson and Lyons as punching bags. McCluggage and Berry have been eased into midfield minutes over their young careers.

Can the coaching staff be a bit more sensible with player management as exhaustion kicks in and the young guys become prone to injury? Dow is too important to be getting smashed weekly.
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I agree, they did look like exhausted on the weekend. I think we played at least 1 kid too many in O'Brien. Kennedy probably should've been the in. Bigger, harder body who at worst could've helped Cripps out. (not to pick of Lachie, just brought him up as he was the in)

I think the staff also needs to accept the Ed Curnow experiment has failed. He isn't a forward. He just isn't. He's an inside mid/tagger. I admire they tried something and have stuck with it, but surely now you realise it's not worked. Time to admit defeat and move on.

You can see the kids getting smashed in the middle and you have a perfectly good big bodied inside mid in the team playing forward pocket. Genius.
 
Broadside said:
it's a fair point but we are getting absolutely killed in some of the quarters we switch off, it's cost us 2 or 3 wins so far.

I don't think anything good can come of sacking a coach at this point in the season but it goes without saying he needs wins if he is to be there next year. At least 3 or 4 more I reckon. Not saying it's his fault - I think in hindsight the list was cut too hard - but someone has to carry the can in these situations.
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Yeah I think that's the point, more or less. We've played roughly as many good qtrs. as West Coast, but our bad qtrs. have been really bad, and that's what's cost us in the end. I don't think that's the coach, I think that's young players switching off for 10 minutes and being caught out.
 
Iamcarlton said:
The Shiel situation baffles me on the one hand we clearly needed and wanted him to add some experience fitness and a little bit of grunt to the midfield .
So there's an admitted ingredient we lack by chasing him so what do we do cut Ed Curnows mid minutes down and refuse to play Kennedy instead prefer to throw underdeveloped mids in the middle .
Did the mindset change once we missed out on Shiel ?
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Couldn’t agree more Kennedy is hard tackling inside mid who blocks and gets hardballs out something stinks with his non selection.
I will admit it partly stems from cognitive bias as my son has number 7 on his back and asks me every game where is Mathew why isn’t playing
Problem is I don’t have an answer they haven’t played him and he was found wanting I guess old fashioned hard footballers aren’t in vogue so why recruit him they gave polson a 4 week with zero impact at iether level starting lose confidence in mc
 
Bolts has a game plan and hes sticking too it.
I don't agree with it because when it fails it looks deplorable.
If he continues to play zones and inexperienced, underside mids he wont have a job next year.

For Gods sake your skipper and best mid is being tagged yet you leave Ed Curnow in the forward line. JSOS is a big body and can pinch hit yet is left to freeze in a forward pocket!
Hell even put Dale Thomas on the ball for 5 mins and give Cripps the feeling that hes being looked after!

I know kids only get experience in the deep end but we don't have enough experience in the middle to guide them.
Kennedy while young is a big body and Ed is mid/tagger and should be played there. GWS tag why cant we??
 

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azlou said:
Couldn’t agree more Kennedy is hard tackling inside mid who blocks and gets hardballs out something stinks with his non selection.
I will admit it partly stems from cognitive bias as my son has number 7 on his back and asks me every game where is Mathew why isn’t playing
Problem is I don’t have an answer they haven’t played him and he was found wanting I guess old fashioned hard footballers aren’t in vogue so why recruit him they gave polson a 4 week with zero impact at iether level starting lose confidence in mc
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Yep its puzzling reckon Kennedys in next week nothing surer .
Then again I was positive Macreadie wouldn't play this week .
 
azlou said:
Couldn’t agree more Kennedy is hard tackling inside mid who blocks and gets hardballs out something stinks with his non selection.
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I absolutely feel the same, it has a similar feeling to McKay not being picked. Then you see the likes of O'Brien and Polson getting picked and you just shake your head. There's clearly different rules for different players and a few coaches pets being picked ahead of others.
 
Have to hand it to Bolton - he's keeping a very strong line on development and a game strategy which is not built purely for wins. In fact, it's built primarily on sustainable success maybe 2-5 years in the future. Gutsy to continue to hold the line on this approach in the circumstances and at a club like Carlton which has traditionally demanded short term success.

Would be a pity for him not to reap the rewards of this investment beyond this year. That would be a poor outcome but I unfortunately believe that it is the most likely outcome given the history of the club. Let's hope the support of Hardwick and Buckley has shown there is a better way.
 
