Hawthorn great Jordan Lewis has suggested the trust and relationships between Carlton players and coaches have potentially broken down.
Carlton is reeling in 10th position after a disastrous start to the season has seen them win six games but lose eight, including a loss to the 16th-placed North Melbourne on the weekend.
The 11-point loss to the Kangaroos on the weekend has renewed calls about whether Michael Voss should keep his job with Hawks great Buddy Franklin calling for him to be sacked.
The Blues are looking likely to miss the finals this year after making a preliminary final in 2023 before being eliminated in the first week of finals last year.
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Hawks great Jordan Lewis has explained the club is in a precarious position as he spoke on Fox Footy On the Couch program.
“The big issue right now with the Carlton Football Club is the trust off the field and the potential breakdown in relationships between coaching staff and players,” Lewis said.
“That is really hard to get back. That is transferred onto the ground, where you get missed tacklers because you don’t trust a tackler. Players are getting played in certain positions and other players not getting exposed to that position.
Lewis added that Blues players who are potentially talking about their problems away from the club need to be fixed by Voss.
“If players are talking to people outside the football club and not necessarily having those conversations inside the football club, that is a real issue. Mi"chael Voss would need to address that,” he said.
“You need to say: ‘Is this happening? Are these conversations happening outside this football club about certain players getting preferential treatment?’"
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps has called on the club to stick together as they work through the season.
Carlton will look to quieten the noise surrounding the club as they play in a hostile Adelaide Oval against Port Adelaide.