Carlton board latest: Vince Loccisano considers legal action after EGM bid fails
Board agitators are assessing their legal options after Carlton shut down their bid for a spill of the board and an EGM. Here’s the latest in the ongoing saga.
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Carlton has rejected a push by members for a spill of the board and the staging of an emergency general meeting on “legal grounds”.
Lawyers for the Blues claim a petition served on the club by a rebel supporter group late last month was “invalid” and failed to trigger the process for an EGM.
‘Carlton Now’ leader Vince Loccisano said the move was “extremely disappointing for Carlton members, whose fractured relationship with the club would only worsen as a result”.
“Unfortunately, despite recent statements about respecting members’ rights, the Carlton board has hidden behind their lawyers and rejected the petition for an EGM, which was written by a corporate lawyer and signed by hundreds of club members during lockdown in Victoria,” Loccisano said.
“President Luke Sayers and his board had an opportunity to understand why so many members feel effectively locked out of their club and why there is so little confidence in the board’s abilities to run a football department.
“After 10 disastrous years on-field, as well as a string of failed football appointments and sackings, they could’ve reached out to members, and explained why six of the eight board positions have been given to fund managers, consultants and accountants, with only two positions dedicated to football.”
“Given hundreds of members signed this document, including lawyers, business owners, coterie members and other professionals as well as grassroots supporters, Luke Sayers and his board could’ve made a statement to address these members’ concerns or even better, given them what they legally requested – an EGM to have their say about the future of the Club’s leadership.
“Instead, they have ‘lawyered up’, rejected these genuine member concerns and relied upon singling out several clauses that they believe their lawyers could argue against in court. Our lawyers have reviewed their letter invalidating the petition and they are adamant that the petition has been correctly drafted and is indeed valid.”
“In the meantime, we’ll be assessing our legal options.”
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Loccisano said Carlton’s move to deny members an EGM robbed them of their democratic rights.
He said his group would be “assessing its legal options”.
Carlton has been contacted for comment.
“They know it would take tens of thousands of dollars to fight them in court and that it is unlikely we will take this path,” he said.
“Our opinion is that we need more football expertise on our board to be successful on-field. “We’ve had enough fund-managers, accountants, and consultants over the last 15 years. We have one football director, Greg Williams and an AFLW director, Patty Kinnersley.
“We are clearly in need of more elite level football personnel at board level to turn around a decade of on-field misery. Diesel and Patty can’t do this all by themselves.
“We’ve seen the board gradually erode the power of Carlton members. We’ve seen the core of this current board hire and fire up to four coaches, without taking any responsibility for the subsequent on-field failure of their appointments.
“And now we’ve seen them reject a petition signed by hundreds of Carlton members, demanding change that promotes a winning, football-first culture.
“Our petition was written by a corporate lawyer, and was properly prepared and scrutinised.
“The Carlton board has not challenged the validity of the members who signed the document, they have only chosen to interpret some sections of the petition in such a way that allows them the opportunity to legally challenge the document. It’s a shame that the board believes its role here is to play legal games rather than simply acknowledge members’ rights.
“To our supporters, I say, ‘Don’t be disheartened by this attempt to bully you out of using your rights that are protected in the club’s constitution’.
“Luke Sayers has an opportunity to repair the fractured relationship the club has with its members, by immediately scheduling this EGM.
“In Luke Sayers own words, ‘From my perspective it’s the beautiful thing about footy clubs, they’re democracies, true democracies, and if he’s raised the necessary signatures, then away we go ... I respect his rights under our constitution and our democratic way’.
“I say to Luke Sayers, honour your own principles, show true leadership and act on the request of a legally drafted petition from Carlton members to restore democracy at Carlton.”
LYON HITS BACK AT EGO CLAIMS AFTER BLUES SNUB
Former Fremantle and St Kilda coach Ross Lyon says he has “no regrets” about opting out of the Carlton coaching race.
Lyon was sought out by Blues’ president Luke Sayers to potentially replace David Teague, but he pulled out of the running as Carlton moved to begin a 30-45 day process.
Lyon said he was comfortable with his decision and didn’t feel let down, even if some things remained unclear.
“Even I haven’t got both sides of the fence, fully. The only one that has everything (information) is Luke Sayers because he has had conversations with me and (knows) his position and his board’s position,” Lyon said on Channel 9.
“I have no regrets, none whatsoever.
“I knew when I put my hand up what would be coming over the fence and there is a lot of noise and everyone has an opinion.
