The wasted days. All 278 of them.
That is the painful reflection as another Carlton coach departs - this time well beyond his use-by date.
Michael Voss looked all but gone last year, yet survived the kind of lengthy Blues board room meeting that so often can end in blood.
On August 7 last year, mid-afternoon, the club declared in a media release: "The Carlton Football Club can today confirm with absolute clarity that its AFL senior coach Michael Voss will remain coach of the Blues into the 2026 season".
The call came after "clear consultation with players, coaches and staff, producing valuable insights into where the AFL program currently sits, and the necessary steps that need to be taken to take the team forward".
Carlton had slumped to a miserable 7-13 record. The call of support, for another season at least, was actually a surprise.
Even Voss himself conceded in a press conference the following day: "It seems a little bit like a hollow joy in some ways".
It was hardly an uplifting, "bring it on" type moment.
And the lacklustre comment summed up the situation perfectly.
Voss is a terrific person, and there is a tinge of sadness today. To send Voss into 2026 in the final year of a contract was akin to Mission Impossible.
Carlton back in August had to A) sack Voss or B) back him in with a two-year extension.
It did neither, leaving Voss in a dead man's zone. He was set up to fail, as all coaches heading into a final year unsigned so often are.
It mirrored the end of Leon Cameron at GWS in 2022. Out of contract and gone after Round 9 in his final year.
Graham Wright, the new Blues chief executive came with a reputation for hard decisions, but there was a strange softness to this one back in August.
If the Blues had any doubts, and weren't prepared to back Voss on a new multi-year deal right there and then, they should have moved him on started the refresh.
Then Charlie Curnow, Jack Silvagni and Tom De Koning left.
The Blues managed to bring in Will Hayward, Ollie Florent and Ben Ainsworth, but the list took a step back ... the perfect time for a new, fresh coach.
The reset is now delayed and muddied. Suddenly, they have one of the longest caretaking roles in memory.
The reset should have begun 278 days ago.
