AFL 2021: The latest on David Teague’s coaching tenure at Carlton

Amid reports on Monday suggesting Carlton coach David Teague had been sacked, a group of powerful members is demanding the club throw open its internal review.

A group of disgruntled Carlton members is demanding access to the club’s review of its failing football operations.

Vince Loccisano, a Blues life member and past president of the powerful “Carltonians” coterie group, said all recommendations of the external review — to be to be presented in coming days — should be released publicly.

Loccisano also confirmed his group was pushing ahead with a petition for the staging of an extraordinary general meeting and a spill of the Carlton board.

“Given that club funds were used to commission the review, Carlton members deserve to know the full details of what it recommends and why,” Loccisano said.

“They should release the recommendations in their entirety, regardless of how it reflects on the administration and/or the football department.

“The members have a right to know how their money is being spent.”

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The findings of the review, led by ex-Collingwood football boss Geoff Walsh, were presented to the Mark LoGiudice-led board last week.

Carlton went into damage control on Monday morning amid reports coach David Teague had been sacked.

Top-rating 3AW morning host Neil Mitchell said that Teague had been told at a meeting on Sunday that he would not be coaching the Blues next year.

“I just got a tip from a reasonable source, so it’s a red-hot tip unconfirmed, that the coach of Carlton, Teague, has been told, was told yesterday in fact, that his tenure will finish at the end of the year,” Mitchell said.

“So Teague is out and there will be other changes as well – other people within the club will be no longer required.”

The Blues reacted angrily, telling Mitchell no such meeting had taken place.

Carlton coach David Teague with president Mark Logiudice and CEO Caid Liddle. Picture: Michael Klein

Loccisano’s group, going by the name “Carlton Now – Our Club, Our Future”, says “there is a widespread lack of faith in the current board’s ability to run a football department, presiding, as they have, over the 10 worst years in our proud club’s history”.

“We continue to maintain that, as a member-owned organisation, Carlton members deserve a democratically elected board, acting on behalf of the members and with capabilities that can drive the club forward to on-field success,” Loccisano said.

“We intend to ensure, by way of an extraordinary general meeting, that Carlton

members will have the right to vote on whether they want an election to be held for all eight

positions on the board.

“We believe that a newly elected board must operate on the foundation that Carlton is member-owned and must represent its members’ interests as its priority. This new board must operate transparently, with a football-first mentality, equally honouring the past and building for the future.

“We will be urging all Carlton members to join the groundswell for change and support us in

our motion to install a new board.”

RALPH: WHY BLUES HAVEN’T SACKED TEAGUE — YET

A report on Monday morning suggested David Teague had been sacked. Picture: Michael Klein

Loccisano’s group had a win late last week when the club announced it had postponed a meeting scheduled for August 17 when a series of changes to the club constitution were set to be put to a vote of members.

The changes include an increase in the number of signatures needed to force an EGM from 100 eligible voting members to 5 per cent of the total pool, the waiving of a requirement for a Blues director to have been a club member for at least two years before joining the board and a reduction in the annual rotation of club directors seeking re-election from three down to two.

“The club is using COVID as the excuse for the delay, however it is likely the board have

gauged the scale of justifiable member resentment at the proposed changes to the

constitution, which seeks to entrench the current board’s power,” Loccisano said.

“In essence, this Carlton board has blinked, in the face of overwhelming member distrust,

and an increasing sentiment being voiced on social media channels by the Carlton faithful,

for a member-first, football-first mentality at Carlton.”

Loccisano, 52, said he had written to LoGiudice requesting that “the Carlton board separate the proposed constitutional amendments (which also include positive advances in acknowledging women and Indigenous Australians) into logical groupings, so that when they are again put to members for endorsement, the positive proposed changes can be voted on separately to those designed to extend the current board’s power”.

Incoming Carlton president Luke Sayers and chief executive Cain Liddle are overseeing the review process.

BLUES IN DAMAGE CONTROL OVER TEAGUE SACKING CLAIM

Carlton went into damage control on Monday morning amid reports coach David Teague had been sacked.

Top-rating 3AW morning host Neil Mitchell reported that Teague had been told at a meeting on Sunday that he would not be coaching the Blues next year.“I just got a tip from a reasonable source, so it’s a red hot tip unconfirmed, that the coach of Carlton (David) Teague has been told, was told yesterday in fact, that his tenure will finish at the end of the year,” Mitchell said.

“So Teague is out and there will be other changes as well - other people within the club will be no longer required.

“That’s unconfirmed but it would seem to make sense.”

The Blues reacted angrily, telling Mitchell no such meeting had taken place.

“Carlton footy club have been in touch, they say there was no meeting with David Teague yesterday …” Mitchell said.

“Look, if it hasn’t happened yet, it will happen …”

Carlton was soundly beaten by the lowly Gold Coast Suns at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.

The under-fire Blues board, facing the threat of an extraordinary general meeting from disgruntled members, is awaiting the findings of an independent review into its football department operations.

Teague, 40, is contracted for next year.

Originally published as AFL 2021: The latest on David Teague’s coaching tenure at Carlton