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Cast your minds back to the year of 1987. Bob Hawke is Prime Minister, the America’s Cup was lost by Australia and Carlton won the VFL Premiership for a then-record 15th time.
Led by a wealthy businessman (John Elliott), the club’s victory was achieved by a poached coach (Robert Walls from Fitzroy) and a bunch of players who were bought thanks to a massive war chest bequeathed to the club by wealthy supporters (Stephen Kernahan, Justin Madden, David Rhys Jones).
Fast forward to 2014 and there is a sense of déjà vu at Princess Park.
A wealthy businessman (Bruce Matheson) calls the shots at Carlton, the CEO came from a rival club (Greg Swann), the coach (Mick Malthouse) has been recruited based on his previous success and the club’s most recognised players have been poached from other clubs (Chris Judd, Dale Thomas).
The only difference from 1987 is that the club is 0-4 and rooted at the bottom of the table.
The listless performance against Melbourne last Saturday and the reaction to it, has laid bare the structural deficiencies of the 150-year-old football club.
Carlton is a club whose mentality is still rooted in the values and practices of football in the 1980s.
In comparison to the rest of the competition, it still remains heavily factionalised with club direction influenced by rival (often feuding) families in scenes reminiscent of a good Game of Thrones episode.
It still places its trust in the ‘messiah complex’ and the idea that targeting select individuals can reduce deficiencies and bring instant success.
Since the club emerged from years of salary cap pain, it has engaged in numerous quick fix solutions without any apparent reasoning or identifiable success.
The 2013 off season was no different as it spent time and money on securing Collingwood midfielder Dale Thomas for egotistical purposes while failing to prop up its ailing defence and forward lines.
As a result, Carlton’s backline is built like a chocolate palace in the Sahara, while their attack struggles without a reliable goal kicker.
Successful football clubs shed the ‘messiah complex’ last millennium as the draft and salary cap was introduced.
Because of the equalisation methods, money at football clubs has become less about how much you earn and more about how well you spend it.
Rival clubs in Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood have been successful in the past decade because they use their resources to build premiership winning sides rather than to flaunt power and prestige.
Carlton’s executive management over the course of 25 years has not grasped the changing world.
How many rival clubs in the modern era poach Carlton employees to improve their own performance?
The answer is very few. Carlton has not created a reputation for excellence in the way Geelong and Hawthorn have.
For Carlton to usher in the next ‘Golden Era’, it has to change its culture and become the hunted rather than the hunter.
The club needs to develop its staff depth across all departments so that replacements and renewals can originate internally rather than externally.
Most importantly, Carlton needs to rebuild its mediocre playing stocks with an emphasis on recruiting players that can make them a competitive side, rather than a more marketable one.
These changes require long term patience from stakeholders which for Carlton FC, means a seismic change in how it thinks as an organisation.
If however the club decides to stick to its archaic practices for the sake of comfort, it will remain a fossil in the modern football world.
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