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

[BrunoV]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Just another idiot doubling down on delusion.

 

[citizen-erased]

I am not backing Thorburn nor his church but there seems to be a lot of 1 + 1 = 3 opinions.

Unless I am missing something Thorburn has never preached anything . Has never been involved in any discrimination in the companies he has lead. In fact has continually said he is about tolerance as part of his views. Slam the bloke for how he operated at the NAB but at no stage during his professional career has he discriminated and the fact is when he was in control at NAB they backed several events that had a LGBTQIA involvement. He has said multiple times he does not agree with everything that is in sermons.
He was on the board of the church yes but he was not preparing sermons. He was working on the financial side of things.

As for the Church on the Hill . The sermon was from 2011. I heard the leader of the church interview by Neil Mitchell on 3AW and he danced around the issue a little but the message was their sermons have changed over time to be more about tolerance and forgiveness . When asked about homosexuality the answer was a bit of an end run as he stated that as such that sex out outside marriage is a sin but same sex partnerships where not. Of course the kicker is the church generally only accepts marriage as a "partnership between a man and women " so in their eyes you can have a same sex partner but can not have sex as such as it does not recognize same sex marriage. Bit of a cop out even in my opinion.
For what it is worth I voted yes for same sex marriage so I could see my sister legally marry her partner.

You say nothing comes without scrutiny . I say it is illegal in this country to discriminate on the basis of race , religion or sexuality. I can say that some comments in here over the last 3 months have pushed the line. If I dug into your life would you be squeaky clean ? I know my has not been.

The Church does not necessarily set out to make a statement or criticize . Generally it is a priest or pastor giving a sermon based on part of the bible which then gets relayed . These are not different to going to a Mosque other than it generally does not get commented on a lot in general society.

If we really want to jump up and down then everyone is happy to pile on yet still celebrate Christmas or have Church funerals when they die . As a side point here most churches will give LGBTQIA people a funeral.
We are happy to watch the world cup in Qatar despite homosexuality being illegal and punishable by death ?
Are we happy for the AFL having multi cultural officers who's religion has strict views on homosexuality ?

I understand the optics and his position as CEO made that a different situation but there was a lot of comment in a short period of time with very little chance of any mediation. I do wonder if both sides had a chance to sit down if there could have been a different outcome. It just took off like wildfire with no coming back. There was no chance of ever finding common ground.

Religion is difficult in a lot of ways. Now que the bigot , Hypocrite , fan boy and any other insults that I have been called for saying something about it.

Good statement at the end.
There's a line with most of them where it stops being about the person you want to be and how you treat others, and begins being more about the scripture/teachings and "leaders" interpretation of such.

Much like politics and sadly even "news" - its become like team sports. Quite rabid in sections that are usually minority and vocal.

As for thorburn, there's having his faith (one that is common and wide) then there is the church you associate with (city on a hill v your local parish), then signing on as a board member of said church. Particularly as ex-ceo of a big 4 bank and then as ceo of a big 4 afl club.
As collingwood were always tarred with the eddie brush whenever he said something stupid (caro, goodes), as would we with thorburn as our ceo. And he may not hold the same views as that which was said, and the comments are in the recent past, and be more tolerant on such topics. But as i mentioned in an earlier post, optics is all. We're already a shitshow. It poured fuel on a junkyard fire.

 

[citizen-erased]

I don't think they've done a good job of the optics with this from the start, trying to quell a fire they gave life to through an ineffective process. That's called incompetence, isn't it?
Our comeback story is really going to be great reading.

Can't remember the last thing we optically did well.

Truck - nope
Scott - nope (thanks sheeds)
Ceo - nope
Dreamtime - nope
Covid - nope (bit of rabid support for mckenna would have been nice, not clipping saad for leaving too)
Woosha - nope
Internal/external review - nope

Thats in just over 2 years too.

 

[citizen-erased]

If they did they would have no issues but obviously they did not care as Barham was fully aware of it as he was with Thorburn's religious views even if he was not aware of a sermon on their website from 2011. At the end of the day they where lucky Thorburn backed down. It is still illegal to discriminate against race , religion and sexuality.

Goes to the lack of due diligence
I imagine we knew he was on the board elsewhere.
Given the $$$ we were paying EY, you'd think they'd spend the weekend reading up on church on a hill, the ethical investment company and anyone else he is associated with.

All of which has proven to be an unwelcome but convenient distraction from what is the core question here.
The appointment in general.
Spectacular end to his tenure at NAB, singled out in the royal commission for his performance, hasnt had anyone knocking his door down since, his exec. assistant at the time is in courts for a multi million dollar fraud against NAB during his tenure, was on the review committee then dropped out conveniently prior to the appointment, and has zero track record in AFL circles.

Compare that to Vozzo, who is a no-nonsense, seasoned operator at one of the best run clubs in the comp.
One appointment came from nowhere, the other after weeks of interviewing.

