Carlton board 2021: Cain Liddle, Brad Lloyd, Andrew Russell until pressure

The bloodletting at Carlton is likely far from over, with rebel supporters pushing for an EGM and key officials under severe pressure to hold onto their jobs.

Carlton president Luke Sayers says he expects Blues football boss Brad Lloyd to “tuck in and do what is in the best interests” of the club if Ross Lyon replaces David Teague as senior coach.

Sayers has declared there will be no more bloodletting at Princes Park, but Blues insiders insist both Lloyd and chief executive Cain Liddle remain under pressure.

Lloyd and Lyon had a strained relationship towards the end of their time together at Fremantle.

“Brad is the ultimate professional. Brad is doing a power of work for the Carlton Football Club at the moment. Do I understand or know or even pretend to know how that relationship is or isn’t, I have no idea,” Sayers told SEN.

“But if Ross did make it through the process, and Ross was our preferred option, and this is obviously all hypothetical, I am sure Brad would tuck in and do what is in the best interests of the Carlton Football Club. So, I have seen nothing that is not of the highest professional nature from Brad Lloyd.”

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Blues football boss Brad Lloyd and former coach David Teague.

Lyon is also a close friend of Blues great Stephen Silvagni, who fell out of favour at Carlton at the end of 2019 in a power struggle with Liddle.

One club figure told the Herald Sun he believed an alternative CEO and football operations manager had already been “lined up”.

Fitness chief Andrew Russell is also in the gun, despite being contracted for next year.

Carlton’s new look board met on Friday to begin the search for Teague’s replacement, with Lyon considered a certainty to be offered the job.

Sayers revealed he spent 45 minutes on the phone with Lyon on Thursday night just hours after Teague was shown the door.

Multiple media reports earlier this week suggested Lyon would not be considered for the Carlton coaching job because of an AFL integrity unit investigation during his time at the Dockers, but Sayers said after his lengthy conversation with the former St Kilda and Fremantle coach that Lyon was “excited to put his hat in the ring”.

Brad Lloyd leaves Princes Park.

Lyon believes he has been the victim of a “smear campaign” in recent days relating to the investigation involving a female staffer at the Dockers.

When asked if he was “concerned” about leaks from within the club in the lead up to Teague’s sacking, Sayers told SEN: “Yes … we’ve got to tighten up and that’s feedback for us and that’s in our court, but absolutely”.

Carlton is headed for further turmoil after a rebel supporter group formally triggered the process for an extraordinary general meeting and a spill of the board.

The group led by Blues life member and former “Carltonians” coterie president Vince Loccisano presented papers at the club’s Princes Park headquarters at 11.45am on Friday.

The move means the club will be required under the terms of the Carlton constitution to schedule an EGM by October 27.

Sayers, who replaced Mark LoGiudice as president a week ago, said on Friday morning the Loccisano-led board challenge was “not in the best interests of Carlton”.

“I’m a pretty pragmatic guy. We have a democracy, so if (Loccisano) wants to round up the necessary signatures and go to the EGM, that’s his prerogative,” Sayers said.

REBEL FANS TRIGGER PUSH FOR EGM AT BLUES

A rebel Carlton supporter group has formally triggered the process for an extraordinary general meeting and a spill of the Luke Sayers-led board.

The group led by Blues life member and former “Carltonians” coterie president Vince Loccisano presented papers at the club’s Princes Park headquarters at 11.45am on Friday.

The move means the club will be required under the terms of the Carlton constitution to schedule an EGM by October 27.

New Carlton president Sayers, who replaced Mark LoGiudice as president a week ago, said on Friday morning the Loccisano-led board challenge was “not in the best interests of Carlton”.

“I’m a pretty pragmatic guy. We have a democracy, so if (Loccisano) wants to round up the necessary signatures and go to the EGM, that’s his prerogative,” Sayers told SEN.

Loccissano’s group says the time for change has come.

“Once again, this dysfunctional board does what it does best – sacks yet another coach to hide its own shortcomings, to distract from a decade of the worst decision-making in Carlton’s 157-year history,” Loccisano said.

“Our members’ movement – ‘Carlton Now’ – in the middle of a strict lockdown in Victoria, has easily collected enough signatures to compel the club to hold an EGM and will lodge the petition on Friday.

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Carlton’s board could be spilled in a matter of weeks. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

“We have easily cleared the constitutional requirements, with considerable reserves should any signatures be challenged. This is an incredible achievement and speaks to the unprecedented anger and frustration with this board.”

Loccisano said an alternative board of directors would be revealed prior to the EGM taking place.

Carlton attempted to get ahead of the board challenge on Thursday, announcing the exit of president Mark LoGiudice, football director Chris Judd, board member Chris Townsend QC and benefactor and long-time vice-president Jeannie Pratt.

Greg “Diesel” Williams, a hero of the club’s last premiership in 1995, will be appointed as Judd’s replacement at a board meeting on Friday along with three other new directors.

Loccisano’s group has expressed serious grievances about the direction of the club and a series of proposed changes to the club’s constitution.

Carlton life member Vince Loccisano is leading ‘Carlton Now — a rebel supporter group.

“At the EGM, which, by the constitution must be held by no later than October 27, we will be motioning for a spill of the board, giving back the power to Carlton members, whose rights have been gradually eroded by this failed board,” Loccisano said.

“As we’ve seen for years now, it doesn’t matter if they exchange one sitting director with another of their like-minded colleagues. It will be the same toxic culture that we’ve seen now for a decade.

“The only way to improve this board’s dismal record is to spill all eight seats and let the members decide.

“A key principle of any successful footy club is to look after your own people, and it’s hard to see how they could’ve failed David Teague more in this process.

“It has been as protracted and humiliating as possible. And even then, this failed, rabble of a board clearly can’t make up their mind about what they want. What message does that send to Carlton members and supporters, or to any incoming coach?

“How long can this board keep on making scapegoats of senior coaches, players, general managers, list managers, recruiters, developmental coaches, trainers and even CEO’s?

“They’ve had almost a decade now, and that includes Luke Sayers, who has only just been appointed president. Clearly, it’s more of the same inept, dysfunctional leadership we’ve put up with now for 10 years.

“If this wasn’t already enough to make the Carlton community’s blood boil, this board is trying to sneak constitutional changes past members to give them even more power and time in office.

“This board must go and must go now. On top of a decade of on-field disaster, they’ve deceived us about membership numbers by giving away thousands of free memberships in 2021 and there are big questions to be asked about the club’s operations from top to bottom.

“We need stability, great football minds, great business minds, cohesive decision-making and a culture that supports and grows the abilities of Carlton players and football personnel. “A winning culture is not about crashing and burning every two to three years, it’s about choosing the best people and then supporting them to succeed.

“Rather than blaming others or shuffling other colleagues onto the board, they need to come out, apologise to members, take some responsibility, and realise that after 10 years, they’ve had a good go and it’s time to move on and for the members to put in place a board that truly reflects the winning values that always been part of the culture of the Carlton Football Club.”

Sayers, 52, a former PwC Australia CEO joined the board in September 2012, just weeks after the sacking of coach Brett Ratten.

He has been heavily-endorsed by billionaire club powerbroker Bruce Mathieson, whose nephew Craig has also sat on the board since October 2012.

Originally published as Carlton board 2021: Cain Liddle, Brad Lloyd, Andrew Russell until pressure