The New Carlton

Written by Nathan Sepe

New foundations have been set inside the four walls of IKON Park, an ultimately dangerous, ruthless, committed aura, exuberated across the football community.

These values and morals venture into the historically rich history that stained the culture of a mature club with victory and strength. Two decades later and a youthful outfit plagued with the opposite values comes in to create a resurgence that supporters have been hopeful for.  

So without the experience of victory and success from the players on the field, how is the development able to succeed? The answer stems from the personnel creating culture daily.

Michael Voss:

You’re succeeding as a club integrating premiership heroes into the DNA of a revitalised identity. However, to add a premiership captain of three consecutive years adds new fire to the mix of players aching for a taste of success. No better man to find inspiration from and a leader the Blues have been crying out for with the lack of leadership in all areas of management.

Voss has already begun to make an instant impact within the playing group, a “very personable” and “very impressive” reputation, exceeding the expectations of a group coming off an ultimately depressing 2021 season.

Voss comes as a breath of fresh air for the Blues. Fixing a club that has failed for the last 10 years has been no easy task, certainly never helped by the cycle of incompetent, unsuccessful coaching staff that knew no better than the players on how to win.

Voss knows how to win. Such a young group needs role models. Humans desire a figure that guides them to the ultimate goal of succession and frankly the Blues more than any other club need to grasp the opportunity with both hands and feet.

Hunger has been lost in the younger generation. Most young kids sit on the back of experienced professionals and take the opportunity for granted. Voss reprimands this common feature, a firm stance of being "uncomfortable" extended across the group, driving the standards that have been set as a dream rather than a reality.

So where do the standards start? Leadership is your go-to. When we talk about the new generation of younger athletes we face the downfall of social media. Shying away behind a screen, scared of standing up for those who face discrimination consistently. Frankly, young people in general lack leadership qualities across the board. Shaping the qualities of each individual on the field creates cohesion that is becoming a struggle amongst many sporting teams across the globe.

Whilst Voss has been deemed the god of Cripps’ return to super-Saiyan form, the accountability should be spread across the squad. Having 21 other individuals set the standard for him builds the expectation of acceptance when each individual steps on the field each week. The major problem of the club has been the fear of external pressure such as the media, rather than fear of letting your teammates down.

Creating an environment filled with blokes playing for each other drives the quality of reputation weekly and creates strength for bounce backs in times of rough patches, where in recent years the club has stayed poor and accepted mediocrity.

The standards also begin with a focus on quality, individually as a person and the figure that plays its role on the field each week. Voss is the master of quality, playing a defiant, team-first mentality, willing to sacrifice a limb for the sake of another teammate’s success. Building quality however isn’t easy. It starts with accountability on each individual to put others over themselves.

The team took a massive step, creating possibly the greatest sense of community comradery shaving their heads in support of Sam Docherty and his fight with cancer. This youthful generation has something over the older generation of players. They can create social awareness in a developmental way rather than pushing it to the side and solely focusing on football.

The DNA of the team certainly grew from this moment and their development must continue on a path that has been humbled along the way to highlight the importance of quality in each individual.

Voss is creating new values in a youthful culture, and the culmination of both younger and older succession methods creates endless possibilities for the creation of a team, not a team made of individuals.

Brian Cook and Luke Sayers:

For Luke, the failure has been seen with such intensity that can scar you as a supporter. However, with a love and passion that intense for the club, his intent in revitalisation has been stronger than ever compared to presidents of the past.

A businessman that values hard work and accountability has searched for individuals that possess no less than the expectation from the board but also the entire Carlton community.

A brilliant manoeuvre that has captivated the hearts of Blues supporters looking to find optimism in every movement of the club. Making the harsh calls of sackings and terminations has set the standards externally, developing a new identity that gives the media nothing and the players a mentally refreshing boost for identity building.  

This is the direct correlation the playing group desire. A ruthless and desirable intent that relies on the expectations of successfulness and productivity to meet the successfulness the club needs to rediscover.

Luke Sayers sparked these ethics through his appointment of Geelong CEO Brian Cook. Success and wisdom come from no better and the foundations of long-term successfulness were created by Cook at his time in Geelong winning three premierships.

The culture of winning is beginning to stem from the board to the playing group and becoming infectious throughout the entire Carlton community.

This infectiousness is showcased by appealing to a younger generation, bringing the culture of the club to the depths of social media, producing expressive and honest values of the club on a consistent basis, nothing that compares to years gone past.

Brian Cook has not failed to stay with the times, presenting himself in front of a fierce Carlton twitter community, braving the questions of pain and suffering that were searching for a glimpse of hope, and Cook provided that with detail. A sufficient means of connecting in the modern world.

Luke Sayers appeared on the Blue Abroad channel, which you can check out here. A fantastic initiative by Sayers, promoting himself to the purist Carlton community that has gone on a journey so committed. Terry, Pom, Joseph, and Paulo all asked the hard-hitting questions and Sayers, like Cook, brought out a truthful and optimistic outlook on the figure of the club.

The tide will turn for the club, and the revitalisation has begun with a new look identity shaping a new era of football culture within a young and exuberant squad.