“(Commentators said) My ego was stroked and I didn’t want to go through a process, none of that is completely accurate but I’ll take what I know with me and just leave it at that.”
Carlton has indicated it wants to complete a thorough search for the best candidate with mystery surrounding Brad Scott’s intentions.
The former North Melbourne coach was expected to secure the AFL operations manager position with Essendon’s Josh Mahoney also highly rated.
There is speculation the pair could split the job.
An announcement on the position is tipped to be made before the AFL Grand Final in a fortnight.
Lyon said Sayers was surprised to learn he had pulled out of the race.
“There was no promises (Lyon had the job),” Lyon said.
“I asked Luke previously – I think the day before for clarity on the subcommittee and the process – and then I woke up and as I said to Luke, I reflected on all the conversations and what was happening in the media.
“Then I said ‘I’m out’.
“It took Luke by a bit of surprise but that is fine, but I said no regrets and I wish you all the best.”
The contenders left to replace David Teague
— Glenn McFarlane
Chris Judd once famously suggested Carlton didn’t want a coach “with training wheels on”, but the Blues may have little choice but to consider appointing another first-timer as the list of available candidates shortens.
Carlton’s newly-installed president Luke Sayers, who was on the board that appointed Brendon Bolton and David Teague, made no secret of the fact he was searching for the biggest, best option to lead the team next year.
Moments after he announced the sacking of Teague late last month, Sayers said: “We’re looking for a coach and we’re looking for leaders here at Carlton that will leave no stone unturned in going after absolutely everything to win games of footy.
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“Now we pivot and we’re looking for the best coach that we can possibly get to get a fantastic group winning games, into the finals next year and away we go.
“We’re going to try and accelerate through the process.”
That acceleration has been met with a series of unexpected speed humps in recent weeks, changing the parameters of the search.
Four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson and Ross Lyon — the club’s two preferred options — are out … at least for now.
Of those who have coached at AFL level before, Justin Leppitsch won’t take a call from the Blues as he is joining Craig McRae at Collingwood; Brad Scott is in the running for the AFL footy operations job; Don Pyke wants to stay in Sydney; Nathan Buckley intends to be in the media next year and Michael Voss is understandably wary of going through another process having been overlooked by Carlton when Teague got the job in late 2019.
Carlton will ask the question of Chris Scott when Geelong’s 2021 campaign is over, but it would be hard to pry the 10-year coach away from GMHBA Stadium.
That means the Blues’ six-person coaching subcommittee — including the great David Parkin — will have to cast the net wide in what some have deemed a relatively lean market.
Richmond assistant Adam Kingsley narrowly missed out on the Collingwood job and is a highly-rated football mind.
Jaymie Graham is undoubtedly an AFL coach-in-waiting, but is only 38 and seems to have time on his side.
Adem Yze, Blake Caracella, Daniel Giansiracusa and Jarrad Schofield have made good impressions in successful programs.
Robert Harvey has stepped out of Collingwood after a decade.
Carlton’s strong preference is to secure a coach who has been there and done it before as an AFL senior coach.
They have offered Hail Marys — or the monetary equivalent — to pique Clarkson’s interest, but even if they can secure outgoing Cats’ CEO Brian Cook, it is unlikely to change the Hawthorn master coach’s mind.
Former St Kilda and Essendon great Brendon Goddard believes Lyon could still be tempted if the Blues get to the end of their process and realise he is the best candidate.
“(Carlton) need an experienced coach and if it is not Alastair Clarkson, then it has to be Ross Lyon,” Goddard said on RSN this week.
“He would be perfect and (he) is exactly what that footy club needs.
“He is obviously annoyed at things … and the things they (Carlton) have told him and (now) gone against the grain. As he said, he has done an audition for 13 years now.
“I think they are going to come out of the end of it and say the guy at the head of the line after the process is an inexperienced coach, and ‘Do we want to go down that path?’ I don’t think they can, so they will just resort back to Ross.”
Leppitsch said on SEN: “No, I’m not (going to consider the Carlton job).
“It’s got nothing to do with Carlton, it’s got nothing to do with anything else other than not now. It’s as simple as that.”
If Sayers can’t get what he wants, the Blues could be forced to seek a coach who — in Judd’s words — might still have training wheels on.
That mightn’t be as bad as it sounds.
In running a thorough, exhaustive process devoid of the “messiah complex” the club has so often subscribed to, they just might unearth a gem — as Collingwood believes it has with Craig McRae — and put an experienced team of support staff around him.
