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

Remove this Banner Ad

 
Last edited:
P Money said:
Trying to read between the lines of a Barham interview is futile as the bloke has no idea what is going to come out of his own mouth til it's leaving his lips at best. He's been a trainwreck in front of the cameras since the day he took over, but he does eventually seem to awkwardly bumble his way towards good decisions in the end so we can only hope.
Click to expand...
He has not had any media training at all. Opposite of Brad Scott.
 
boncer34 said:
No. He said they would be selecting.

You can't possibly read that and think there's nothing in it guaranteeing Hird the job. He was 100% guaranteed the job. You don't go to the blokes house and say "Hey apply, me and your biggest fan ever are the ones selecting it" unless you understand what it means.

If it's true of course.
Click to expand...

I always felt it was pretty clear what happened.
The meeting at Hird's was the dance by Barham to whoo Sheeds to get his support for the board tilt.
That was the purpose and the extent of it. Whatever was said to Hird in that meeting was a means to an end.

After that he let him go through the process and if he got the job he got the job but I have no doubt Hird was used as part of a game to get Sheeds to help spill the board.
Collateral damage as it were, which if true is probably one of the most brutal things I've ever seen. Using the one time favourite son, who's looking at a shot for redemption as a pawn to get the old club fossil to assist you in rolling the board.
It also explains why the club is dead to Hird, going with a different coach doesn't really explain that severe of a reaction. Being used as a pawn does.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

owen87 said:
This really isn't true.

edit:

Robbo called him the next GWS head coach before season even started;

www.foxsports.com.au

‘They’ve employed their next coach’: James Hird tipped to take GWS job when it opens

‘They’ve employed their next coach’: Hird shock as AFL great tipped to take GWS job
www.foxsports.com.au www.foxsports.com.au

By May was promoting Hird replacing Rutten

www.foxsports.com.au

‘Can bring the club back together’: Hird return to Bombers floated after seven-year exile

‘Can bring the club back together’: Bold call for Hird to return to Bombers after seven-year exile
www.foxsports.com.au www.foxsports.com.au
Click to expand...
Yep as soon as he got a job at gws, it started
 
ant555 said:
Lets look at this.
Coach appointed 4 weeks before the Draft . From memory did not actually start straight away . Maybe had two weeks in the job when the draft was done.
He comes out in the media at the time and backs the list management team to do the job.
What did you expect ? To suggest he had been following the draft and stepped in and had a voice is same level stuff that you accuse the club of doing .
The bloke had been in the door 5 minutes . He had not influence on who we drafted. He did not sit down and watch Tsatas play and say he is our guy.
It just did not happen.
Click to expand...
He started straight away after the Grand Final when he was finally able to conclude his club-neutral role at the AFL. I think his 1st day at the club was the BnF, which has to be held at some point prior to 1 week after the Grand Final, and Free Agency started the following morning.


Exit interviews have to be completed within 3 weekdays of the last game of the season, so that had all been done a month before Scott started.


The AFL requires a list of draft prospects you're interested in by the end of July so that they can send out Draft Combine invitations at the start of August. That was already done months before Scott even thought there might be a job chasing him.


The way the off-season goes has a regular pattern to it based on the Grand Final date, doesn't vary much from one year to the next.
  • GF: Last Saturday in September
  • GF+6: Free agency period opens (Friday). National Draft Combine is also happening somewhere around this time.
  • GF+9: Trade Period starts (Monday). Draft nominations open.
  • GF+13: Free agency closes (Friday). State Draft Combines are also happening somewhere around this time.
  • GF+15: FA 3 day bid matching window ends (Sunday)
  • GF+18: Trade period ends, at 7.30pm on a weekday (~Wednesday)
You then have the first list lodgement date on October 31, by which time anyone who is still out of contract has to be re-signed or delisted. So it's spud re-signing and delisting season at the end of October.

Between the first and second list lodgements is a delisted FA period of about a week, and pick-only trading. It's also a time of crazy interviewing of and finalising their preferences regarding draft prospects, and not much actually seems to be happening, with no news.

The second list lodgement is used to remove redundant picks from the draft order, the draft order is then finalised, and a week later you get the actual draft, sometime in mid-late November.



