Club Mgmt. Board of Directors as led by President Dave Barham

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DonsRule said:
I wanted Yze. if Williams came with him. More that recycled coaches rarely get great success. However I will admit Scott hasn't done a thing wrong and has been very impressive in any interviews so far. Even if he isn't the coach that takes us where we want to be, I think he will make enough changes that we will be better off for it. Think he can handle the internal polatics of Essendon well enough and stand up to the boys club that is still there and not take a backwards step. So I am on board with him now as the right call.
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Coaches in general don't get success. Most new coaches fail. Most experienced coaches fail. And even the best coaches eventually fail.
 
yodellinhank said:
Coaches in general don't get success. Most new coaches fail. Most experienced coaches fail. And even the best coaches eventually fail.
Click to expand...
Just saying success has rarely come from a tried coach. It often come from someone new, new ideas. Something different McRae at the Pies has been great at the same time don't think he would have had the impact on Essendon that he did at Collingwood. He had a motivated group that needed a new plan. McRae delivered on that well will they back it up next season? Who knows but they have done well so far and he was a great choice.

I think Scott will be good in driving standards that are non existent at Essendon.and won't take a backwards step

I liked the Yze/Williams combo because I thought Williams could be the reinforcement Yze needed in getting though the shitstorm that is Essendon. Someone with fresh ideas but someone with a lot of experience to push ideas off and be backup when needed.


As I said though Scott has impressed and a happy with his appointment he has done a lot to smooth over lingering doubt I had and think he was the right call.
 
DonsRule said:
Just saying success has rarely come from a tried coach. It often come from someone new, new ideas. Something different McRae at the Pies has been great at the same time don't think he would have had the impact on Essendon that he did at Collingwood. He had a motivated group that needed a new plan. McRae delivered on that well will they back it up next season? Who knows but they have done well so far and he was a great choice.

I think Scott will be good in driving standards that are non existent at Essendon.and won't take a backwards step

I liked the Yze/Williams combo because I thought Williams could be the reinforcement Yze needed in getting though the shitstorm that is Essendon. Someone with fresh ideas but someone with a lot of experience to push ideas off and be backup when needed.


As I said though Scott has impressed and a happy with his appointment he has done a lot to smooth over lingering doubt I had and think he was the right call.
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I think this needs to be looked at scientifically, which is to say that the last North Melbourne coach who didn't win a premiership and went on to coach another side was Malcolm Blight, who is also the last recycled coach to win a premiership without having won one in the immediately preceding tenure at another club.

This is science.
 

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Lord Nicholson said:
I think this needs to be looked at scientifically, which is to say that the last North Melbourne coach who didn't win a premiership and went on to coach another side was Malcolm Blight, who is also the last recycled coach to win a premiership without having won one in the immediately preceding tenure at another club.

This is science.
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logical1.gif
 
Lore said:
It's interesting listening to the Bonnie T and Maddy P podcast because Bonnie is just old enough to remember things like that, knows who Freddie Mercury is etc. Maddy isn't. The pod last night had them talking about listening to FM radio in the car, while Maddy just plugs her phone in and listens to Spotify. They're only three years apart in age, but there's quite an apparent generation gap that comes through in various examples and most episodes.
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In my personal experience, there’s a mini generation change every 4-5 years.
 
Doss said:
Nothing Robbo says on anything related to this whole mess is going to be anything less than either their side of the story, or geared to benefit them.
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I wonder if he still reads this forum.

I remember years ago, Burzum wrote an open love letter as a joke to one of our players, and days later Mark Robinson spluttered and stuttered his own open letter in the Sun.

He’s always been a grub.
 
yodellinhank said:
Coaches in general don't get success. Most new coaches fail. Most experienced coaches fail. And even the best coaches eventually fail.
Click to expand...
Spot on ! Take The Fly at collingwood for example, the current love in is hilarious to watch, we all know what happens down the track.
 
DonsRule said:
Just saying success has rarely come from a tried coach. It often come from someone new, new ideas. Something different McRae at the Pies has been great at the same time don't think he would have had the impact on Essendon that he did at Collingwood. He had a motivated group that needed a new plan. McRae delivered on that well will they back it up next season? Who knows but they have done well so far and he was a great choice.

