{"id":665854,"date":"2026-05-12T11:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665854\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T11:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:08:11","slug":"carlton-blues-lasting-lack-of-success-behind-michael-voss-departure-seven-coaches-in-19-years-game-plan-not-adapting-with-modern-era-reactions-afl-360-gerard-whateley-opinion-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665854\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlton Blues lasting lack of success behind Michael Voss departure, seven coaches in 19 years, game plan not adapting with modern era, reactions, AFL 360, Gerard Whateley, opinion, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the wake of Michael Voss\u2019 departure as Carlton head coach on Tuesday,<\/a> questions are emerging thick and fast over whether the Blues fully understand what sustained success looks like in the modern AFL era.<\/p>\n

Just hours after Voss officially stepped aside on Tuesday morning following the club\u2019s horror 1-8 start to the season, AFL 360 host Gerard Whateley believes the Blues\u2019 issues extend well beyond Voss, pointing towards the club\u2019s repeated cycle of instability as to why they have \u201cno idea how to be successful\u201d.<\/p>\n

Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Speaking to Fox Footy on Tuesday night, the veteran broadcaster argued the Blues\u2019 inability to evolve with the modern game was what ultimately worked against the mastermind during his reign, but the club\u2019s lack of success is embedded far, far deeper than his reign at the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bigger picture of the Voss reign, is the game moved away from Carlton \u2014 and he didn\u2019t see it. He certainly didn\u2019t coach it, they strategically didn\u2019t plan for it,\u201d Whateley said on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis reign is quite remarkable when you go back and review it. In 2022, they played this \u2018popcorn\u2019 footy, it was glorious to watch and it was a bit mad-cat. They missed the finals almost on the last kick of the season, when (Collingwood\u2019s) Jamie Elliott put it through.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next year, they\u2019re terrible for the first half \u2014 genuinely terrible \u2014 and then somehow or another, string together nine wins, two of the great finals victories that the club has seen, and then lead Brisbane by five goals in a preliminary final.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, they get to Round 17 the following year. They\u2019re second on the ladder, and a lot of people have them as premiership favourites. They lead the Giants by 33 points at quarter time, and then they\u2019re never seen again.<\/a> The collapse is complete. Straight down the chasm, and that is what leads us to where we are today at 1-8.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE COVERAGE:<\/p>\n

\u2018NEEDED A CIRCUIT-BREAKER\u2019: Blues explain Voss call as \u2018pivotal\u2019 exit detail revealed<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018CAREER SUICIDE\u2019: Brutal verdict on Blues coaching vacancy, list changes in call for radical move<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018HOPING FOR A MIRACLE\u2019: Blues chief\u2019s bold Voss claim, cagey response as second domino falls<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018DECENT ENOUGH RUNWAY\u2019: Wright\u2019s bold Voss claim… and calculated response to rebuild question<\/a><\/p>\n

23BLUES COACH CANDIDATES: Flag-winners, wildcards and emerging stars ready to be unleashed<\/a><\/p>\n

Whateley also questioned Carlton\u2019s long-term cycle of instability, declaring the club\u2019s repeated coaching changes over the last two decades pointed towards a much deeper issue than the man in the hot seat.<\/p>\n

The Blues have now moved on seven senior coaches since the start of 2003, with Voss becoming the latest casualty in a club history littered with abrupt resets and failed rebuilds.<\/p>\n

How it happened: Voss leaves Carlton | 05:01<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have tried every genre of coach. They bring them in, each new administration comes with their choice, all the hope that goes with it and then the collapse in whatever (2-5 year) cycle,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarlton\u2019s long suit is sacking coaches. And the whole conversation around Carlton I think during this period of time has just been \u2018sack the coach\u2019. And it probably owes to a hangover of a ruthless era of (Robert) Walls, (David) Parkin in and out of jobs when they were a successful team in a different era. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat it speaks to, is a club that has no idea how to be successful in the modern era. To give you the genre of these coaches, they\u2019ve tried them all … (and) they have shot every one of them off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re still living in an era where John Elliott used to \u2018hire \u2018em and fire \u2018em!\u201d<\/p>\n

