rhino27 wrote:
Paywalled article in Hun suggesting we haven't given up on him and considering making a record breaking offer.
Sheahan Ink: Massive pay deal could land Clarko at Carlton
Carlton is not giving up on its bid to sign Alastair Clarkson and is considering a record-breaking offer to recruit the coaching great.
Tony Sheahan
Carlton is going to throw millions of dollars at Alastair Clarkson in a last-ditch attempt to secure him as their new coach.
Club heavyweights haven’t ruled out Clarkson coaching the Blues next season after revelations that the former Hawthorn coaching legend confided to some he had refused to talk with Carlton with David Teague still in the top job.
President Luke Sayers and his board are desperate for ‘Clarko’ to coach the new look Blues and are willing to offer a deal that could break AFL records.
Board members connected on Tuesday night, with many on the hook-up of the opinion Clarkson was as good as signed, sealed and delivered.
But Hawthorn may be throwing a spanner in the works, not wanting to pay Clarkson his entire severance package and thereby jeopardising the entire Carlton deal.
A well-connected Carlton insider said the club’s heavyweights were expecting an announcement in coming weeks.
The Blues aren’t giving up hope despite a statement from Clarkson’s manager, James Henderson, that his client would be taking a year away from coaching an AFL club.
So desperate to get their man the Blues will roll the dice one more time before they turn to Ross Lyon.
Sayers spoke on Melbourne radio on Friday and was less than convincing about another tilt at the four – time premiership coach.
“I’d love to consider Alastair Clarkson, but from everything I hear and read I think he’s taking a year off overseas,” Sayers told Kane Cornes on SEN.
When pressed on these comments, Sayers refused to elaborate.
The Carlton coaching job is Clarkson’s to lose or Ross Lyon’s to gain.
The Blues are very keen on Lyon but feel one final tilt will allow the club to rest easy in the knowledge they did everything in their power to get the best available.
Clarkson, 53, has been adamant he will not coach next season: “My sincere intention is have a spell away from the game over the next 12 months. I want to travel with my wife and explore the world.”
But Covid may be a defining factor in his decision making process.
If Clarkson knocks back the Blues, he will be favourite to coach the Gold Coast Suns at some stage in 2022.