I think Scott will be good in driving standards that are non existent at Essendon.and won't take a backwards step

I liked the Yze/Williams combo because I thought Williams could be the reinforcement Yze needed in getting though the shitstorm that is Essendon. Someone with fresh ideas but someone with a lot of experience to push ideas off and be backup when needed.


As I said though Scott has impressed and a happy with his appointment he has done a lot to smooth over lingering doubt I had and think he was the right call.
Click to expand...
McRae would have failed at Essendon.

Collingwood already had the hard edge players who could defend and pressure. Plus they have genuine on field leadership with footy smarts.

They don't beat us in the last minute without Pendles.

We have very little on field leadership.
 
Kong said:
I wonder if he still reads this forum.

I remember years ago, Burzum wrote an open love letter as a joke to one of our players, and days later Mark Robinson spluttered and stuttered his own open letter in the Sun.

He’s always been a grub.
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Every time this prick is mentioned I think “ **** me, he follows Essendon “
vomit GIF
 
jmoo wan said:
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...s-story/e2f5c20eed6d4d887d39dc737f022c8e?amp#

Inside the Bombers’ blow-up: Mark Robinson and Scott Gullan reveal the behind the scenes chaos at Essendon​

Essendon is a national embarrassment. For the first time, Mark Robinson and Scott Gullan take you behind the scenes on the humiliating exits, quick kills, PR disasters and broken dreams.

Mark Robinson and Scott Gullan

8 min read
October 7, 2022 - 4:37PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...5c20eed6d4d887d39dc737f022c8e?amp#share-tools
Media-link

AFL: Essendon CEO Andrew Thorburn has resigned after just one day in the job over controversial links to the church.
When Kevin Sheedy and his wife Geraldine boarded Lindsay Fox’s luxury boat in New York to celebrate the ol’ trucker’s 85th birthday last month, the Essendon coaching legend was in a festive mood.

Like everyone, he’d been looking forward to getting overseas again. But most of all he was content that the football club he loved was finally about to get its own ship in order.
Sheedy knew there was one final piece to the puzzle which required his touch and that would be taken care of when he finished mingling with 400 of Australia’s most rich and famous on the extravagant getaway.
Sheedy had the belief that he and the new president David Barham — a go-getter type for sure — would have the final say on who be the new coach of Essendon.
A six-member panel had been formed, which interestingly included his former arch enemy Robert Walls, to canvas a number of candidates, but in the end it would be Sheedy and Barham to make the ultimate call.
Or so he’d thought.
Kevin Sheedy shows his incredible passion for Essendon. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Kevin Sheedy shows his incredible passion for Essendon. Picture: George Salpigtidis
‘IT’S SO POLITICAL, IT’S UNBELIEVABLE’: HOW DONS GOT HERE
FOOTBALL clubs are unique but what they most resemble is a political party.
Factions dictate direction and at Essendon, it has long been the case where too much influence has been given to former legends or supporters with deep pockets and big mouths.
This year, and not for the first time, the Old Guard v the New Guard has faced off.
“It’s so political, it’s unbelievable,” said one former staff member, who’d come from another AFL club, of the goings on at the club’s Tullamarine headquarters.
“People have got to stop playing politics at that football club and actually just think about what they’re doing.”
The Essendonians is proudly the oldest coterie group in the AFL. They wield considerable power — or so they say — given they can alter the amount of money they donate to the club depending on how they view its operations.
So, if they don’t like someone or something (ie former coach Matthew Knights) then the administrators soon fall into line (ie hiring of James Hird).
The behind-the-scenes politics is at the heart of the latest mess.
Who would’ve thought the Bombers would find themselves in such a laugh-a-minute schmozzle so soon after the gut-wrenching and soul-destroying supplements scandal?
While understandably that horrible chapter in the club’s history has taken its toll, and probably still does, the botched number of resets in recent years is what continues to outrage the faithful.
The latest had its origin back to midway through the season – the Bombers won just two games from the opening 11 matches – when several powerbrokers, including Sheedy, concluded that Ben Rutten wasn’t the answer as senior coach.
Despite having got the Bombers into the finals in his first full season in the job following the departure of John Worsfold, the lack of a solid game plan and the disturbing regression by a number of players had Rutten clearly under pressure.
Even then, Sheedy had an inkling for Hird.
Ben Rutten leaves Essendon HQ amid the drama. Picture: Tony Gough

