STARING at an eighth straight season without an AFL finals appearance, struggling Carlton is now launching an external review of their football department.
Club president Mark LoGiudice confirmed an external panel will conduct the review, which will be led by incoming president Luke Sayers.
The performance of under-fire coach David Teague and his assistants will be scrutinised as part of the review.
"The club acknowledges that we are not satisfied with where we are at from a performance perspective," LoGiudice said.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd, whose brother Brad Lloyd is Carlton's head of football, believes the review should be all-encompassing.
"I think everything should be up on the table, including the captains," Lloyd said on 3AW.
"I think it's so much more than Teague, it's so much more than (Patrick) Cripps.
"He (Sayers) is doing the right thing because right across the board they're a long way off the top sides."
After bringing in big-money recruits Adam Saad and Zac Williams during the off-season, the expectation was Carlton would be ready to surge up the ladder in 2021.
But at 4-8, having gone 0-7 against top-eight teams this season, Teague concedes it will now be an "uphill battle" to qualify for finals.
The Blues sit three wins and significant percentage behind eighth-placed Richmond, having not played finals since 2013.
They have a bye this week before meeting GWS at Giants Stadium in round 14, and take on just two current top-eight sides in the run home.
Carlton performing so far below expectations so far this season has reflected poorly on Teague, who took over as interim Blues coach in mid-2019 following the sacking of Brendon Bolton.
He was appointed as full-time coach in August 2019, riding a wave of optimism from Blues fans on the back of several exciting wins.
But that early enthusiasm has well and truly dissipated, with the Carlton faithful wondering when they will again be in contention to add to their 16 AFL/VFL premierships.
Since Carton smashed the Western Bulldogs by 52 points in round six last year to enter the top-eight for the first time since 2013, the Blues have won just eight of 23 games.
Teague's overall win-loss record is 17-23.
"We feel we owe it to our members and supporters to leave no stone unturned in our attempt to improve our on-field performance," LoGiudice said.
"Rather than wait until the conclusion of the 2021 season to undertake this review, we feel the opportunity is available to formalise this now, as we head into the half-way mark of the season."
