Carlton’s decision to sack David Tague has been met with fierce backlash as a number of former AFL stars spoke out in support of the exiled coach.
Teague, 40, took over at Carlton midway through the 2019 season.
With the club finishing 11th last year and 13th this season, and now missing out on finals football for the eighth-straight season, the axe today came down on Teague.
The decision didn’t come as a surprise to most fans, with Teague last weekend even criticising the club over its lack of support by allowing his future to be played out in the media.
And following today’s verdict, it’s clear much of the AFL world agrees with the former coach, with a number of ex-players taking to social media to speak out against the treatment of Teague.
All-Australian and former premiership-winning Swan, Ted Richards, used a meme featuring a white ant to sum up Teague’s support, while the likes of former AFL players Nicholas Robertson, Billy Gowers and Josh Hill all took aim at the “laughable” decision.
https://twitter.com/tedrichards25/status/1430677851565543424https://twitter.com/nichrobbo/status/1430703272017350661https://twitter.com/billgowers/status/1430681212008288261https://twitter.com/hillydard33/status/1430686644072456197
In an email sent to members today, Carlton president Luke Sayers said the club determined there was no reason to give Teague another 12 months to save his job.
“It was identified that there had been confusion associated with the game plan at times and on-field, the team has underdelivered in its ability to consistently defend, win the contest and apply pressure,” the email read.
“This was highlighted, but not limited to, an overt, consistent focus on offence at a detriment to the defensive side of the game.
“While the easier option would have been to wait a further 12 months in the hope these deficiencies would change, the in-depth data gained over a significant period of time as part of this review process left no doubt that such an option would not be in the best interests of the club. As such, it would have been irresponsible to ignore the decisions that had to be made.”
Teague also found support from former AFLW star Meg Hutchins, while former Carlton player Dylan Buckley said today was a “sad day” for Blues fans.
https://twitter.com/hutchy_25/status/1430680403707260932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1430680403707260932%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-1576355906753582495.ampproject.net%2F2108132216000%2Fframe.htmlhttps://twitter.com/dylan_buckley/status/1430683195482148870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1430683195482148870%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-1576355906753582495.ampproject.net%2F2108132216000%2Fframe.html
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