Ben Rutten leaves Essendon HQ amid the drama. Picture: Tony Gough
The season swayed under the umbrella of a micky-mouse internal review, until the result of that review — namely to keep Rutten — produced a good old fashioned boardroom showdown.
In the pro Rutten camp were longstanding CEO Xavier Campbell and president Paul Brasher who’d also only been in the job for a year.
Across the table was Barham, who would ultimately take over the Essendon presidency after getting Sheedy’s backing.
In many respects, Barham was only president because of Sheedy. And Sheedy wanted Hird as coach. And Barham knew Sheedy wanted Hird as coach.
When the Bombers produced one of their worst performances of the season in round 22 at Marvel Stadium against Port Adelaide, losing by 84 points, Rutten was officially done.
Barham then made his move on Brasher, who in May had instigated the internal review of the underperforming football department. It was a quick kill. Brasher was forced into handing in his resignation as president the following day.
An external review into the entire operations of the club was launched immediately with former NAB boss and big-time Essendon fan Andrew Thorburn brought in to run it.
At the same time, Barham made his dash at coaching great Alastair Clarkson. His Hail Mary approach was too late and too unprofessional. And Clarkson agreed days later to join North Melbourne.
All the time, Rutten remained as the head coach.
It was humiliating for Rutten and unbecoming of a football club which, at its helm, had a man scrambling around like the Tassie Tiger cartoon character.
Barham kept Rutten hanging all week, forcing him to coach the final game of the season before knifing him the next day.
“You look at the way they treated Truck (Rutten), regardless if he can coach or not, you don’t treat people like that,” one former Essendon great said.
“If the president does that then anybody else at the club thinks they can do the same thing and get away with it. There’s your culture problem.”
Xavier Campbell and David Barham were barely communicating in the CEO’s final days at the club. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Xavier Campbell and David Barham were barely communicating in the CEO’s final days at the club. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui
Three days later, Campbell, who by this stage was barely communicating with Barham, fell on his sword. Then favourite son Simon Madden stepped down from the board and two other board members, Peter Allen and football director Sean Wellman, also signalled they would depart in the coming months.
It was brutal and badly handled.
The media giant Barham fumbled his first press conference, declaring the Bombers were after an experienced coach. It required football boss Josh Mahoney, who was leading the search for the new coach, to clarify Barham’s wishes days later when it became clear there weren’t any big fish desperate to get to Essendon.
One big fish who was becoming increasingly interested was Hird.
While his first stint in the top job at Essendon had ended horribly, and almost with his life, the club legend had put himself back into the football world as a part-time assistant helping his former teammate Mark McVeigh at the Giants.
Simply, he’d caught the bug again.
And Sheedy was quickly in his court, believing his premiership captain was exactly the man to pull his old club together again.
Hird believed it, too.
Further, it’s understood Hird and Barham had spoken several weeks previously and that Hird was assured he would be legitimately considered for the job.
No promises from Barham, but an assurance that he and Sheedy would be picking the coach.
So, Hird went for an interview.
And Sheedy went to New York.
The cunning old bugger’s plan was in train.
Already, whatever hope Barham had of landing Clarkson was scuppered when Sheedy suggested in a radio interview that Clarkson would be better suited at the Kangaroos.
In Sheedy’s mind, everything was in order.
Kevin Sheedy had a plan for James Hird’s return. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Kevin Sheedy had a plan for James Hird’s return. Picture: Wayne Ludbey
HOW THE LAY OF THE LAND CHANGED AT ESSENDON
WHAT happened in the 12 days Sheedy was at sea is a mystery.
When he disembarked in Montreal, the lay of the land at Essendon had changed dramatically.
Four candidates had been interviewed by the Bombers panel which included Walls, Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis, netball legend Simone McKinnins, football manager Josh Mahoney, board member Dorothy Hisgrove and consultant Thorburn.
Hird had reportedly impressed but he never heard back from the panel.
His former teammate Dean Solomon and St Kilda assistant Brendon Lade also only had one interview, while Melbourne assistant Adem Yze, who’d just missed out on the GWS job, received a second interview.
He was now the favourite.
And Hird? Media folk were emphatically declaring he had no chance — was there a leak from Essendon? — which left Hird pondering if he had been lied to.
As Grand Final week kicked in, and while Sheedy was still overseas, Barham’s focus shifted to former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott.
Scott had refused to say if he was officially interested in the role because, as the AFL’s football operations manager, he believed it wasn’t appropriate to be a candidate until the season had been completed.
After watching his twin Chris win another premiership with Geelong, Scott put his hand up to be interviewed the following Thursday, and then he met the Essendon board which included Sheedy via Zoom.
The so-called plan of Barham and Sheedy selecting the coach, presumably after considering recommendations from the selection panel, was ditched, which blindsided Sheedy.
There was no vote between Scott and Hird and even Yze per se.
Instead, after just the one interview, Scott was the nomination and he was voted in as the new coach. Not unanimously mind you.
Sheedy, who was in California, was shocked and disappointed.
He called the Herald Sun, wanting the world to know he voted for Hird.
He was widely condemned for “breaking ranks’’, but such is the cost of loyalty.
For sure, the bond between a captain and his coach in the AFL is special, far beyond any player-coach relationship.
Brad Scott and David Barham at the announcement of the new coach. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Brad Scott and David Barham at the announcement of the new coach. Picture: Nicki Connolly
Think Chris Scott and Joel Selwood, Damien Hardwick and Trent Cotchin, Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss. There is a trust, respect and appreciation which is there for life.
A true example came with Luke Hodge’s statement in support of Clarkson at the height of the Hawthorn scandal. He wanted his ex-coach to know that he was in his corner.
That’s exactly what Sheedy felt when he publicly declared he’d voted for Hird. He didn’t want anyone to think he’d turned his back on his captain.
It blazed headlines on the very day Scott was at his first press conference.
If the footy world thought the Sheedy bomb was a PR disaster, the appointment of Thorburn as CEO made the club a national embarrassment.
It was announced just hours before Monday night’s Crichton Medal count, which allowed Thorburn to address the assembled players and supporters.
Twenty hours later he was gone.
Barham’s “comprehensive” process to appoint Thorburn failed to look into his links with church organisation, City on a Hill, whose website revealed its offensive views on abortion, homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
His resignation after Essendon asked him to choose between the church and the football club ignited a political debate which has gone around the country and is still raging today.
Indeed, the process of appointing Thorburn to the role had put some staff at the football club off-side.
Andrew Thorburn lasted one day as Essendon CEO.

