- Joined
- Mar 30, 2018
- Posts
- 4,043
- Reaction score
- 10,781
- AFL Club
- Carlton
The club are fully aware of Voss’s tactical deficiencies … he definitely needs some creative types around him … could not agree more regarding our poor player development we really need to improve in this area big time …He's a good strong personality and leader, he's not going to do what previous coaches have done and hand too much power over to the players. I think he's probably someone who sets good standards with effort and how the game should be played which was evident for a lot of last season, that has not been upheld this season which has more to do with the players than the coach IMO and it something that needs to be resolved with list changes.
I think he takes far too much away from intraclub games and previous seasons. There is a lot going on within our club with how we use and develop players that suggests this. Intraclub games mean nothing and he needs to get his head around that. Sometimes previous seasons mean little as well, players change and improve.
Tactically he's had his ups and downs. The way we defend the ground was poor last season, we just didn't run defensively and defend the corridore well and he fixed a lot of this. Problem is we are lacking in how we defend on the inside with our pressure and how we attack. There's a lot missing offensively.
Back to how we use players, we have very very few players who genuinely have a second position. We don't push for it and don't develop it and in a world with restricted rotations and so much of the game being about speed and pressure around the contests we have fallen behind here. Not enough of our players can go into the midfield, not enough of our midfielders can go into another area. Voss is very poor when it comes to judging players on what they can do and where they can play based on their attributes, he's made some howlers when he's attempted to reposition players into the wrong positions, he's missing a lot of players who could go into other positions that don't.
An example of Voss judging players on previous seasons and intraclub games is Dow. Dow is playing a lot better football than a lot of our cemented in mids. Hewett is a prime example, goes back to the VFL for just 24 possessions whereas Dow has been getting 30-40 possessions and kicks goals when given the chance back there. Dow has also played well when given some very limited opportunity. As a mid he would be better in the team than Hewett, Curnow and probably Kennedy as well. IMO he would at least match Kennedy but he has leg speed so brings something else as well. However because he has failed in intraclub games and previous seasons in some areas he is not getting played. Which shows the problems Voss has as a coach. Rigid thinking. Not being able to move on from his own opinions. When you have these problems players will pick up on it and as a coach you will lose them.
Tactical nonsence with our rotations is the big reason we have failed this season. Early last season we had players suceeding in their secondary positions. Cripps going forward. Docherty, Fisher, Durdin going into middle. DeKoning going forward. Cerra came to us as a midfielder who could go forward and kick a goal. Kennedy used to go forward.
Then there are players who have been developed at Carlton and it's very clear they have been developed at Carlton who have not had a secondary position implemented as part of their development. Dow was being developed in the VFL last season as a mid/forward and he was successful in this but this has been canned, he no longer goes forward in the VFL. Motlop has shown to have the IQ to play mid but it has never been developed. Cripps' brilliance as a forward in the first half of last season has long been forgotten, it just never happens anymore, it's not used as an offensive move when it does, it's used because it's been forced. Hollands who is a phenominal runner has only been developed as a win and has only played wing so far, has not had a secondary position as part of his development, same as Binns. Walsh for all his talents does not have a secondary position. Durdin came to us as a mid who can go forward, has only been developed as a forward apart from some early and successful appearances in the centre last season. Fisher has been left to rot on a forward flank. His footy hasn't been great but only now is he in the VFL learning another position because it's been forced due to form, not due to it being a part of our development program. Cowan so far has only played back pocket. Lemmy's development has been appauling. Someone who came to us as a key forward, defender and part time ruck has been left to rot at full forward in the VFL where he has struggled and only recently has he been given a run in the ruck, again it's been forced after a long period of poor form. Owies has only been developed as a forward.
The choice to not have high rotations, not play players in secondary positions, not develop players in secondary positions comes back to the coach. Player development, that direction it takes comes from the head coach. It's fair and square on Voss that we don't develop our players properly, don't put enough through the middle, don't select the best players in the team and don't use blokes in secondary positions properly.
And yet the good teams they thrive with multi-positional talent. They have good rotations through the centre square. Recent rule changes such as interchange restrictions and the opening up of the game putting a greater emphasis on speed and pressure around the contests means you need heavy rotations through the middle of the ground as to keep those players fresh and playing at a high speed and intensity.
Voss has failed in his abilities to judge players capabilities and to use their attributes to identify what positions and roles they can play. He's been too quick to make judgement on players based on intraclub games and past performances. He has failed to imagine how they new rules would change the game and hence change the makeup and game plan of a successful side. I don't think he's failed as much in the head coaching role, he's been able to be hard but firm but the brains of our operation is not there.
I think you can probably get away with things if you have an extremely good coach and average assistant group. It's better the have an average coach and gun assistant group. I don't think you can get away with it having an average coach and even worse assistant group which we have.