Clarkson/thorburn
Scott/vozzo

Similar paths to get to where we did. We're still struggling with doing the basics right.....at least our incompetence seems to be saving us from ourselves at the moment

 

[Vindicater]

Until Sheedy is gone, the board will always be a mess.

 

[ghostdog]

Can't remember the last thing we optically did well.

Truck - nope
Scott - nope (thanks sheeds)
Ceo - nope
Dreamtime - nope
Covid - nope (bit of rabid support for mckenna would have been nice, not clipping saad for leaving too)
Woosha - nope
Internal/external review - nope

Thats in just over 2 years too.

Davey, Davey, Munkara, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Rioli - yep.

In an ocean of nopes, but I'll take it.

 

[Vindicater]

Davey, Davey, Munkara, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Rioli - yep.

In an ocean of nopes, but I'll take it.

Felt like the heart returning.

 

[andleanback]

Can mark Robinson just shut his fat mouth for once. Deadset he doesn’t deserve to call himself a supporter of essendon.

 

[ant555]

Can mark Robinson just shut his fat mouth for once. Deadset he doesn’t deserve to call himself a supporter of essendon.

He is a Hird supporter. He has dead set kicked us at every opportunity since Hird got sacked. It is like Andrew Bolt and Tony Abbott.

 

[andleanback]

He is a Hird supporter. He has dead set kicked us at every opportunity since Hird got sacked. It is like Andrew Bolt and Tony Abbott.

He’s a grub, essendon should blacklist the HS for the next 12 months for the stuff they’ve pulled in the last week.

If hird actually thought he deserved to coach the club again after 6 months work at Gws he can clear off as well. Not taking a role at another club tells you everything you need to know about how serious he was about coaching.

 

[thebigboy]

At this point, does anyone actually take Robbo seriously? He’s been a puppet for Hird & Sheedy for ages. If we’d have appointed Hird without a process being run, he’d probably have complained about that too.

 

[citizen-erased]

Sheedy, robbo and bruce francis walked into a bar
The bartender said "look over there"
Then bolted the joint up whilst the 3 were distracted and everyone lived happily ever after

 

[Don Won]

Hird should tell Robbo to stop helping. It’s not helping.

 

[Squeaky]

I didn't want Hird to coach because of the lack of current experience and also dragging all this saga shit back up. He doesn't get the job but we still get the saga shit brought up. and now Robbo pulls this article out of his arse. flipping spare me!

 

[I Remember Bluey]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/essendon/james-hird-believed-he-had-support-of-incoming-president-david-barham-to-be-essendon-coach-after-secret-meeting/news-story/21c76942eaed34fd6c94d8e16dd0d860

James Hird believed he had support of incoming chairman David Barham to be Essendon coach after secret meeting​

James Hird applied to return as Essendon coach believing he had the support of one of the club’s most influential figures after a secret meeting, it can be revealed.


New Essendon chairman David Barham gave an undertaking to support James Hird’s possible return as coach at a secret meeting in the weeks leading up to the sacking of Ben Rutten.

The Herald Sun can reveal Barham went to Hird’s home and assured him that when Rutten was gone, he and influential director Kevin Sheedy would be selecting the new coach.

Sources said both Hird and Sheedy felt betrayed by Barham after he appointed AFL football operations boss Brad Scott to the position.
Hird confidantes believe Hird, who is a third generation Bomber, is now fully lost to the club.

In a sensational twist, Hird was understood to have been considering challenging then president Paul Brasher before the Barham meeting at Hird’s Toorak home.

Sources said that at the meeting it was determined that Barham would go for the presidency and that Hird should apply for the coaching role and not a board position.
Sheedy was aware of the secret meeting and the proposed plan.

Believing he had the support of Barham and Sheedy, Hird officially applied for the position and was interviewed by the coaching selection panel.
Sheedy, who helped secure Barham’s presidency when he sided with Barham in a boardroom showdown against Brasher on the weekend of Round 22, was confident that Hird would return for a third stint in the top job.

Hird was made aware that Barham also intended to pursue premiership coach Alastair Clarkson.
Barham sacked Rutten after the round 23 match.

At Rutten’s departure press conference, Barham was asked if he had spoken to Hird about the coaching position.
He said: “Well, no I haven’t.’’

Asked if he would be sounding out Hird, he said: “I won’t be sounding anyone out because there’s a process. We’re going to rely on a process, a real thorough process to decide who our next coach is.’’

When Sheedy joined Lindsay Fox’s 85th birthday celebrations on a luxury cruise from New York to Montreal in early September, he expected Hird to be announced as coach while he was away.

When Scott was appointed on September 30, a furious Sheedy told the Herald Sun from California that the Scott vote was not fully endorsed by the board.

“I am extremely disappointed that the comment from my club was that it was fully endorsed, when in fact I voted for James Hird to be the coach of Essendon,’’ Sheedy said

“The vote was 6-1.

“I voted for James Hird and I’m extremely disappointed with the report that went out from the Essendon media department.

“I’m not happy.

“Don’t tell the Essendon fan base an untruth.

