Despite heading into the 2023 season with optimism that the last few minutes of the 2022 season were in the past and the new Blues were here to deliver success, Carlton are yet to offer long-suffering fans of the club anything of the sort.
A 108-point demolition of the flightless Eagles marks Carlton's only win in the past five weeks, a far cry from the team plenty thought were a lock to take part in the finals action this season.
With opinions radiating in the last few weeks - both inside and outside the club - about expectations and how to meet them, it's hard to know what really would constitute as a failure for the Blues this season. Not making finals? Making finals and doing nothing when they're there? Or are fans simply just eager to see the ghost of old Carlton exorcised?
There's been plenty of talk from players and pundits alike over the Blues' season so far and where it goes from here. Beyond that, where the club sits in relation to the ever-ticking premiership clock.
The Blues are staring down the barrel of a tenth consecutive season without featuring in finals football, having won their last - 16th in total - premiership in 1995.
Now sitting outside of the eight, finals are far from being a guarantee, with Blue Adam Cerra speaking after Round 8's loss to Brisbane and revealing that he didn't view watching on in September as "a failure".
"Every day we're just trying to get better and progress," Cerra said.
"If we're improving from last year as a team, not just ladder position but that connection within the group and what we're building towards, I don't see it as a failure.
"Every week, Vossy's big on not just looking at the big picture, but looking at the little things week by week, just trying to get better.
"So I definitely wouldn't call it a failure, even though it's our goal.
"It might be this year, it might be next year, but we want to get there as soon as possible."
Sitting with a 4-4-1 record, the Blues have ground to make up in the race to September but face a rough road getting there. Carlton will face Melbourne twice before the season concludes and the Pies again in Round 20, both of whom are predicted to be prominent come finals time. The Blues will also need to battle potential finals adversaries in Port Adelaide, Fremantle and St Kilda.
The Blues have struggled in transition for much of the season, with their struggles moving the ball forward and inside 50 well documented.
Voss' side currently rank second competition wide for kicks per game, third in disposals per game and yet, sit 13th in inside 50's per game this year.
Carlton managed just 7 goals in Round 10's loss to Collingwood, their sixth time this season kicking ten goals or less in a game, with Harry McKay copping the most feedback from those off the field over his wayward form in front of goal.
The 2021 Coleman Medallist has booted 14.13 so far in 2023, while last year's Coleman winner Charlie Curnow has kicked 36.21 (a league high) for the Blues this season.
Individual award winners aren't hard to come by at Ikon Park, with Patrick Cripps winning the Brownlow Medal in 2022, while young gun Sam Walsh has been awarded the Rising Star and a best and fairest award.
Voss is now in year two of his three year contract, having replaced former coach David Teague in September, 2021. Speaking at Voss' appointment, Carlton president Luke Sayers set the standard as a finals appearance the following year.
“Michael is the best leader and the best coach to get [the best out] of what we think is untapped potential within our playing group. This football club has had a serious reset,” Sayers said.
“Our expectation is we want to aspire to play finals football next year and for our playing group I reckon that is a better expectation and aspiration than we want to finish 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th. We are not going to put a ceiling on it, but we really aspire and believe we have the potential within the playing group to play finals next year.”
In 2022, Carlton welcomed Blake Acres to the club, while Cerra, George Hewett and Lewis Young all joined the navy Blues the year prior.
Those recruits have combined for a total of 90 games played since their arrival at Carlton, but the Blues have had plenty of issues over the last decade in regards to their list management.
High draft picks such as Sam Petrevski-Seton (2016 pick No. 6) and Liam Stocker (2018 pick No.19) no longer play at the club. Meanwhile, Carlton has just one pick in the opening two rounds of this year's draft, currently holding picks 8, 62, 64 and 80.
The Blues now have the eighth oldest list in the competition (24.5 average age), with 62.1 average games of experience. A list the Blues have been building for a finals run for years.
17 players on the list will be out of contract come seasons end, with Marc Pittonet the latest to ink a new deal to commit to the club.
The futures of several Blues remain in doubt, veterans and young players alike. List management calls at the end of the year loom as fascinating ones, with the club potentially forced to make some hard calls should the season continue to play out as it has so far.
Tom De Koning, Brodie Kemp, Paddy Dow and Lachie Fogarty have all spent time in the VFL this season and remain without a contract beyond 2023, with some already reportedly attracting interest from rival clubs. Meanwhile, Nic Newman - who is having a strong season - also remains without a deal for 2024.
It's clear there is plenty to unfold at Ikon Park both for the remainder of the home and away season and beyond, what remains unclear is where the club sees themselves sitting come September.
A Round 11 clash against Sydney - who sat just one spot below the Blues on the ladder - failed to inspire on Friday night. While the loss won't rule Carlton out of finals contention, that uphill battle has become noticeably steeper.
Dedicated Blues fans are heading to exits early, calling radio stations to vent about the bleeding heart on their sleeve, and surely won't take yet another loss well as we approach the halfway mark of the season.
Inside the walls at Ikon Park, perhaps missing finals isn't the failure pundits have described, but 89,433 members may disagree.