What's Voss doing right and what is he doing wrong.
Defensively we have plugged the holes and we can force sides to go wide and we can defend for our life really well. This is a fairly big tick as we could not do that prior to Voss. However we can not attack. Why? When we run defensively there are two things we need to do, run defensively to defend but setup forward of the ball so that when we win it back, we are positioned to go. We do the latter poorly. When players are streaming back in numbers, those who are lagging behind need to be positioned so that when the turnover happens they are ready to go. Basically, if you can't get back to defend, setup to attack. We have a lot of mids who can't run both ways. Those guys should be given a license to stay forward of the ball and setup our foray forward. When we turn it over we have to wait so long for us to get our positioning right forward of the play, the opposition are always setup to defend. It doesn't work. Run defensively which we do, but while running defensively, think offensively, position for the intercept.
Lack of leg speed. It took a long time for Voss to figure this out. His attempts to fix this have been underwhelming. He can't get his head around the need for speed and tackling in the middle of the ground still. Otherwise Dow would be playing and there would be less Cripps, Hewett, Kennedy. Rotations would be higher. We have intercepting talent and leg speed in defence but it goes to waste as our onball group can't chase and pressure. It's not just lack of speed, it's fatigue management which Voss is no good at. He is the one who has put a stop to rotations and development of secondary positions, it's on him.
Player management issues:
Silvagni - One of the players who does play multiple positions but only because we have been forced to do so. What's it done? It means he as an average talent has been able to have a good long career and have plenty of influence in the team.
Dow - Voss still judges Dow on past form and not current form. He is a vastly improved player, he's the exact type we need in the team. He's developed a forward game, he did that in the VFL last year when we still belived secondary positions should be developed. He's got legspeed, he not chases and lays tackles, he has improved his possession count and he now get involved in the play when his team mates and opposition players have it. He's playing better footy than Curnow, Hewett and probably Kennedy but they won't play him. The team lacks speed, it lacks mids who can go forward and impact which he is now. The Dow indicator is the red flag that Voss is a very poor coach and judge of players abilities.
Motlop - I don't see him as a genuine small forward or a natural small forward. I think he has some ability there that could come out with very good small forward development which we do not have at Carlton. I think he is naturally a mid but he does not have the tank. Could be a very good half back. But his forward game will need a lot of work IMO. He's been let down development wise. Should be having very small bursts in the middle. Needs a development coach suited to small forward development.
O'Brien - Has only ever played wing. Maybe he can't play other positions, not sure, this might be one we have right. Either way you would think that a rest in the forward pocket from time to time may help keeping him fresh and he does kick goals when pushing forward.
Cerra - He's developed into a very good permanent mid. But again he came to us with the ability to go forward and kick a goal, he could have been a part of a good rotation plan.
Kennedy - A full forward in his junior years used to show some value drifting forward, we hardly see it now if ever. For a player who does not have a huge tank, it's a wonder why he does not rotate forward more.
Cripps - He lit the competition up last year, his ability to go forward and kick goals was one of the reason we were top 4 and he won a Brownlow. Then mid way through the season we stopped rotating him forward and just left him in the middle. His game went to s**t and so did the team's performance. Cripps is actually a very good forward but only when you send him forward with petrol in the tank, not put him there because the team is losing and he's completely spent which is what happens now. I would develop Cripps as a CHF with Curnow and MCKay deep. Use him in bursts in the middle. Could be the missing piece third tall foward we are screaming out for.
DeKoning - One of the biggest holes in our side is forward/ruck. We have clearly stopped the development of his forward ruck game. Watch him to another club and get developed properly and become that player. Yes he has not gone that well in it, but at times he has. We need to be more persistent and patient which Voss has proven he is not. He played a VFL game recently. O'Keefe and Mirkov were left up forward to rot while DeKoning rucked all day. Missed a huge opportunity to tune up his forward game. Our development has failed DeKoning in a massive way and that comes back to the direction of the head coach.
Hollands - How on earth do you have a player who can play as well as him, run like that and only be developed in one position. He's the perfect prototype for the modern attacking half back. He could easily be modelled on Nick Daicos with a bit of work but not at Carlton, it's wing and only wing. Hollands should be learning both these positions. He has excellent defensive attributes as well as wing attributes. Could be a big weapon with our rotations going forward. Nut no. Our ability to identify player talents based on attributes is 0. Development direction from the coach is rubbish.
Walsh - We have persisted with Walsh at half forward and it's yet to bare fruit. There is definitely a player development hole with our small and half forward. With Walsh though, he's a half back if he has a secondary position and should be developed there. Half back and mid. I actually think this would be good for his mid game as his ability to run from behind play/the contest is a weak spot in his mid game that should be a strong spot. Either way he is a strong body, can play an outside role offensively and is an elite runner, he's the perfect athlete for half back with a footy IQ. He's not a natural forward and has no one to teach him this.