“I actually felt insulted that Hird would think I voted against him after what he’s done for our club.’’

​

 

[BuffDog]

Maybe I'm wrong but it would be incredibly naïve of Hird to believe he would be assured the coaching role knowing we had engaged a panel of both internal and external people to recommend a candidate to a board comprising of more than just Barham and Sheedy...

 

[Beerfish]

Maybe I'm wrong but it would be incredibly naïve of Hird to believe he would be assured the coaching role knowing we had engaged a panel of both internal and external people to recommend a candidate to a board comprising of more than just Barham and Sheedy...

Having said that he did have the market on naivety cornered at one stage..

 

[citizen-erased]

Lol

 

[Phone]

Maybe I'm wrong but it would be incredibly naïve of Hird to believe he would be assured the coaching role knowing we had engaged a panel of both internal and external people to recommend a candidate to a board comprising of more than just Barham and Sheedy...

And that simply doesn't sound like James Hird...

 

[Phone]

I guess you take your shot if it comes up, but ****, how insane would it have been to re-hire Hird right as the 10 year anniversary celebrations of this mess begins

 

[MiguelM]

Can mark Robinson just shut his fat mouth for once. Deadset he doesn’t deserve to call himself a supporter of essendon.

Didn't he cancel his membership years ago for some stupid reason? which was really to just try and conjure up a story?

 

[Don Won]

Didn't he cancel his membership years ago for some stupid reason? which was really to just try and conjure up a story?

Don’t think so, may you are thinking of Patrick Smith?

 

[MiguelM]

Don’t think so, may you are thinking of Patrick Smith?

ROFL, that's right, the other cretin!

 

[Maxabillions]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/essendon/james-hird-believed-he-had-support-of-incoming-president-david-barham-to-be-essendon-coach-after-secret-meeting/news-story/21c76942eaed34fd6c94d8e16dd0d860

James Hird believed he had support of incoming chairman David Barham to be Essendon coach after secret meeting​

James Hird applied to return as Essendon coach believing he had the support of one of the club’s most influential figures after a secret meeting, it can be revealed.


New Essendon chairman David Barham gave an undertaking to support James Hird’s possible return as coach at a secret meeting in the weeks leading up to the sacking of Ben Rutten.

The Herald Sun can reveal Barham went to Hird’s home and assured him that when Rutten was gone, he and influential director Kevin Sheedy would be selecting the new coach.

Sources said both Hird and Sheedy felt betrayed by Barham after he appointed AFL football operations boss Brad Scott to the position.
Hird confidantes believe Hird, who is a third generation Bomber, is now fully lost to the club.

In a sensational twist, Hird was understood to have been considering challenging then president Paul Brasher before the Barham meeting at Hird’s Toorak home.

Sources said that at the meeting it was determined that Barham would go for the presidency and that Hird should apply for the coaching role and not a board position.
Sheedy was aware of the secret meeting and the proposed plan.

Believing he had the support of Barham and Sheedy, Hird officially applied for the position and was interviewed by the coaching selection panel.
Sheedy, who helped secure Barham’s presidency when he sided with Barham in a boardroom showdown against Brasher on the weekend of Round 22, was confident that Hird would return for a third stint in the top job.

Hird was made aware that Barham also intended to pursue premiership coach Alastair Clarkson.
Barham sacked Rutten after the round 23 match.

At Rutten’s departure press conference, Barham was asked if he had spoken to Hird about the coaching position.
He said: “Well, no I haven’t.’’

Asked if he would be sounding out Hird, he said: “I won’t be sounding anyone out because there’s a process. We’re going to rely on a process, a real thorough process to decide who our next coach is.’’

When Sheedy joined Lindsay Fox’s 85th birthday celebrations on a luxury cruise from New York to Montreal in early September, he expected Hird to be announced as coach while he was away.

When Scott was appointed on September 30, a furious Sheedy told the Herald Sun from California that the Scott vote was not fully endorsed by the board.

“I am extremely disappointed that the comment from my club was that it was fully endorsed, when in fact I voted for James Hird to be the coach of Essendon,’’ Sheedy said

“The vote was 6-1.

“I voted for James Hird and I’m extremely disappointed with the report that went out from the Essendon media department.

“I’m not happy.

“Don’t tell the Essendon fan base an untruth.

“I actually felt insulted that Hird would think I voted against him after what he’s done for our club.’’

​

Very snakey of Barham if true but also very well played

 

[Ati Tude]

Very snarky of Barham if trued but also very well played

Possibly. Like most things, the truth will be somewhere in between 2 different sides' take on it.

The chances of Hird coaching Ess were incredibly small before the Scott appointment and next to non existent it could ever happen now. We just need Sheedy out of the place and we can all move on. I love them both dearly but disappointing that they both dont seem to realise their time has come and gone and they just need to be happy with legends forever status and stay out of the way.

 

[ant555]

Not sure where the info about Hocking getting 3 years keeps coming from either (HS story). He wanted 2. He got 1and then delisted.