Cooney: Why Carlton's fadeouts aren't the fault of Voss

Carlton’s second half issues run deep, but as Adam Cooney explains, the root cause is far from the coach’s box.

In yet another disappointing showing, the Blues have fallen to 1-7, leading St Kilda at half time before capitulating in the latter stages once again.

Holding a two-goal advantage at the main change, Carlton conceded eight straight goals in the third term, completely eradicating their first half work to enter the final quarter 30 points down.

On the season, the Blues have led at half time within six of their eight games. Of those six games, Carlton has lost five, with their only win coming against the lowly Richmond – who almost ran over the top of the Blues late in their Round 1 match-up.

With pressure mounting on a Michael Voss that is failing to halt his side’s late-game woes, Cooney believes that placing the blame solely on the coach is a complete misfire.

“The question is – did Michael Voss stop coaching at half time again? Did he coach well in the first half and then coach poorly in the second half,” Cooney questioned on SEN Crunch Time.

“How much accountability have these players got to take?

“I think it’s a personnel thing. Six out of eight games this year they’ve led at half time. You can’t say that someone is coaching well for a half of footy and then coaching poorly in the second half.

“You don’t lose your ability to move a couple of magnets around, and if the opposition coach makes a couple himself, there’s 15 assistant coaches and 14 statisticians in the coaching box to say ‘listen, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has just gone to half back, do you think we should try to lock down them?’

“These people come up with ideas all the time. To say that Michael Voss isn’t coaching well… he’s coached well for a half, he coaches well for three quarters, it’s not like he throws the magnets on the ground in the last quarter and says, ‘let’s butcher this game’.

“I think the players have got to take 85 per cent of the responsibility, 15 per cent on the coach.”

Carlton will enter Round 9 firmly cemented within the bottom four, and with Brisbane at the Gabba to come, the light at the end of the tunnel is incredibly dim.