If he's accepting the job and starting the next day, shortly after the grand final, he's too late to have really any say in trades and FA, players have already decided where they're going and the managers have already got the terms of a contract sorted out. He wouldn't know enough about existing players to be recommending they be delisted without seeing them train or even speaking to them.

Could have some minor influence on the draft but that's about it, with limited knowledge it would be disingenuous for him to be making many recommendations.
 
DapperDon said:
Everyone is fosused, young team, new era (different from the new era 2 years ago), we almost beat some good teams (did lol at this one) working hard to build a base, club is committed...

It's all just words we have heard before. This is just my feelings, don't let me stop you or anyone else enjoying them.
Click to expand...
That's where I am with the club at the moment. Words words words that just vanish in the ether. Full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.
 
IggypopsTshirt said:
Barham spoke like a politician under pressure. He was terse, non committal and not endearing in any way. It’s understandable the bloke can’t sack Dodo on radio so he gets a pass on that subject. The most concerning thing about his appearance was a very Essendon trait he exhibits. He doesn’t take feedback or criticism very well and if confronted with some possibly uncomfortable realities he will dig his heels in and forge ahead with his script of cliches regarding club affairs.
Click to expand...
All very true.
IggypopsTshirt said:
Given the bloke conspired alongside Sheedy and Hird to usher the messiah back into the coaching job while the turmoil they created very publicly portrayed the club as an absolute basket case; I remain unconvinced that we’ve actually cast aside the insular ol’ boys mentality.
Click to expand...
That would make him a boldface liar, at about 2.45 into this press conference announcing Rutten was sacked. Very first question asked if he'd spoken to Hird and he hadn't.

 
Jeeze that Barham and Watson interaction was strange.

Tim is asking gotcha questions he absolutely knows the answer to, Dave is literally just giving upfront straight bat answers and somehow it just gets more and more aggressive the longer it goes on.
 
Another old article, nugget of gold (or more poetically, a nugget of shit that's been rolled in billions of dollars worth of glitter);

“It’s the hope that kills you.” - Ted Lasso.

When Brad Scott arrived at the bruised Essendon Football Club, he came with more than merely a decade of coaching experience, a new game style and detailed knowledge of the workings of rival clubs via his previous senior position at AFL headquarters.

Scott also brought a message for Essendon’s vast and justifiably frustrated supporter base.

He told the fans, via media appearances and more expansive interviews, that a) Essendon would not be turned around immediately, b) that he wanted the club to be set up for sustainable success and that this meant no shortcuts, c) that standards and culture were not up to scratch and had to lift.

Tellingly, Scott told this columnist that while Essendon was “a great club” by any measure, given their history and size, this did not entitle the Bombers to anything.

“We’re not entitled to anything and there are no quick fixes,” he told The Age in March.

Scott’s messaging was viewed positively by the overwhelming bulk of Bomber fans, who had seen more false dawns than even Carlton.

Overnight, Scott had been installed as the face of this revamped Essendon, which had undergone the tumult of a board coup, the brutal sacking of Ben Rutten, the resignation of the long-serving chief executive (Xavier Campbell) as a consequence and the lurking threat of a Paul Little-backed board challenge that didn’t materialise.

Little, the billionaire former president, had lobbied the board for the return of James Hird as senior coach, with coaching icon and board member Kevin Sheedy openly backing Hird in defiance of the panel’s recommendation.

David Barham’s board also was on the back foot due to the appointment as CEO of ex-NAB boss Andrew Thorburn, who quit one day into the job after it emerged that the church he chaired had been the forum for contentious sermons on abortion and homosexuality.

Essendon’s messaging, via Scott, was not designed to attract members. Today, the Bombers have 77,360 members - a good number, but well shy of what this massive club will have in 12 or 24 months if they keep improving.

Essendon’s positioning wasn’t simply talk if you consider that the club did not chase expensive recruits, either, picking up Sam Weideman and Will Setterfield cheaply and focusing on development of existing talent.

There are striking parallels between the pickle that the Bombers found themselves in during 2022 and Carlton’s situation in both 2021 - when the coach and CEO went and the board leadership and composition changed - and arguably this year. For Little andHird of 2022, substitute Bruce Mathieson and the discarded (and now St Kilda) list manager and favourite son Stephen Silvagni, with whom the pokies king has been aligned.
Click to expand...
www.theage.com.au

Fan enragement: How the Bombers and Blues coped with supporter anger

Essendon have pacified an angry supporter base with a realistic outlook and results, while the Blues are a victim of expectations they have raised.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au

We knew there was a board challenge but Guerra's name was attached instead of Little's. So it was Little driving the Hird and Sheedy bandwagon, and his handpicked CEO went against him.