Coops93 said:
Yeah I think that's the point, more or less. We've played roughly as many good qtrs. as West Coast, but our bad qtrs. have been really bad, and that's what's cost us in the end. I don't think that's the coach, I think that's young players switching off for 10 minutes and being caught out.
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a goal without a plan goes to the score review official..........
 
You can't compare Bolton to Hardwick and Buckley. Neither had the issues we have to deal with right now.

Best comparison is Mark Neeld, Matthew Primus, Justin Leppeitsch, Brendan McCartney - all development coaches, who couldnt transition to next coaching phase

Hardwick had linear improvement with 3finals series. 1 poor year prior to premiership.

Buckley had a strong list and mid table performances, where they had strong first half years until injuries derailed second half of year

Both had significant coaching box responsibility and personnel changes, to see GF appearances in subsequent year.

We had our worst year in 150, and made no coaching changes (assistants) to help out bolts with experience and fresh ideas. They added Hamish McIntosh only to coach our experienced ruck division in guessing.

Seriously poor and was called out by me and other posters last year over and over and over.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
 
Alphonse_ said:
but the footy club and decision makers have to stay strong, wait till the end of the season, and then make a calm, rational and methodical review into all aspects of the football department (not just coaching)
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Unfortunately our club has shown ourselves historically to have the patience of a 2 year old, the tolerance of Hitler and the strategic vision of a Gallipoli General. So I am not hopeful that they can hold their nerve. There has very quickly in 3 weeks , developed a sack Bolton narrative in the media and now it is on BF.

I am not a naive person - I get it, AFL is a results driven industry. but we have all been asked to buy into a long term vision primarily by Bolts and SOS and MLG. How the hell can they ask us to do that, and then at the end of 2019 sack the coach and list manager that were simply following orders. SOS has had some successes but I also find that his failures are what is causing results like GWS and North- a lack of mature bodies that can compete physically. If BB is found guilty then we better in fairness sack SOS as well. SOS has failed to land any big fish that were needed to bolster our midfield and his retreads have been average- with the exception of Newman. it cannot be Bolt's fault alone.
 
TBellicious said:
This is a win-loss business.
We are 4 from our last 40
His career record is 17-60 ...

If he can’t turn it around in the second half of the year he just has to be fired. Barker can go with him. That record is indefensible
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I agree...but I wouldn't stop there I would review the role of the president, match committee, CEO, player welfare, player recruitment etc..all of them should be on way out unless there are circumstances that mean they should stay around....but really we all know this is just a merry go round of ineptitude - just hand the keys over to the AFL and see if they can do better.


What is worse from a personal viewpoint is that I don't even get butterflies or anxious about Carlton matches anymore. I expect a defeat, so don't even bother watching it. I only found out about 11pm last night by accident that Carlton lost when I flicked over to a news channel. I feel for the supporters who still have the guts and moral fortitude to still keep watching inept Carlton matches over and over again. They are stronger people than me. I respect that strength. You are the people keeping this club alive and are the heartbeat of the club. Actually that is my dad. He watches all their matches. Well done.


But to be frank, I have stopped watching other matches of AFL as well. In previous years, Carlton's dismal form didn't stop my interest in watching at least one match of another team per week, but this year I realised I don't really want to watch Richmond vs Hawthorn, Geelong vs Collingwood, Essendon vs Port etc...it just doesn't interest me. I look through the list of games each week and think which ones interest me...and invariably I am usually left with none. Actually the Richmond vs Hawthorn game half interested me, but not enough to actually watch it. Football just seems so boring these days, not sure if it is due to Carlton, the wider game style, other factors? or just general fatigue.
 
Kreuuuzeurns said:
Sack Bolton if you like but don’t forget to give him all the credit when it turns around. Has done all the hard work, anyone taking on this list chock full of talent has a much easier job than he did.

I’ll stick by Bolts even after the club makes the inevitable decision. Look at the way he’s pumped games into our youth, especially through the middle. It has never been about the now and it was never a 3 year thing.

Improvement is nice but so is perspective. Essendon lost to that side by 12 goals. They smashed Richmond and beat Geelong at home, and 9 days ago we should have beaten Collingwood. There’s gonna be ups and downs, did anyone expect any less with such a young squad?
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You may think that we go feral on here but I'd suggest you read the Autopsy and Worsfold threads on * board after a loss. we are choirboys compared to them.
 
If we win less than four games this year, he'll be let go. Better coaches have produced better results and been fired themselves, so it's not like he'd be harshly done by.

Also have a feeling SOS and his fellow recruiters will make Bolton a scapegoat if, and when, the number one pick is handed to Adelaide.
 
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