Brendon Bolton pleaded for a reprieve but Carlton bosses couldn’t wait any longer for results to turn

Carlton set the wheels in motion to sack coach Brendon Bolton when it warned him about the club’s poor results last week. Jon Ralph reveals how his last day as Blues coach played out.

Carlton’s desperation to salvage their miserable season saw them abandoning Brendon Bolton despite publicly supporting him only days before.

Carlton’s loss to Essendon was the death knell for Bolton, with Carlton officially deciding him to sack him on Sunday night in a decision a month in the making.

Bolton strongly defended the club’s progress in an at-times heated meeting with club officials at manager Tom Petroro’s house at 10.30am on Monday but the decision had been made.

LIST GAP: WHY BLUES’ GREEN SHOOTS FAILED TO SPROUT

‘INVISIBLE’: DEFIANT LOGIUDICE GOING NOWHERE

WHO’S NEXT? THE CONTENDERS TO REPLACE BOLTON

Carlton’s hierarchy was not prepared to waste an entire year as it worried about a potential exodus of star players and the financial toll of another squandered season.

The Blues will shoot for the stars as they seek to find a coach who can finish the club’s rebuild and win Carlton a 17th premiership.

But while Brad Scott and Ross Lyon will be at the head of the club’s wish list, they will also be open to appointing a first-time coach despite Bolton’s failure to fast-track the Carlton list.

Silvagni is close friends with Fremantle coach Ross Lyon but the Dockers coach could not have made clearer his determination to honour his Fremantle contract last week.

Brendon Bolton, followed by Carlton president Mark LoGiudice and chief executive Cain Liddle, leaves his press conference after he was sacked as coach. Picture: Michael Klein

Carlton CEO Cain Liddle said the club wanted a coach to finish off its rebuild after four years in which Bolton has led the club to only 16 wins in 77 games.

“I am not going to sit here and say who we will and who we won’t look at but we need to make sure the next coach is a person who will continue to develop this list and take the club forward,” he said.

Bolton had been warned last week the club was worried about his win-loss record but a decision to sack him had been building through a series of worrying losses.

Bolton is believed to be on around $600,000 a season but the Blues will be spared a full payout given contract clauses regarding his termination.

Former Carlton best-and-fairest winner David Teague will be given every chance to win the full-time role as the interim coach after a strong coaching apprenticeship at St Kilda, West Coast and Adelaide.

A coaching sub committee will consist of CEO Cain Liddle, football boss Brad Lloyd and football director Chris Judd to find their next coach.

Also likely to be involved are board members David Campbell, head of executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder and Luke Sayers, CEO of PWC Australia.

A month of serious discussions at board and executive level over Bolton’s future came to a head when on Sunday night when the decision was made to fire him.

He was called by chief executive Cain Liddle at 8.45am on Monday morning and told the club wanted to discuss his future.

Bolton and his manager Tom Petroro met at Petroro’s house with Liddle, Lloyd and president Mark LoGiudice where they told him he would be sacked.

Brendon Bolton at the MCG on Sunday in his last game as Carlton coach. Picture: Michael Klein

It is understood Bolton strong defended his progress given the club’s age demographic.

But later at a 2.15pm press conference Bolton fought back tears as he thanked the club for the chance to coach one of Melbourne’s biggest teams.

He conceded the decision to trade away experienced players including Bryce Gibbs had made his task much harder but said he had no regrets.

Liddle admitted that he was worried about keeping the club’s star-studded bunch of kids together if the parlous onfield issues continued.

The Blues were also concerned about their finances, having secured record membership and retained their major sponsors but aware what another two-loss season would do for their bottom line.

The Blues were shut out of most marquee TV slots this year and could not rely on strong attendances and membership if Bolton continued on next year.