After all, of the 21 AFL flags won since 2000, only two coaches (Leigh Matthews and Mick Malthouse) had coached at a previous AFL club.
The others — including Clarkson, Damien Hardwick, Luke Beveridge, John Longmire and Adam Simpson — all won flags at the club that took the punt and first appointed them as senior coaches.
Another contender out of Blues coaching race
Justin Leppitsch has become the latest candidate to rule himself out of Carlton’s vacant senior coaching position.
In the wake of Alastair Clarkson and Ross Lyon withdrawing from the race to replace sacked Blues coach David Teague, Leppitsch will be named soon to Craig McRae’s new-look Collingwood coaching panel.
Leppitsch said on Tuesday he still harboured aspirations of one day coaching at senior level, but stressed he wouldn’t take a call from the Blues if they wanted to sound him out.
“There are moments when I think ‘Yeah, I would like to be a senior coach one day’, but it is not in the now for me,” Leppitsch said on SEN.
“It has got nothing to do with Carlton; it has got nothing to do with anything else … I am very comfortable that (a senior coaching role) is off the table for the next little period.”
Leppitsch said he was “down the path of other things”, which will see him reunite with his three-time premiership teammate McRae in a defensive coaching at the Magpies.
“It’s probably the worst kept secret in the world that is about to get announced hopefully soon,” he said. “There are other options for me.”
McRae told News Corp recently he was looking forward to working with Leppitsch again, with the pair instrumental to the Tigers’ recent premiership success.
“He had an amazing strategic brain that I don’t have,” McRae said, “I don’t see that as a weakness in my game, but his (strategic outlook) is another level.
“He can see things that other people can’t see.”
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CLARKO ADAMANT ON 2022 PLANS AS BLUES CIRCLE
Michael Warner
Hawthorn master coach Alastair Clarkson is set to turn down Carlton’s desperate 11th-hour bid to coax him back to football.
While senior Blues figures are clinging to the belief the four-time premiership coach is gettable, the Clarkson camp is adamant he intends to travel to the US next year.
Clarkson declared after finishing his last game in charge of the Hawks that he would take 12 months away from the game.
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He wants to enrol in leading executive programs at a US college or university, such as Harvard or Stanford, and link up with professional sporting organisations.
Clarkson, who is fully paid next year as part of his Hawthorn payout, would also consider
studying in Europe.
The Hawthorn mastermind would then look at returning to AFL coaching ranks in 2023.
Regardless of Clarkson’s ongoing plan to further his sporting education abroad, Carlton is still holding out hope the possible recruitment of highly-respected Geelong chief executive Brian Cook would change his mind.
There is a view that the hiring of Cook would be a major inducement for Clarkson to form part of a dream team combination at Princes Park.
But the Clarkson camp is adamant there are no conversations taking place about coaching Carlton or the Cook scenario.
Former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott and his twin brother Geelong coach Chirs Scott loom as other key targets.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Clarkson believes he can still travel to the US for professional reasons next year.
Carlton president Luke Sayers launched a coaching subcommittee on Wednesday to find a replacement for the sacked David Teague.
The process is being led by football director Greg Williams and includes fellow directors Tim Lincoln and Patty Kinnersly, three-time premiership coach David Parkin, CEO Cain Liddle and head of football Brad Lloyd.
The coaching subcommittee was formed to put all potential candidates through a lengthy examination, a prospect that led former St Kilda and Fremantle coach Ross Lyon to withdraw his name on Thursday.
Lyon had been a favourite to land the role after revealing he was keen on the job during a 45-minute phone call with Sayers last week.
Clarkson coached his last match in charge of Hawthorn in a Round 23 draw against Richmond and insisted in a post-game interview he would take at least one year off before sorting out his future.
“My intention is to have a spell from the game … I am happy to pass on the baton to ‘Mitch’ (Sam Mitchell) as the next coach of our footy club,” Clarkson said.
“To be fair, I would like to spend the next 12 months to see what the next chapter is.
“Asked specifically if he would take a call from Collingwood or Carlton about a role next season, the 53-year-old said he had been “doing this caper for 17 (seasons)” and needed to refresh for a year.
“It is not just 17 years (of senior coaching),” Clarkson said. “I have been chasing this AFL dream for 45 years, whether that was chasing it to become an AFL player, and then I played for 10 years and I have been coaching (at various levels) for the last 25 years.”
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