CARLTON COACHES<\/p>\n

2003-07 \u2014 Denis Pagan<\/p>\n

2007-12 \u2014 Brett Ratten<\/p>\n

2013-15 \u2014 Mick Malthouse<\/p>\n

2015 \u2014 John Barker<\/p>\n

2016-19 \u2014 Brendan Bolton<\/p>\n

2019-2021 \u2014 David Teague<\/p>\n

2022-26 \u2014 Michael Voss<\/p>\n

Potential Voss replacements at Carlton | 02:24<\/p>\n

Fraser, who joined Carlton in September last season as an assistant coach, will now take the reins in an interim capacity for the remainder of the year, with the Blues expected to begin a thorough search for their next senior coach in the near future<\/p>\n

The club\u2019s immediate challenge however remains salvaging a season that has rapidly spiralled, with pressure now set to intensify on both the playing group and football department after a disastrous 1-8 start to 2026.<\/p>\n

A second domino has already fallen on Tuesday, with well-recognised list manager Nick Austin also departing the club \u201cin order to allow the club to continue through its current period of transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the outside looking in, Melbourne captain Max Gawn initially felt that Voss\u2019 sacking came a touch early, pointing towards the daunting task now at hand with interim coach Josh Fraser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s premature (the resignation) \u2014 15 weeks for an interim coach is a long time,\u201d Gawn told Triple M Melbourne\u2019s Mick in the Morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be worried if I was a captain with an interim coach for 15 weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big job for \u2018Crippa\u2019. He\u2019s had a mountain of work over the last five, six years, and he\u2019s got another big one now to keep everything going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cripps breaks silence after Voss exit | 02:47<\/p>\n

Speculation around the future of skipper Patrick Cripps will now only be amplified, despite being contracted to Ikon Park until the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

Speaking to media doorstopping at their club\u2019s home base on Tuesday morning, the 31-year-old played a straight bat when quizzed on his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMate I am contracted until next year, like I said before I am really committed in terms of this season, I\u2019m not just going to wave the white flag and waste the year,\u201d Cripps said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of footy to play out this year, so the privilege to play any game of AFL is a massive honour, there\u2019s so many people in the world that would love to play any game of footy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat never gets lost for me, and especially for this footy club. So I am going keep doing what I have done for the last six to eight years, wear this jersey with pride and go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the wake of Michael Voss\u2019 departure as Carlton head coach on Tuesday, questions are emerging thick and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,24164,64,63,55,639,321527,3239,13665,40820,321082,252575,321531,40816,321420,236652,15915,667,1127,18664,61,54980,216729,6086,36878,321529,321526,168801,96906,12097,3257,38700,321530,72243,7800,19095,38381,321378,43964,321528,30907,85,51,321525],"class_list":["post-665854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-assistant-coach","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-brendan-bolton","tag-carlton-blues","tag-club-history","tag-coaching-vacancy","tag-david-teague","tag-denis-pagan","tag-domino-falls","tag-emerging-stars-ready","tag-exit-detail","tag-finals-victories","tag-football-department","tag-footy-club","tag-fox-footy","tag-game-plan","tag-gerard-whateley","tag-head-coaches","tag-interim-capacity","tag-interim-coach","tag-jamie-elliott","tag-john-barker","tag-john-elliott","tag-josh-fraser","tag-list-changes","tag-max-gawn","tag-michael-voss","tag-modern-era","tag-news-look","tag-nick-austin","tag-patrick-cripps","tag-preliminary-final","tag-premiership-favourites","tag-radical-move","tag-rich-history","tag-right-coaches","tag-senior-coaches","tag-sports","tag-veteran-broadcaster","tag-well-recognised-list-manager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}