****ssake

Seem to have got rid of Brasher/Campbell's mess, dodged Clarkson's mess, got a bit of splashback from Thorburn's mess, and apparently the other one we avoided was Little's!
 
Hell of a sliding doors moment there for ya Purple.
 
Essendon signed off on payouts to departed executives totalling more than $1.2 million during last year’s off-field bloodbath.
The true cost of the 2022 turmoil can be revealed after the Herald Sun obtained copies of financial reports lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission by all 18 clubs and the AFL.

The Bombers topped the league’s management expenditure after an off-field cull that included the turnover of three chief executives inside two months.

Club sources said the crossover of staff was the key factor behind the 38.9 per cent payment spike from the previous financial year.

The seven-figure rise included a lucrative parting gift given to respected former chief executive Xavier Campbell.

Campbell resigned following the sacking of coach Rutten and only months after the board had unanimously voted to re-sign the club boss for 2023 and 2024.

Chief financial officer Kevin Dixon then resigned on the back of Campbell’s departure.

In May the AFL poached Lisa Lawry from the Bombers to the newly-created position of general manager of umpires.

Xavier Campbell departed Essendon after the 2022 season. Picture: Getty Images

Xavier Campbell departed Essendon after the 2022 season. Picture: Getty Images
Lawry had been on Essendon’s executive leadership team since 2014 and was general manager of people and culture at Tullamarine last year.


But the AFL swooped on Lawry in response to the national female umpiring crisis that was revealed in a secret report leaked to the Herald Sun.

Not every club disclosed in their reports or when contacted how many salaries were included in their Key Management Personnel payments.

Some of the discrepancy between clubs’ top management earnings can be attributed to their differing structures.

But Essendon forked out $4,551,776 – up from the $3,277,783 documented in their 2021 report and $2,820,882 in their 2020 report.

The Bombers refused to say whether Rutten’s $600,000 pay out was included in their $4.5 million expenditure.

Flourish logoA Flourish table
Essendon’s financial statement conceded that the exorbitant figure included “payments made for additional staff and leave provisions paid out to key management personnel”.

Those payouts dwarfed the $682,213 profit the Bombers made from merchandise in 2022 and the $65,000 prize money they banked for finishing eighth in 2021.

Rival clubs have privately believed for several years that the Bombers pay their staff handsomely and it is understood former football boss Dan Richardson was on sizeable pay packet.

Gold Coast’s $3,029,211 ranked eighth overall and was close to double what fellow expansion club Greater Western Sydney paid its top brass.

But the Suns included coach Stuart Dew’s salary in their payments as well as the management of Heritage Bank Stadium and chief executive Mark Evans’ seven-figure salary.

Mark Evans (left) recently delivered Damien Hardwick to the Suns as senior coach. Picture: Getty Images

Mark Evans (left) recently delivered Damien Hardwick to the Suns as senior coach. Picture: Getty Images
St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and the Giants all paid their key management personnel less than $2 million.

The Dogs’ sum was shared by chief executive Ameet Bains, football boss Chris Grant, chief operating officer Sue Clark, chief commercial and strategy officer Kon Karavias.

Melbourne ($3 million) and Geelong ($4.2 million) included premiership coaches Simon Goodwin and Chris Scott in their KMP salaries.

The Demons’ package was split between chief executive Gary Pert, chief commercial officer Chris Kearon, football boss Alan Richardson and Goodwin.

Geelong’s package was divided 10 ways because of the departures of chief commercial officer Braith Cox, media boss Kevin Diggerson, community development manager Sarah Albon and people and culture boss Tracy Gilligan throughout 2022.

Like the Bombers, the Cats’ figure ballooned due to staff crossover during the financial year.

Carlton chief executive Brian Cook banked a large portion of Carlton’s $2.5 million executive payments.

KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL PAYMENTS — 2022 FINANCIAL REPORTS​

Essendon $4,551,776*
Geelong $4,233,412 (10 people)
Richmond $4,100,395*
Collingwood $3,913,353 (10 people)
Hawthorn $3,310,348*
West Coast $3,184,223 (11 people)
Melbourne $3,048,676 (5 people)
Gold Coast $3,029,211 (12 people)
Sydney $2,964,880*
Adelaide $2,731,561 (4+ people)
Carlton $2,518,098 (7 people)
Brisbane Lions $2,360,473*
Fremantle $2,311,270 (6 people)
St Kilda $1,991,786*
Western Bulldogs $1,838,613 (4 people)
GWS Giants $1,565,746*
North Melbourne $1,514,091*
Port Adelaide $1,458,305*
(The AFL’s nine executives were paid $11.8 million)
*Number of people not disclosed in annual report or by club

Also included in that package was chief financial officer Thomas Crookes, football boss Brad Lloyd, media boss Vanessa Gigliotti and head of consumer business Daniel Giese.

North Melbourne’s remuneration packages appeared skinny when compared to rival AFL clubs.

“The directors are responsible for determining and reviewing compensation arrangements for the Key Management Personnel (KMP),” the Kangaroos said in their financial records.

More Coverage​

Get out now: Pie’s pointed message to Grundy
The Tackle: How did Tigers let Kingsley slip through their fingers?
“The directors assess the appropriateness of the compensation by reference to relevant employment market conditions with the overall objective of maximising stakeholder benefit from the retention of a high-quality executive team.

“The executive team have the opportunity to receive their compensation in a variety of forms including cash and fringe benefits such as motor vehicles and expense payment plans.”

The Dockers’ $2,311,270 was split between Simon Garlick (CEO), Peter Bell (football boss) Cameron Tuohy (chief financial officer), Denis Bicer (chief commercial officer), Joseph Brierty (chief operating officer) and Kassey Passmore (communications and marketing).
 
season 1 dollar dollar bills yall GIF
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL PAYMENTS — 2022 FINANCIAL REPORTS​

Essendon $4,551,776*
Geelong $4,233,412 (10 people)
Richmond $4,100,395*
Collingwood $3,913,353 (10 people)
Hawthorn $3,310,348*
West Coast $3,184,223 (11 people)
Melbourne $3,048,676 (5 people)
Gold Coast $3,029,211 (12 people)
Sydney $2,964,880*
Adelaide $2,731,561 (4+ people)
Carlton $2,518,098 (7 people)
Brisbane Lions $2,360,473*
Fremantle $2,311,270 (6 people)
St Kilda $1,991,786*
Western Bulldogs $1,838,613 (4 people)
GWS Giants $1,565,746*
North Melbourne $1,514,091*
Port Adelaide $1,458,305*
(The AFL’s nine executives were paid $11.8 million)
*Number of people not disclosed in annual report or by club
Click to expand...

Finally we are on top!
 
good to be Number 1 at something
 
andleanback said:
Bit weird that sheedy (paid club ambassador and board member) attended the giants bnf over the Crichton medal tonight …
Click to expand...
You mean Kevin attended the Kevin Sheedy medal instead of the Wally Crichton medal?

Did they make him a club legend or something?
 

Remove this Banner Ad

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

Similar threads

Lore
  • Poll
Win Prizes The Scales 2024 Essendon Board Poster of the Year - Congratulations Bonce!
Replies
19
Views
1K
Beerfish
Beerfish
Lore
  • Locked
Win Prizes The Scales 2024 Essendon Board Poster Of The Year - Nomination Thread
Replies
18
Views
908
Lore
Lore
Nuggs Bunny
Competitions 2025 Essendon Board My Boy Draft
2
Replies
30
Views
795
Nuggs Bunny
Nuggs Bunny
BrunoV
Win Prizes The Essendon Board Talks 9/11
2 3 4 5
Replies
100
Views
2K
Kong
Kong
VelvetSledge
  • Locked
MVP 2024 BigFooty Essendon Board POTY Award - ZACH MERRETT wins again!
Replies
24
Views
3K
VelvetSledge
VelvetSledge
Lore
Mod. Notice Welcome Nuggs Bunny, new Essendon board mod!
Replies
13
Views
1K
Vindicater
Vindicater
Sporno 4 Pyros
Sport The Essendon Board’s Paris 2024 Olympics Thread
2 3
Replies
63
Views
2K
Sporno 4 Pyros
Sporno 4 Pyros

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top