Andrew Thorburn lasted one day as Essendon CEO.
He’d been in charge of the external review and as part of that review, he had spoken to dozens of staff, urging them to tell him everything as he was an impartial observer.
Thorburn also interviewed candidates for the vacant CEO job, canvassing their IP, before deciding he would put his hand up for the gig.
Talk about a conflict of interest.
Still, Barham gave him the job.
“That was never going to be a safe environment for the employees,” one club insider said.
“He ran the review, the staff were honest with him, he was saying, ‘I’m impartial, tell me all your secrets’. Then suddenly it was like, ‘Oh by the way now all those things you said, I remember them and I’m now your CEO’.”
The man left standing is Barham who has conceded there has been some missteps along the way.
How Barham survives this mess is now a matter of great discussion and among those powerful coterie groups, there will be a group of people who think they can do better.
For sure, a board challenge is not out of the question.
Sheedy, meanwhile, will support Scott to the hilt.
And Hird? He probably thinks he was strung along, and if that is the truth, he will never have anything to do with the Essendon Football Club again.
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So Sheeds, through his own mouthpiece, has openly admitted he schemed to bring Hird back and to betray a legitimate process to find the best available coach because somehow he knows best. And now he'll "support Scott to the hilt"? If you don't know what a hilt is, Google it.
Scott will need to watch his back while Sheedy is still there.

I don't like Dave Barham, but now that he has started us down this road he needs to finish the job. Corrosive influences like Sheeds and whomever else need to be gotten rid of or their influence significantly curtailed. He must deliver on the full recommendations of the external review, even if that ultimately means his own exit. The ER must be the imperative for reform.
 
yodellinhank said:
What has Barham got right so far?
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Cleaned out a fractured board ( only Sheedy left), scott better placed then Rutten, ensuring a external review takes place.

Ultimately made mistakes but I think deserves the time to see if he can get rid of dodo and Sheedy and appoint a good ceo.