Durdin - came to us as a mid/forward. The brief moments he goes into the middle he's been really good. IMO he could be a Jack Viney type. Small, quick, nimble and hard at the contest and a strong tackler. He's actually the sort of midfield our midfield desperately needs. But no, not even after early success with this last year, we don't put him in there anymore. Players will lose it if you don't play them there. This is a player like so many on our list, who's development is suffering from a coach who does not give him a go, does not believe in rotations and has no ability to develop small forwards.
Fisher - Fisher has actually had some games where he has gone on the ball and been pretty good. But for some reason we do this rotation few and far between. Yeah his game has not been good but sometimes players need to be brought into the game and given a go to motivate them and to me this is a player who is not motivated.
Cowan - I'm ok with him not having the secondary position in his game at this stage as he has had a lot of work to do in his primary positions but at some point it would be good to see him being capable of giving 5 minutes a quarter on a wing. His run and kicking skills as well as his overhead skills screams out good wingman but perhaps not win all day. In the future you would like to see him and Hollands as rotating partners. Hollands plays 5 minutes back per quarter and Cowan 5 minutes wing per quarter. But it has to be developed, shitty Carlton development and coaching will not see this eventuate.
Cuningham - He's missed so much development but we all want to see him playing both midfield and forward. Lets see if it happens.
Lemmy - I'd be playing him in defence a little more. CHB. He's had a long run up forward and produced very little. We have started rucking him which is good. But a run at CHB would be ideal. IMO we need a key defender more than a key forward so lets develop him for needs. He's more likely to push Young out than to push Harry or Charlie out. Sometimes a change of role/position can be what it needs to freshen a player up, no doubt his confidence and motivation will be down after half a year struggling up forward. I'd like to think after 3 years in the system he will be AFL ready and be able to come in to play CHB, Forward and ruck a little.
Binns - I'm ok for first year players to focus on one position but I still feel the should be getting small tastes in their secondary role. Binns has been learning wing solely. I think he needs to be able to rest up forward. Players need another position and when they rotate they need to have an impact. If we had someone at the club who could develop small forward this would be a great string to his bow. 5 minutes a quarter up forward, this is how our wingers should be managed. Keep them fresh so we can run over sides in the second half and last quarter.
Young - He can play a few positions, I just wonder if it's not time to send him forward again and explore the forward ruck game that he has. Firstly he needs to build up some size, he's too light, but going forward he could be that player. He is not a super talent who will cement in one position. He, Like Silvagni will carve out a long career by being able to play in a lot of different positions.
Honey - We have tried him in different positions briefly. With his athletic profile it will be a shame if we can't make a player out of him. You would think that perhaps defence should be tried, not that we are short on small defenders but with his pace and strength he already has some tools to play a few different roles in defence.
Owies - So he's a hard at it, strong tackling player with good skills. Is there a reason we haven't equipped him to play 5 minutes a quarter in the middle? I'm sure he would bring some speed, pressure and tackling in there at least.
Developing a secondary position in players takes a few things we lack currently. Patience and persistence. We were sort of doing it then we canned it all. It didn't work after a short stint or a few years so we gave up. It also needs to be a part of the game plan. Players need to know they are going to play in another position for parts of the game, train for it, study it and be mentally prepared for it. Not just get thrown there because someone is injured or they or someone is not playing well or because the team is losing and the coach is trying to come up with things.
You go into training next week, you talk about this with the above players. You work on them with video footage, training drills and you focus heavily on secondary positions and you include these rotations as part of the teams game plan. You view rotations as something that wins games and something of a must have in the game plan not something that you sometimes do. You cop the failures players have and you enjoy the wins and you persist. You go into next preseason with a heavy focus on secondary positions, high rotations and build a team around the quicker higher pressure players. You work on player fatigue management and you work on carrying the workload as a team.
You move away from two rucks and 5 onballers to two rucks, 8 or 9 onballers with 5 main mids and their rotations. You rotate the wingers. You keep the main midfielders fresher and you use impact players to do it. You play with a proper size forward ruck.
If Voss wants to keep his job he needs to change his philosophy about the game in a big way. He needs to get some better minds around him because between the lot of them they are clueless IMO. Haven't developed the players right, don't know much about setting up offensively and defensively at the same time as to be able to rebound fast. Haven't got a team which can apply pressure around the ball as to bring the intercepting defenders into the game. Don't have the required rotations in the team and it's not that they don't have the players, it's that they haven't developed the players and simply do not do it. They are too precious about who they allow into the centre square.
I think Voss could be the coach who takes us forward but it's going to take much more than him. He needs to change a few things but we need to have more brains around him. People more in touch with the modern game, better at player development far far better tactically.
