Three-time Carlton premiership coach David Parkin says he was "miserable" after watching the Blues get thumped to the tune of 105 points by Greater Western Sydney last Sunday, and that he thinks it may be a while before the club becomes competitive again.
Parkin took Carlton to the top in 1981, ’84 and ’95, as well as leading Hawthorn to the 1978 flag after a 211-game playing career in brown and gold which saw him captain the club to its second-ever premiership in 1971.
While he doesn’t think things will change quickly at Princes Park, he is optimistic the Blues are on the right path.
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"How quickly it can happen, I'm not sure," Parkin said on SBS News on Thursday.
"I'm all for giving them as many priority choices as they can (have).”
"Carlton are still two or three seasons away from being from what I call competitive - 'competitive' being that we can beat teams who finish in the eight and maybe win a premiership."
The Blues have long been influenced, if not actually run, by powerful supporters and coterie groups that are unlikely to stand by for that long without someone mounting a challenge to the current board, or at least calling for a change of senior coach.
It’s hard to see Brendon Bolton still in charge two years from now if the Blues stay rooted to the bottom of the ladder, but the under-siege coach has Parkin’s blessing.
"I'm pleased he's being backed in the manner he needs to be backed," Parkin said.
"Somebody on the outside, who thinks they know better, will run against the board and throw them out.
"That will only put Carlton back again.
"They're on the right tram, they understand - unlike what we did in the past. It's a long, hard road."