Still work to do but ess figuratively needed a clean out and blow it all up. I like him as no one else has shown the guts to do it.
 
BomberManU said:
So was promised an opportunity to interview + didn't get the job = 'strung along'.
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I read that as Barham saying, yes you can interview, and Sheedy saying to Hird, don't worry, you've got this. ie. it's Sheedy who has strung Hird along, which explains why he was so keen to confirm that he had chosen Hird. Robbo's article is Sheedy's explanation to his worshippers that he did his best and this is all Barham's fault.
 
Herald Sun is a rubbish paper but used to think sport section was alright. Robbo continues to find ways to embarrass himself and will try to flog the hird stiff until it becomes a story.

Stay strong bombers, no one cares about the hird angle. It's done. Every article comes out should push us the other way and think bloody hurry up and get Sheedy away from the club as quickly as possible.

Serious question - can we start a petition for Sheedy to step down?

What options as supporters and members do we have for sheedys removal.
 

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windyhill said:
Every time this prick is mentioned I think “ * me, he follows Essendon “
vomit GIF
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I’m not sure when it became popular for sports journalists (print) to get their faces on TV and their voices heard on radio but at least Caro stays in her lane (most of the time). Wtf does Robbo know other than being a nuffty AFL supporter? Perhaps that’s his role, to be representative of footy nuffties?
 
Doss said:
There is a world where we can both acknowledge that XC was a very poor CEO and that Sheedy is also a destructive relic who is an impediment to the club. He doesn't deserve any credit for this petulant, continued sniping from the shadows.
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What is this magical world you speak of?? Take me there!
 
meh ... we will have a new CEO in <1 mth, and this whole saga will be completely forgotten about by Xmas

The issue is less about sacking him and more about 1) the lack of background DD that Hisgrove and those EY idiots conducted, and 2) then allowing him to interview for the role afterwards. Absolutely mindless. But what's done is done, i'm not fussed we have no CEO at the moment.

There was an urgency in hiring a senior coach to facilitate (limited) opportunities during trade week, list planning and offseason prep, but there is no urgency in hiring a CEO. Let Nick Ryan continue to act in the role and he can use plethora of ppl as sounding boards if needed, including Brad Scott given his intimate knowledge of the AFL administration.
 
Vander18 said:
Is it not now obvious why they should have cared mate? It’s called foresight.
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Well of course it is obvious now after looking at the fallout. That so much is clear.

But as a general rule, I try not to apply all knowledge gathered from hindsight as automatically something that should have been done with foresight. At least not without knowing all the facts available to the people making decisions at the time.

I am not disputing the appointment was an unmitigated disaster though, to be clear.
 

Bunk Moreland said:
Honestly it’s pretty basic stuff. He’s chairman of the church, has made no secret of that.

It’s clearly not your “normal” church, so it should have been researched.

I dunno who’s fault it is but it’s very basic and a joke it wasn’t picked up.
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Exactly. You are quite literally paying a truckload of money to "experts consultants" to find this stuff out. Could've saved ourselves some cash and just paid an intern to do some Google detective work and got more insight.
 
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EnolaGay said:
Exactly. You are quite literally paying a truckload of money to "experts consultants" do find this stuff out. Could've saved ourselves some cash and just paid an intern to do some Google detective work and got more insight.
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Or just outsource it to twitter apparently
 
I wonder whether it was buried because the CEO was exposed in some way?
 
DERO said:
I wonder whether it was buried because the CEO was exposed in some way?
Click to expand...
Good thing about Barham is he seems quite willing to wear his mistakes at the cost of his personal reputation, rather than doubling down. It’s been a long time, perhaps ever, since anyone at Essendon had enough humility to admit a mistake
 
It’s like the trauma from the saga still haunts us. Sheedy and Robbo still seeking Hird redemption. Hird seems only interested in coaching us a form of redemption.

Initially appointing Worsfold was right decision but we kept him on too long because he was calm, quiet ..safe. Rutten was safe so we appointed him without a process.

Scott and maybe even Barham feel like a new start and we screw up appointing CEO…whilst under pressure from Sheeds manipulation on his road to seeking redemption. It’s ****ing us badly and we need to cut it out completely. Sheedy has to go.
 

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Club Mgmt. Board of Directors as led by President Dave Barham

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