Why Carlton’s constant bottoming out hasn’t worked and has damaged the club’s brand

Carlton has again proved the point that sticking near the bottom of the ladder in order to gather high draft picks is a flawed plan that only tarnishes a club’s brand, says Dwayne Russell.

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I wrote in this column last season that Carlton’s grand plan for success was a joke and I couldn’t believe sane people were actually believing it.

“Bottoming out to win a premiership is a fairytale that not even Walt Disney would buy,” were my exact words in August.

No modern-era club has ever bottomed out, rebuilt with draft picks and kids, and won a flag.

The Gold Coast has had three tries at starting over again with a new coach and youth, and has failed as many times.

In this day and age, when high-quality free agents won’t go near a wooden spoon-winning struggler such as Carlton with an unproven coach, it’s actually harder than impossible for the Blues “bottoming out” plan to work.

And in the process, it flushes the winning Carlton brand – that past premiership players worked hard to earn – down the toilet. It throws out a trademark of respected greatness and the club becomes famous for being easybeats and the butt of jokes.

And the Blues get banished from prime-time television. They lose fans. They lose sponsors. And they drop so far below all the strengthening and relevant premiership- winning AFL clubs that they risk never recovering.

Harry McKay of the Blues and Phil Davis of the Giants compete for the ball during the round nine AFL match. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Depending on which football expert you listened to this week, Brendon Bolton has either Sunday’s game against St Kilda to prove himself and keep his job, the next month of games (St Kilda, Essendon, Brisbane, Bulldogs) before Carlton’s bye to show improvement, or until the end of this season to get it right.

Or he’s gone at the end of this year, regardless.

And those in the “gone-at-the-end-of-the-year, regardless” camp say so because they believe there may be one last Carlton route to a resurrection miracle.

Steal Alastair Clarkson from Hawthorn. Or, at worst, lure a more proven coach such as the suddenly available Brad Scott who, despite some failings, has at least coached a team to two preliminary finals.

Recruit the best coach in the AFL, or a more proven coach, and hope he can lure some free agents and set the young Carlton players on the improvement curve that was expected, but has not materialised, under Bolton this year.

Blues head coach Brendon Bolton speaks to Jacob Weitering. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Make no mistake, Carlton and, most pointedly, its list manager Steven Silvagni, thought the young Blues would be finishing mid-ladder this season – not outright bottom with just one win from its first nine.

Otherwise, Silvagni would not have done the Liam Stocker first-round draft pick swap with Adelaide that is shaping as an embarrassing disaster.

Carlton already has more top-10 draft picks and more first-round draft selections in total on its list than the Giants, which smashed the Blues by 93 points in a televised training run last weekend.

Carlton has 13 top-10 picks to the Giants’ 12, and 23 first- round picks to the Giants’ 22.

Yes, Carlton’s age and experience profile is much younger. But it’s not 93 points and 15 spots on the ladder younger than the Giants.

President Mark LoGiudice has hitched his wagon firmly to Bolton, reconfirming this week that the coach would not be replaced at the end of this season.

“They’re the facts. Clubs that stick together, and I’m talking board, coaches, players, members, supporters, sponsors, I mean the nucleus of a football club, those who stick together and support ultimately enjoy great success.” LoGiudice said this week. But those facts are easily disputed. The Bulldogs parted company with struggling coach Brendan McCartney and won a flag two years later under his replacement, Luke Beveridge.

Brisbane axed favourite son Justin Leppitsch and handed the rebuild responsibility to the more experienced Chris Fagan, who has coached the Lions into the premiership window.

Carlton will improve if it sticks with Bolton.

Having won four of its past 41 games, it’s almost impossible to get worse.

But will the Blues ever become good enough under Bolton to contend for a premiership, or just good enough to keep selling the fairytale idea of it?

Originally published as Why Carlton’s constant bottoming out hasn’t worked and has damaged the club’s brand